Erdene Myagmar

We describe a case of Pott’s disease from the Liao Dynasty of the Khitan Empire (947–1125 A.D.) in Mongolia.A young adult male (AT-840) from the site of Ulaan Kherem, a fortified settlement in Central Mongolia, was assessed for evidence of skeletal pathology. Radiographs were taken of lytic lesions of the thorax to assist with diagnosing the etiology. A differential diagnosis was completed using standard and new threshold criteria. AT-840 presented with multiple lytic foci of the thoracic spine, complete destruction of the T9 vertebral body, and consequent ventral collapse. Multiple lytic foci of the rib heads were associated with new bone on the visceral surfaces of the rib shafts. A single lytic lesion was also observed on the inferior right pterygoid plate of the sphenoid bone. Differential diagnosis included mycosis, brucellosis, echinococcosis, and tuberculosis. The presence of tuberculosis at Ulaan Kherem may have been influenced by mobility within the empire, including trade, conflict, and nomadic pastoralism. This is the first documented evidence of tuberculosis in Mongolia and for the Liao Dynasty in East Asia. The case provides a unique opportunity to consider the impact of tuberculosis on the individual, the community, and its presence in the empire. No previous systematic paleopathological research on Khitan skeletal assemblages has been conducted prior. Therefore, population health data are unavailable to fully contextualize this individual’s disease. However, historical references exist. Pathogen DNA analysis will enable identification of the causative tuberculosis pathogen.   Монгол нутаг дахь эртний төрт улсуудын нэг Киданы (947–1125) үеийн бэхлэлт суурингийн дурсгал Булган аймгийн Баяннуур сумын нутагт орших Улаан Хэрэмийн малтлагаас илэрсэн идэр насны эрэгтэй хүний ясны олдвор (АТ-840)-т ажиглагдсан Поттийн (Сүрьеэ) өвчний тохиолдлын талаар энэхүү өгүүлэлд танилцуулж байна. Өвчнийг оношлоход цээжний хөндийн ясны эд хайлсан эмгэгийн рентген зураг, өвчлөлийн шинжүүдийг уламжлалт болон шинэ шалгуурын тусламжтай жиших аргыг ашиглав. АТ-840 олдворт сээрний нугалмууд болон хавиргануудын толгойд ясны эд хайлсан олон голомттой, сээрний 9-р нугалмын бие бүрэн хайлж, урд хэсэг нь үгүй болсон, хавиргануудын биеийн дотно гадаргуу дээр нэмэлт яс ургасан, суурь ясны баруун талын жигүүр сэртэнгийн дор ясны хайлалт явагдсан зэрэг шинжүүд ажиглагдаж байна. Энэ хүний өвчний оношийг бруцеллёз, мөгөөнцөртөх өвчин, туузан хорхойтох өвчин, сүрьеэ зэрэг өвчний шинжүүдийг харьцуулан жиших аргаар тодруулав. Улаан Хэрэмийн хүн амд сүрьеэ өвчин тохиолдоход нүүдлийн мал аж ахуйн хэв маяг, худалдаа арилжаа, дайн тулаан зэрэг эзэнт гүрний доторх шилжилт хөдөлгөөн зохих нөлөө үзүүлсэн байх магадлалтай. Энэхүү тохиолдол нь Монголын эртний хүн амын төдийгүй Зүүн Азийн Киданы үеийн сүрьеэ өвчний анхны бүртгэгдсэн баримт болох юм. Уг баримт нь Киданы эзэнт гүрэнд сүрьеэ өвчин байсан гэдгийг нотлон харуулахаас гадна энэ өвчин хувь хүн, тухайн цаг үеийн нийт хүн амд хэрхэн нөлөөлж байсныг судлах боломжийг олгож байна. Хэдийгээр түүхийн сурвалж мэдээ байдаг ч Киданы үед холбогдох хүний яснуудад палеопатологийн системтэй судалгаа өнөөг хүртэл хийгдээгүй байгаа учраас түүхэн тухайн үеийн нийт хүн амын эрүүл мэндийн байдлыг ганц тохиолдолд тулгуурлан тайлбарлах нь хангалтгүй билээ. Цаашид уг хүний эмгэг төрөгчийн ДНХ-г судалснаар түүний сүрьеэгийн үүсгэгчийг тодорхойлох боломжтой юм.

The Tavan Tolgoi (Five Holy Hills) site, located in Ongon sum, Sukhbaatar aimag, in southeastern Mongolia, consists of about 20 burials. During the preliminary 2004 excavations conducted by the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, National University of Mongolia, 7 graves were unearthed. In grave 1 (2004), the skeleton of a woman 40 yr old, wearing golden rings with the inscription of a Siberian falcon, was found together with other ornamental artifacts. In grave 2 (2004), a man with a gold-gilded saddle and a horse were buried. Adornments strongly indicate that these burials date to the Great Mongol Empire period and may relate to the Golden Horde lineage of Genghis Khan. Initial accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of wood from a coffin at burial 2004–6 (Table 1) gave an age of 860 ± 60 BP, and the age of a human bone sample from burial 2004–1 was determined as 890 ± 40 BP. Subsequent excavations yielded 13 samples for 14C dating, and 7 of them have been d...

