Idris Abdurusul
(Honorary Director, Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology)Latest Developments in Multidisciplinary Research on Xiaohe Culture
Located in the southwest of Lop Desert, the Xiaohe tombs are the most representative Lop desert bronze age site, dating back 3,500 to 4,000 years. The dry climate has meant that many of the graves remain much as they were at the time of burial. Not only have
the anthropological remains, such as the coffins, bodies, and
grave goods, been fairly well preserved, but the majority of the agrarian artefacts that were linked with human lives (animals, plants, grains etc.) have also survived. The tombs’ wealth of
anthropological and environmental data has attracted a great
deal of attention from Chinese and international scholars alike.
In addition, recent surveys have shown that Xiaohe cultural
relics are also found in the Taklamakan desert, thus broadening
the geographical parameters of research into the early Bronze
Age in Xinjiang Since 2006, the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology, in collaboration with the Research Institute for the Humanities and Nature (Japan), Jilin University Research Centre for Chinese Border Archaeology, and the Peking University School of Archaeology and Museology, have carried out DNA analysis and animal morphology on samples of grain and livestock excavated from the Xiaohe site. They have also collated samples of natural stratigraphic sections from
around selected grave sites and carried out palaeo-environmental analysis. The results of the preliminary research indicate that:
the grain found at Xiaohe was common wheat (Triticum aestivum), originating in the Near East; the genetic structure of the
domesticated cattle is extremely closely related to those of Near Eastern cattle, suggesting that the presence of domestic cattle in Xiaohe is likely to be the result of their spread from western
Eurasia. Sedimentary analysis has proven that: the living
environment of the Xiaohe people was one of continual, intense sandstorms, and the period in which Xiaohe culture flourished was also one of relatively plentiful fresh water supplies. Furthermore, the DNA analysis of human bones from the Xiaohe graves carried out by Jilin University RCCFA has made important progress.
The results show that the genetic make-up of the Xiaohe
people was extremely complex, including European, North Asian, Central-Western Asian, East Asian and South Asian elements.
伊弟利斯·阿不都热苏勒
(美国华盛顿大学圣路易斯分校) “小河文化及其多学科研究的最新进展”
深处罗布泊西南荒漠的小河墓地，是罗布泊地区青铜时代最具代表性的遗存，墓地年代约在距今3500~4000年左右。干燥少雨的气候环境，使得墓地相当一部分墓葬还保存着埋藏时的原貌，除棺木、尸体、随葬品等人工遗物、遗迹保存较好外, 大量与人类活动密切相关的自然遗物（动物、植物标本）、遗迹等也得以良好保存。墓地丰富的人文信息、环境信息，引起了国内外学术界的极大关注。另外，据最新调查，小河文化遗存在塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地也有分布，无疑大大拓展了新疆青铜时代早期文化研究的视野。
2006年至今，新疆文物考古研究所与日本综合
地球环境学研究所、吉林大学考边疆考古中心、北京大学考古文博学院合作, 对小河墓地出土小
麦及牛、羊等样本进行了DNA分析、动物形态学分析，并选择墓地附近自然地层剖面采集样
品进行古环境分析。初步的研究成果表明：小河的小麦均为普通小麦，起源于近东地区；小河牛均为黄牛，其遗传构成与近东牛非常接近，暗示驯化牛在小河的存在很可能是西部欧亚地区驯化牛向东传播的结果。沉积物的分析证明，小河人的生存环境一直有较为强烈的风沙活动，小河文化繁盛的阶段也是这一地区淡水资源比较充分的时段。另外，吉林大学边疆考古中心对小河墓
地出土人骨的DNA分析也取得了重要的进展，
分析结果表明小河人群的遗传构成非常复杂，
包括欧洲成分、北亚成分、中西亚成分、东亚成分和南亚成分。 |
