Map of Mongolia and surroundingsChronological table of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages of Mongolia.[2]
The Slab-grave culture is an archaeological culture of Late Bronze Age (LBA) and Early Iron AgeMongolia.[3][4] The Slab-grave culture formed one of the primary ancestral components of the succeeding Xiongnu, as revealed by genetic evidence. The ethnogenesis of Turkic peoples and the modern Mongolian people is, at least partially, linked to the Slab-grave culture by historical and archaeological evidence[5][6] and further corroborated by genetic research on Slab-grave remains.[7][8]
The Slab-grave culture is dated from 1300 (Transbaikal) resp. 700 (Mongolia) to 300 BC.[9] The origin of the Slab-grave culture is not definitively known, however, genetic evidence is consistent with multiple hypotheses of a local origin dating back to at least the Bronze Age.[10] In particular, the people of the Ulaanzuukh culture and the Slab-grave culture are closely linked to the westward expansion of Neolithic Amur ancestry associated with Ancient Northeast Asians (ANA).[11] The genetic profiles of individuals from the Ulaanzuukh LBA and the Slab-grave culture are identical, which is in agreement with the archaeological hypothesis that the Slab-grave culture emerged from the Ulaanzuukh.[12]
To the west and northwest, the Slab-grave culture was adjacent to, and essentially contemporaneous with, the Deer stones culture of primarily Khövsgöl LBA ancestry, and various Saka cultures such as the Tagar culture, the Pazyryk culture and the Aldy-Bel culture for a period of several centuries.[2][13] The Slab-grave culture was superseded by the Xiongnu culture, which formed a vast empire stretching across much of the Eurasian world, and saw the hybridization of Scytho-Siberian and Eastern Steppe populations and cultures.
The most recent graves date from the 6th century BC, and the earliest monuments of the next in time Xiongnu culture belong to the 2nd century BC.[citation needed]
The slab graves are both individual and collective in groups of 5–8 to large burials with up to 350 fences. Large cemeteries have a clear plan. In Aga Buryat District were found more than three thousand fences. Most of the graves are burials, some are ritual fences – cenotaphs. Graves are oriented along west-east axis. Deceased are laid on the back, with the head to the east.
The fences vary from 1.5 m to 9.6 m, a height of the slabs vary from 0,5 m to 3 m. The grave pits under some kurgan mounds are covered with slabs that often are of considerable sizes. The depth of the burial pits vary from 0,6 m to 2,5–3 meters, in deep graves the side slabs were stacked and covered with several slab layers. In places within the fence sometimes were installed deer stones, single slabs with images of deer, less frequently of the horses, accompanied with solar signs and armaments.
A burial complex on the Lami mountain in the Nerchinsk area consisted of graves about 30 meters in length, divided into 4 sections. Not plundered fence was covered by several slabs each weighing up to half a ton. Under cover slabs was an altar with skulls of horses, cows and sheep. Below were five burial chambers for inhumation.
Most of the graves were looted. The buried clothing and footwear is colorful, with various ornaments of bronze, bone and stone: plaques, buttons, necklaces, pendants, mirrors, cowrie shells. The accompanying tools are rare: Needles and needle beds, knives and axes-celts. Even less common are weapons: arrowheads, daggers, bow end caps. In some graves are horse harnesses, whip handles. There are bronze objects, fewer iron and precious metals.
Jars are round-bottom earthenware, some tripods. Vessel ornament are impressions, rolled bands, indentations. The art of the slab-grave culture belongs to the "animal style" art that depicts domesticated and wild animals, daily life and main occupations. The slab-grave culture art has many common features with cultures of Southern Siberia: Karasuk, Tagar, and others.
Graves in Baikal area
Thousands of graves can now be seen in the southern Baikal area. In some cases they form a cemetery, with a clear plan and a strict order. For example, at lake Balzino about a hundred graves formed circles and rectangles. They are usually located at higher elevation, and exposed to sun. Monumental burials mark the greatness of the people who once lived there. They became an integral part of the East Baikal steppes cultural and historical landscape. Slab-grave burials frequently reused stone material from nearby Deer stones culture sites.[14] The replacement of the Deer stones culture by the Slab-grave culture in central and eastern Mongolia around 700 BCE might mark a replacement of Caucasoid physical types by Mongoloid ones in the region.[15] To the west, the Deer stone culture was replaced by, or evolved into, the various Saka cultures, such as the Uyuk culture and the Chandman culture and the Pazyryk culture.[16]
Slab grave. Exhibit in Ethnography Museum of E. Baikal peoples. Relocated from Horin region of Buryatia
From around 700 BCE, in the Early Iron Age, the Slab-grave culture () expanded into central Mongolia and took over Deer stones sites. In southern Siberia and western Mongolia, the Classical Saka culture () started to flourish.
qpAdm model of Ulaanzuukh and Slab Grave remains: Ulaanzuukh and SlabGrave individuals are modeled as the mixture between Ancient Northeast Asian (ANA/Amur_N), represented by eastMongolia_preBA in this study, and Khövsgöl_LBA (Baikal_EBA HG).
Autosomal genetic evidence from several Slab-grave remains suggests that they were largely derived from Ancient Northeast Asians (ANA), specifically from Neolithic Amur populations.[17] They largely replaced the previous Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Baikal hunter-gatherers, although geneflow between them has been proposed, particularly between a Neolithic Eastern Mongolian population (East_Mongolia_preBA) with primarily Amur_N-like ancestry and a local Late Bronze Age population (Khövsgöl_LBA) associated with the Deer stones culture.[18] While the majority of Slab Grave remains were of primarily Neolithic Amur ancestry, some Slab Grave remains displayed admixed ancestry between Neolithic Amur and pre-existing Khövsgöl/Baikal hunter-gatherers, consistent with the proposed expansion of Ulaanzuukh/Slab Grave ancestry north and westwards and archaeological evidence.[18] