A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe

The 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

New Data on Small Mammals of Neolithic Sites and Burial Grounds in Mongolia

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

Changes in the chemical structure of thermally treated wood

Changes in the chemical structure of hornbeam and uludag fir woods during thermal treatment were investigated at three temperatures (170, 190, and 210 °C) and three durations (4, 8, and 12 hours). After thermal treatment, the extents of degradation in the chemical structure of the samples were determined, and the effects on the chemical composition of hornbeam wood and uludag fir wood were investigated. The data obtained were analyzed using variance analysis, and Tukey's test was used to determine the changes in the chemical structure of uludag fir and hornbeam woods. The results showed that heating wood permanently changes several of its chemical structures and that the changes are mainly caused by thermal degradation of wood polymers. It was found that decreasing of the cellulose and holocelluloses ratio had a favorable effect on the interaction of the wood with moisture. According to the obtained results, hornbeam wood is affected more than uludag fir wood. For each wood, the maximum decreases of holocellulose and ?-cellulose were found at 210°C for 12 hours, and the maximum increase of lignin occurred at the same treatment combination

Dental and Facial Morphology of the Human Skeletons Unearthed at the Chandman Site in Western Mongolia

チャンドマン遺跡はモンゴル西部に位置し, その年代は青銅器時代を主とする. 当遺跡から出土した人骨について, 歯と顔面の形態に関する人類学的研究をおこなった. その結果, 歯と顔面の形態のいずれからも, チャンドマン遺跡人はコーカソイド的特徴がやや強いものの, モンゴロイド系とコーカソイド系の混りあった集団であることが明らかになった