Health of Xiongnu and Mongol period populations: a bioarchaeological analysis of pastoral
populations from two ancient Mongolian empires
Jacqueline T. Eng1 and Vanchigdash Ch. Mergen2
1Dept.
Dept
Skeletal Samples
Introduction
Mongolia has been the home of many pastoral cultures, including several
nomadic confederacies that developed into powerful empires. Two of the most
well known are the Xiongnu (209 BC-AD 155), who clashed often with China’s
early dynasties, and over a millennium later, the Mongol Empire, who under
Chinggis (Genghis) Khan and his descendants, conquered throughout Eurasia
during the 13th and 14th centuries. Bioarchaeological comparison of skeletal
collections from these two key periods is an ideal means to explore questions
about the impact of changes in social organization over time on the quality of life
and stress experienced by nomadic pastoralists.
Historical Context
The Xiongnu (aka Hunnu in Mongolian) first appeared in Chinese records in the
late 3rd century BC (Fig. 1a). They were a confederation of nomadic tribes of the
Ordos steppe region of Mongolia who were a constant threat against the
northern borders of the early Chinese dynasties. These mounted warriors with
their superior cavalry formed a nomadic empire in the 2nd century BC that
encompassed much of northern and western China north of the Yellow River [1].
Infighting was common, however, and eventually the Chinese empire recaptured
lost lands while the remaining Xiongnu tribes were conquered and/or absorbed
by later nomadic groups such as the Xianbei by the second century AD.
The Mongol period started with the conquests by Chinggis Khan in the early 13th
century AD (Fig. 1b). He and his descendents eventually formed the largest
contiguous empire in the world, extending from East Asia to eastern Europe and
parts of the Middle East. During this period, there was wide-ranging trade and
exchange in ideas, technologies, and goods, as well as the movement of people
[2]. The disintegration of the empire in the 14th century ended this
transcontinental exchange, though the legacy of cultural transmission is still
evident today in many areas.
Figure 1a. Xiongnu bone bow and iron axes and spear
Research Hypothesis:
Anthropology,
Anth opolog Western
Weste n Michigan University,
Uni e sit 2Dept
Dept. Archaeology
A chaeolog & Anthropology,
Anth opolog National University
Uni e sit of Mongolia
Figure 1b. Mongol period bow and
arrows, spears, and chain mail
Skeletal samples analyzed here both derive from nomadic pastoral groups living
within Mongolia under two periods of strong, multi-ethnic nomadic confederacies,
yet the collections are separated by a thousand years or more.
Null Hypothesis: Both groups share similar frequencies of all health, dental
disease, and activity-related skeletal stress indicators owing to shared
subsistence strategy.
Alternative Hypothesis: Owing to the temporal difference and accompanying
changes in knowledge, behavior, and technology between the two periods, there
are differences in some, if not all, health, dental disease, and activity-related
stress indicators.
Health variables:
* Dental disease: antemortem tooth loss (AMTL), carious lesions, abscesses
* Nonspecific stress: linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH), porotic hyperostosis (PH),
cribra orbitalia (CO), and long bone measures (humerus, femur, tibia)
* Activity: fractures, including spondylolysis
Observations of the skeletal material were
made at the National University of
Mongolia, where they are curated. Burials
of both the Xiongnu and Mongol period
samples analyzed here, following Buikstra
and Ubelaker [3], include those from
multiple sites located throughout Mongolia
(Fig. 2).
Results
Figure 2. Sites of skeletal samples from
the Xiongnu and Mongol periods
J. Eng directly observed 82 Xiongnu samples and 66 Mongol period samples for
multiple health variables, including long bone measurements (Fig. 3), while M.
Vanchigdash measured an additional 47 Xiongnu (n=28 M, 19 F) and 53 Mongol
(n=29 M, 24 F) femora for height data.
Observations of lesions were analyzed via Fisher’s Exact test. They included
comparisons within site (male vs. female), between site (total subadult and adult
samples) and between site by sex (e.g.,
samples),
(e g Xiongnu males vs
vs. Mongol males) (Table
2). There are no significant differences in any of these comparisons, and
subadults have no lesions except one case of LEH in a Mongol period subadult.