New data about animals obtained by Mongolian paleoanthropologists, National University of Mongolia and Russian archaeologist, Institute of Mongolian, Buddist and Tibetan studies, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences were obtained under the direction of Professors Dashzeveg Tumen and Myagmar Erdene. The faunistic materials were excavated from localities of different origins including burial grounds, old cities, and Neolithic sites in different areas of Mongolia. Species composition of the large mammal fauna included two species and, the small mammal fauna was represented by two species of lagomorphs, and six species of rodents which are also components of the recent fauna of Mongolia.

We describe a case of Pott’s disease from the Liao Dynasty of the Khitan Empire (947–1125 A.D.) in Mongolia. A young adult male (AT-840) from the site of Ulaan Kherem, a fortified settlement in Central Mongolia, was assessed for evidence of skeletal pathology. Radiographs were taken of lytic lesions of the thorax to assist with diagnosing the etiology. A differential diagnosis was completed using standard and new threshold criteria. AT-840 presented with multiple lytic foci of the thoracic spine, complete destruction of the T9 vertebral body, and consequent ventral collapse. Multiple lytic foci of the rib heads were associated with new bone on the visceral surfaces of the rib shafts. A single lytic lesion was also observed on the inferior right pterygoid plate of the sphenoid bone. Differential diagnosis included mycosis, brucellosis, echinococcosis, and tuberculosis. The presence of tuberculosis at Ulaan Kherem may have been influenced by mobility within the empire, including trade...

Mongolia is located in a strategic position at the eastern edge of the Eurasian Steppe. Nomadic populations moved across this wide area for millennia before developing more sedentary communities, extended empires, and complex trading networks, which connected western Eurasia and eastern Asia until the late Medieval period. We provided a fine-grained portrait of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation observed in present-day Mongolians and capable of revealing gene flows and other demographic processes that took place in Inner Asia, as well as in western Eurasia. The analyses of a novel dataset (N = 2,420) of mtDNAs highlighted a clear matrilineal differentiation within the country due to a mixture of haplotypes with eastern Asian (EAs) and western Eurasian (WEu) origins, which were differentially lost and preserved. In a wider genetic context, the prevalent EAs contribution, larger in eastern and central Mongolian regions, revealed continuous connections with neighboring Asian popul...

The deep population history of East Asia remains poorly understood due to a lack of ancient DNA data and sparse sampling of present-day people. We report genome-wide data from 191 individuals from Mongolia, northern China, Taiwan, the Amur River Basin and Japan dating to 6000 BCE – 1000 CE, many from contexts never previously analyzed with ancient DNA. We also report 383 present-day individuals from 46 groups mostly from the Tibetan Plateau and southern China. We document how 6000-3600 BCE people of Mongolia and the Amur River Basin were from populations that expanded over Northeast Asia, likely dispersing the ancestors of Mongolic and Tungusic languages. In a time transect of 89 Mongolians, we reveal how Yamnaya steppe pastoralist spread from the west by 3300-2900 BCE in association with the Afanasievo culture, although we also document a boy buried in an Afanasievo barrow with ancestry entirely from local Mongolian hunter-gatherers, representing a unique case of someone of entirel...

SummaryThe Eastern Eurasian Steppe was home to historic empires of nomadic pastoralists, including the Xiongnu and the Mongols. However, little is known about the region’s population history. Here we reveal its dynamic genetic history by analyzing new genome-wide data for 214 ancient individuals spanning 6,000 years. We identify a pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca. 3000 BCE, and by the Late Bronze Age, Mongolian populations were biogeographically structured into three distinct groups, all practicing dairy pastoralism regardless of ancestry. The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions. By comparison, the Mongols exhibit much higher Eastern Eurasian ancestry, resembling present-day Mongolic-speaking populations. Our results illuminate the complex interplay between genetic, sociopolitical, and cultural changes on the Eastern Steppe.

SummaryThe Eastern Eurasian Steppe was home to historic empires of nomadic pastoralists, including the Xiongnu and the Mongols. However, little is known about the region’s population history. Here we reveal its dynamic genetic history by analyzing new genome-wide data for 214 ancient individuals spanning 6,000 years. We identify a pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca. 3000 BCE, and by the Late Bronze Age, Mongolian populations were biogeographically structured into three distinct groups, all practicing dairy pastoralism regardless of ancestry. The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions. By comparison, the Mongols exhibit much higher Eastern Eurasian ancestry, resembling present-day Mongolic-speaking populations. Our results illuminate the complex interplay between genetic, sociopolitical, and cultural changes on the Eastern Steppe.

