Physical Anthropological And Molecular Archaeological Research On Ancient Populations In Western Liaoning Before Qin Dynasty

Because of its location as a transportation point, Western Liaoning was a key point for culture communication between Central Plains and northeastern region. Western Liaoning is located in the east end of the northern nomads belt along the Great Wall of China, which was the obvious boundary between Central Plains and frontier fortress. The region played an important role when human beings undergo barbarism to civilization and in the development of Chinese civilization and also in the contact between agricultural cultivation and nomadic economy, is one original region of Chinese civilization. It was the first frontier which the Cathay Civilization touched, and it became a melting region between the Cathay Civilization and frontier minority culture since Spring and Autumn and Warring Stage Period. Along with the change of environment and climate, the alternation of archaeological cultures, economic lifestyle and composition of the residents varied a lot before Qin Dynasty. Finding out the source and flow of the residents in Western Liaoning before Qin Dynasty is not only helpful to understand the relationship of the prehistory residents in this region, but also important for a thorough study of the complex archeological cultural exchange of the Western Liaoning before Qin Dynasty and the evolutionary history of the whole the northern nomads belt along the Great Wall of China. So, the source and flow of the residents in Western Liaoning has always been the focus of attention of archaeologists and anthropologists.This paper takes human skeletons in Western Liaoning before Qin Dynasty as the research object, combining both physical anthropological and molecular archeological methods to conduct a comprehensive inspection, starting from the human beings themselves, to figure out the residents before Qin Dynasty origin, flow, integration, differentiation in the region. For future research on archaeological cultural exchanges, inheritance, alternative, etc., it provides a solid foundation. Full text is divided into seven chapters:Chapter 1, "Preface": The chapter defines the spatial and temporal scales of this study. Western Liaoning "means the Yiwulv Mountain west to the north, on both sides of the Xar Moron River, including the Xar Moron River, the old Ha River, Daling River, Xiaoling River and their tributary areas"; although it is "the period before Qin Dynasty", however, the earliest era of the information only of late Hongshan Culture Niuheliang sites. At the same time, the archaeological cultures' outlined pedigree of the period before Qin Dynasty in Western Liaoning is provided. This chapter then conducts a brief introduction of physical anthropological research methods, molecular archeology and its experimental methods. Meantime, it explains the purpose and significance of this article.Chapter 2, "Research on ethnic types and genetic structure of residents of Hongshan Culture from the stone tombs in Niuheliang": This chapter preliminarily identified the ethnic types of the ancient ethnic group residents by using statistical methods to compare it with modern Asian Mongoloid racial types. Morphological features of the residents of Hongshan Culture at Niuheliang are of "Ancient North-East type". Comparing with modern populations, ancient population of the Stone Tombs in Hongshan, Niuheliang site had close relative relationship to east Asian populations particularly Chinese Han population. There existed the most recent matrilineal genetic relationship between ancient population of the Stone Tombs in Hongshan and Chinese Han.Chapter 3, "Research on ethnic types and genetic structure of residents of Xiaoheyan Culture from the Ha La Hai site": This chapter preliminarily identified the ethnic types of the ancient ethnic group residents by observation and measurement of the morphological characteristics and using statistical methods to compare it with modern Asian Mongoloid racial types. Morphological features of the residents of Xiaoheyan Culture at Ha La Hai site are of "Ancient North-East type". Genetic analysis result showed this ancient population had a close maternal genetic relationship with Chinese Korean people and Japanese people, as well as Chinese Southern, Northern Han population, and Ha La Hai graves are more likely to be a family cemetery.Chapter 4, "Research on ethnic types and genetic structure of residents of Lamadong Bronze Age burial": As the result of morphological features analysis, only one case of individual's morphological features of Lamadong Bronze Age residents shows a certain similarity to ancient race of "Ancient North China type"; and it may be from indigenous populations in Western Liaoning. Chapter 5, "Ethnographic research on the residents in Western Liaoning before Qin Dynasty": In this chapter combined with the previous physical anthropological research results in the large spatial and temporal scale of the period before Qin Dynasty Western Liaoning, the geographic distributions and genetic relationship of ancient inhabitants of different archaeological cultures and other related questions is discussed in depth. Studies have shown that in the Neolithic of Western Liaoning, the "Ancient North-East type" of residents should be the most primitive indigenous here. After entering into the Bronze Age, the "Ancient North China type" of residents from the surrounding areas of Western Liaoning entered into there and gradually replaced the old "Ancient North-East type" of residents becoming the main body of the population here. By the late Bronze Age, a flow of residents with high mobility and migratory ability from further north area went into the Western Liaoning, and its morphology was "Ancient Mongolian Plateau type", injected new elements to the ethnic composition of Western Liaoning. During this period, ancient residents of different ethnic types showed staggered distribution status in Western Liaoning. In short, during the period before Qin Dynasty in Western Liaoning residents had complex and germ-line sources, manifesting pluralism.Chapter 6, "Ancient DNA research on the residents in Western Liaoning before Qin Dynasty": This chapter firstly takes a few of Human bone materials of the period before Qin Dynasty in Western Liaoning as research objects for the study of mitochondrial DNA genetic structure. Conclusions are as follows:1), The Dadianzi Xiajiadian lower cultural residents had close matrilineal genetic relationship to Northeast Asia populations. But there was no synchronization relationship between their inner social class, physical characteristics and the maternally inherit;2), Three individual cases found in Dashanqian Xiajiadian lower cultural burial pits and Niuheliang site Xiajiadian lower cultural burial should have some genetics-based traits of ancestor model to modern East Asian populations, and had relatively close maternal genetic relationship with modern East Asian populations;3), The Dashanqian Xiajiadian upper Culture ash pits' residents and East Asian populations maintained the most close matriarchal genetic relationship. They played an important role in the formation and development of the modern Chinese Northern Han, Mongolian and South Korean. Through the analysis of their genetic relationship between individuals, from the perspective of molecular archeology, the ash pits of Dashanqian upper Xiajiadian culture were more likely "ritual pit", and worship as a family activity for many units as the offerings of martyrdom;4), The Dashanqian Warring State Period burials' residents and the Chinese Southern Han population remained relatively close maternally genetic relationship. Based on research in the previous chapters, combined with previous research, using of colony genetic analysis and phylogenetic analysis, adding the residents in Western Liaoning before Qin Dynasty to larger spatial and temporal scales, the research attempts to reconstruct the genetic structure of the residents in Western Liaoning before Qin Dynasty at a broader geographical area as in northern China. Through analyzing mitochondrial DNA lineage at different times and frequency distributions of different locations, the study reveals kinship among the residents of Western Liaoning and its neighborhoods, and on the molecular level explores the historical position, role and contribution of the residents in Western Liaoning in northern China before Qin Dynasty. The results show that the Neolithic people in Western Liaoning genetically simpler, they developed in the relatively independent environment. After entering the Bronze Age, improvement of productivity levels and the mobility of people gradually enhanced the gene flow between populations. Even to the Spring and Autumn and Warring Stage Period, a large number of people originated in North Asia entered into the Western Liaoning, which injected a new dimension into the gene polymorphism of Western Liaoning. Diversification of resident sources made the archaeological culture in Western Liaoning complicated and varied.Chapter 7, "Conclusion": Finally, it summarizes the work of the thesis, and notes some understandings of the effects of physical anthropology and molecular archaeology in archaeological researches, and also points out the locality that needs to perfect and further development orientation and stress.