The p-values show how similar the frequencies are between males and females
within the Xiongnu sample (suggesting similar levels of dental disease and
childhood stress), and to a lesser extent within the Mongol sample; there is a
slightly higher frequency of AMTL and notably, abscesses among females (43%
vs. 0% in males, p = 0.06) of the Mongol period. The inter-site adult
comparisons show no significant differences, although there are more differences
in these comparisons than in intra-site comparisons.
Table 2. Intra- and Inter-site comparisons of health variables
XIONGNU
MONGOL
INTER-SITE
2-sided Xiongnu Mongol Subadult Male
p-value subadult subadult p‐value p-value
Female
p-value
Total
Adults
p-value
M
F
2-sided
p-value
M
F
AMTL
3/14
2/12
1
1/7
6/14
0.337
0/3
0/5
Cavity
1/15
0/12
1
0/8
0/13
1
0/2
0/5
Abscess
3/14
2/12
1
0/7
6/14
0.061
0/3
0/5
LEH
3/12
1/6
1
0/6
1/10
1
0/2
1/5
PH
0/11
0/12
1
0/4
0/7
1
0/1
0/2
Potential Biases
CO
0/9
0/11
1
0/2
1/12
1
0/1
0/3
Sex: Males outnumber females in the Xiongnu sample at 63% compared to
34%, but this is not quite at the level of significant difference (χ2=3.217,
p=0.07). In the Mongol period, the opposite is seen with 38% males and 62%
females, again not at the level of significance (χ2=1.619, p=0.20).
There are also no significant differences in adult long bone lengths (humerus,
femur, and tibia) when comparing the Xiongnu and Mongol samples (Table 3).
Figure 3. Demographic profile of samples
J. Eng observed for multiple health indicators
Variables
Age: A second potential source of bias is in the age composition within each
sample, as some pathological conditions, such as dental diseases are often
progressive, with older individuals more likely to show pathological changes.
Samples were determined to fall into the subadult (0-15 yrs) or three adult age
categories of Young Adult (YA=16-30), Middle Adult (MA=31-45), and Older
Adult (OA=45+), or the general category of Adult (A) when an age category
could not be assigned. There are some differences in age categories present for
the Xiongnu and Mongol period samples (Table 1). Both periods have
underrepresentation of subadults and both have more individuals in the Young
and Middle adult age categories. This is more marked for the Xiongnu sample
(YA), while the Mongol period has no males in the OA group.
Table 1. Demographic
g p
profile
p
of distribution of age
g and sex in Xiongnu
g and Mongol
g samples
p
Age group
M
Subadult
XIONGNU
Indet.
F
Sex Total %
9
11%
16
1
39%
2
20%
Young Ad
15
Middle Ad
14
Older Adult
10
5
Unk. Adult
7
2
1
MONGOL
Indet.
Sex Total %
12
18%
M
F
4
10
22%
8
6
22%
18%
0
7
11%
12%
8
10
28%
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0.216
0.326
0.417
1
1
0.521
0.216
0.505
0.515
1
0.340
1
1
1
1
1
0.412
Table 3. Comparison of adult long bone lengths
Long bone
Humerus
Femur
Tibia
Long bone
Humerus
Femur
Tibia
XIONGNU
N
Males
29
308.1
57
439.5
28
357
N
Females
20
294.4
34
407.28
18
328.1
MONGOL
N
Males
11
321.1
41
437.57
13
351.3
N
Females
21
288.1
46
404.41
21
323.1
t
-0.973
0.382
0.896
t
1.492
0.55
0.795
STATISTICS
df
38
96
39
df
39
78
37
Table 4. Fractures by location and statistical
comparison
Contact: jacqueline.eng@wmich.edu
1/22
0/15
Figure 4. Fractures seen in Xiongnu and Mongol period samples
Discussion & Future Research
It may b
be expected
t d th
thatt with
ith over a thousand
th
d year difference
diff
b
between
t
th
the
Xiongnu and Mongol periods, the two samples would have had some significant
differences in health indicators. For instance, there was transcontinental
exchange of knowledge of medicine, agriculture and cuisine, and technology
among other things during the Mongol period. Yet the results show no significant
differences in the frequencies of the health indicators over the two periods.