Recent studies show that, in the 3rd millennium BC, the highlands in the basin of the upper reaches of the Khovd (Kobdo) River constituted a ritual zone, which was of particular importance for the population inhabiting the western foothills of the Mongolian Altai Mountains. Its cultural singularity was due to the so-called Chemurchek cultural phenomenon — a set of characteristics of West European origin, which appeared there no later than 2700–2600 BC. Three large-scale ritual complexes-‘shrines’ attributed to this period were discovered in the area of Lake Dayan Nuur. Excavations conducted by the expedition of A.A. Kovalev and Ch. Munkhbayar revealed that these structures constituted fences consisting of vertical stone slabs, decorated all-over on the outside with the images of fantastic anthropomorphic creatures and animals. The excavation of Hulagash 1 (one of these sanctu-aries), radiocarbon dated to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, revealed a single grave in the centre of t...

Recent paleogenomic studies have shown that migrations of Western steppe herders (WSH) beginning in the Eneolithic (ca. 3300–2700 BCE) profoundly transformed the genes and cultures of Europe and central Asia. Compared with Europe, however, the eastern extent of this WSH expansion is not well defined. Here we present genomic and proteomic data from 22 directly dated Late Bronze Age burials putatively associated with early pastoralism in northern Mongolia (ca. 1380–975 BCE). Genome-wide analysis reveals that they are largely descended from a population represented by Early Bronze Age hunter-gatherers in the Baikal region, with only a limited contribution (∼7%) of WSH ancestry. At the same time, however, mass spectrometry analysis of dental calculus provides direct protein evidence of bovine, sheep, and goat milk consumption in seven of nine individuals. No individuals showed molecular evidence of lactase persistence, and only one individual exhibited evidence of >10% WSH ancestry, ...

SummaryThe Eastern Eurasian Steppe was home to historic empires of nomadic pastoralists, including the Xiongnu and the Mongols. However, little is known about the region’s population history. Here we reveal its dynamic genetic history by analyzing new genome-wide data for 214 ancient individuals spanning 6,000 years. We identify a pastoralist expansion into Mongolia ca. 3000 BCE, and by the Late Bronze Age, Mongolian populations were biogeographically structured into three distinct groups, all practicing dairy pastoralism regardless of ancestry. The Xiongnu emerged from the mixing of these populations and those from surrounding regions. By comparison, the Mongols exhibit much higher Eastern Eurasian ancestry, resembling present-day Mongolic-speaking populations. Our results illuminate the complex interplay between genetic, sociopolitical, and cultural changes on the Eastern Steppe.

The pelvis is a distinctive part in the human body for its unique structure and function. Evolutionarily, the human pelvis adapted to two processes, which shaped its morphology - erect posture and birthing. Numbers of researches are dedicated to the human pelvic dimorphism. Researchers agree that certain measures and traits of the pelvis are dimorphic (Tague, 1992; Kolesova, 2011), there are still remains disagreement in the identification of other pelvic measures (Betti, 2014).
In this paper we aimed two issues. First, an evaluation of sex differences and age changes in pelvic bones – os coxae, sacrum and pelvis in the archaeological populations from Mongolia. Second, examination of parturition scars in the archaeological populations from Mongolia, its relationship with sex and age.
Skeletal remains from Xiongnu (2nd BC to 2nd AD) and Mongol Empire (13-14 c AD) periods, curated at the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, National University of Mongolia, are used in the present study. The sample consisted of 140 individuals and included 63 females and 77 males.
The results of the study show some sexual difference in the pelvic morphology of the archaeological populations from Mongolia. Hipbone is significantly larger in males, whereas sacral and pelvic measurements are mostly larger in females. The most visible difference was seen in pelvic biacetabular and bispineous diameters. Compared to female pelvis, male pelvis is relatively taller and inlet is relatively longer in anteroposterior perspective.
High sexual and age association of occurrence of the dorsal pubic pitting in females may suggest that pregnancy might be the cause of its formation, whereas in males this scarring might be caused by trauma or disease. For the preauricular groove, the presence of this scarring in both sexes might be caused by the different factors, or by different act of the common factors, which may be related to age-related changes in activity patterns and gender related labour division division in nomadic society.

Cranial nonmetric variation is quite popular in analyzing osteological remains at the population level and has successfully been used to evaluate the evolutionary relations and biological affinities among ancient and contemporary populations from different regions in the world. In this paper we present the results of comparative cranial non-metric study of human remains from different historical periods unearthed in Mongolia, China, South Siberia, Buryatia and Baikal Lake region to see biological relationship of archaeological populations inhabited Inner Asia during Neolithic, Bronze, Iron Age and Medieval period. 
Results of the comparative study show general differentiation between populations from eastern Mongolia and Inner Mongolia on one hand, and populations from Xingjian, Altai, South Siberia, Buryatia and western Mongolia on the other hand. Cluster analyses showed a picture of very heterogeneous population structure of inhabitants from Southern Siberia, Altai and Western Mongolia during Eoneolithic, Bronze and Early Iron Ages and very close characteristics for Xiongnu populations from Altai and Mongolia. Comparative analysis of medieval and contemporary populations from Baikal, Buryatia, Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and Northeast Asia show more or less compact picture. Nevertheless, we can observe some tendencies in their biological affinities.