Scientists from an international team have conducted a groundbreaking genetic investigation of two ancient cemeteries located along the western frontier of the Xiongnu empire (Wall of China) in present-day Mongolia. The findings, published in the prestigious journal Science Advances, shed light on the genetic diversity and social dynamics of this ancient empire and provide new insights into its cultural complexities.

The researchers sequenced the genomes of 17 individuals buried in two cemeteries – a cemetery for the aristocratic elite at Takhiltyn Khotgor and a cemetery for the local elite at Shombuuzyn Belchir. The genetic analysis revealed an “extremely high” level of genetic diversity among the individuals, indicating that the Xiongnu empire was likely composed of multiple ethnicities, cultures, and languages. This challenges the previously held belief that the empire was a homogenous entity.

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The genetic diversity was found to exist within individual communities, suggesting that the Xiongnu empire was not simply a patchwork of homogenous groups, but rather a complex and dynamic society that incorporated diverse groups through strategies such as marriage and kinship ties.

“We now have a better idea of how the Xiongnu expanded their empire by incorporating disparate groups and leveraging marriage and kinship into empire building,” said senior author Choongwon Jeong, an associate professor of biological sciences at Seoul National University.

Interestingly, the graves with the highest status were found to belong to women, indicating that women held significant power and influence in Xiongnu society. Elaborate coffins adorned with golden sun and moon emblems, which were Xiongnu symbols of power, were discovered in these graves, along with remains of six horses and a chariot in one tomb.

These findings suggest that elite women in Xiongnu society possessed not only material wealth to display their status, but also had the ability to wield power and influence, such as through hosting politicized feasts.

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“These elite women possessed the materials not only for displaying their status (e.g., belts and necklaces) but also for enacting power, such as prestigious wares for hosting politicized feasts,” explained Bryan Miller, project archaeologist for the study and assistant professor of Central Asian art and archaeology at the University of Michigan.

The study also provided insights into the lives of Xiongnu children. Adolescent boys, like men, were buried with bows and arrows, while boys younger than 11 were not. This differential mortuary treatment based on age and sex sheds light on the age at which gender and status were ascribed in Xiongnu society, according to study senior author Christina Warinner, associate professor of anthropology at Harvard University and group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

The research findings also challenge previous misconceptions about the Xiongnu and other nomadic cultures that originated on the Eurasian steppes. Many of the historical records about the Xiongnu and similar cultures come from texts written by imperial China and ancient Greece, where these nomadic herders were often viewed as inferior. The genetic evidence from the study provides a more nuanced understanding of the social fabric and society of the Xiongnu, offering a fresh perspective on this ancient civilization.

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“I am excited to see more studies of this kind in the future,” said Ursula Brosseder, prehistorical archaeologist at the University of Bonn, who was not involved in the study. “Since I was one of the people who pointed out that mature women were buried with the most prestigious items, I am excited to see that genetics corroborates this view.”

The Xiongnu, though a dynasty and not a specific people, left a powerful legacy that influenced later nomadic regimes, such as the Mongols and Genghis Khan, who established their own empires centuries later.

CNN