These results suggest that the shared subsistence pattern of nomadic
pastoralism, at least within these samples that still lived within Mongolia (and not
at urban centers) and who were likely not members of the upper elite, led to
similar experiences with respect to the health indicators analyzed here.
Results show shared risk of back injury and upper extremity fractures, common
today in horse riders [6,
[6 7],
7] as well as similar rates of dental disease,
disease likely owing
to continued consumption of the traditional pastoral diet [2]. Compared to the
within site analysis, which showed much similarity within group, there was more
variability in frequencies of stress indicators between the two periods, suggesting
some slight change over time, though that change was not significant.
p
0.337
0.704
0.376
p
0.144
0.584
0.432
Fractures
There are no fractures in the subadult samples. The total adult samples of the
Xiongnu and Mongol periods were compared for risk of fractures, which show no
significant differences (Table 4). The Xiongnu sample has higher frequencies of
cranial (1/22, 5%) and nasal (1/14, 7%) fractures while the Mongol sample has
no such instances, but with just one case each among the Xiongnu samples, the
implication
p
is unclear. Both samples
p
have a
INTER-SITE
few individuals with fractures at the clavicle,
Fracture
Xiongnu Mongol p-value
ribs, or hands (Fig 4).
Cranial
Spondylolysis
Horse riding places much force on the back [4, 5], which may lead to stress
fractures of the pars interarticularis of a vertebra (typically a lumbar), resulting in
spondylolysis that can further lead to spondylolisthesis (anterior displacement of
the vertebra). Five adults in the Xiongnu sample have spondylolysis, all on the
fifth lumber (L5), out of 57 adults (9%) with vertebrae for observation, while one
adult in the Mongol sample of 37 individuals (3%) with vertebrae has
spondylolysis at L3 (p=0.398). The majority of cases are males (4/6=66%: 4M
vs. 1 F in Xiongnu; 1 F in Mongol) and four cases (66%) are bilateral (Fig. 4).
1
Nasal
1/14
0/9
1
Long bone
5/69
2/49
0.698
Hand
1/30
2/26
0.592
Other PC
5/64
4/45
1
Spondylolysis
5/57
1/37
0.398
The sample size was limited, so more observations would strengthen
interpretations of the trends seen here. The comparison of these data to
populations from other time periods, e.g., Bronze Age before the nomadic
pastoral pattern, and to other pastoral populations would further expand our
knowledge of the impact of the nomadic pastoral pattern on health over time and
in different regions.
A k
Acknowledgements
l d
t
We thank Dr. Tumen Dashtseveg of NUM for her advice and access to collections and reports, staff and students at NUM
for logistical assistance, WMU’s Jason Glatz for assistance with the map, and Andrew Baker for help with data sorting.
Literature Cited
[1] Di Cosmo, N., Ancient China and Its Enemies. 2002, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[2] Allsen, T., Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia. 2001, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[3] Buikstra, J.E. and D.H. Ubelaker, Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains. 1994, Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological Survey.
[4] Ball, C.G., et al., Equestrian injuries: incidence, injury patterns, and risk factors for 10 years of major traumatic injuries. The American Journal of Surgery, 2007. 193(5): p.
636-640.
[5] Siebenga, J., et al., Spine fractures caused by horse riding. European Spine Journal, 2006. 15(4): p. 465-471.
[6] Halser, R.M., et al., Protective and risk factors in amateur equestrians and description of injury patterns: A retrospective data analysis and a case - control survey. Journal
of Trauma Management and Outcomes, 2011. 5.
[7] Havlik, H.S., Equestrian sport-related injuries: a review of current literature. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 2010. 9(5): p. 299-302.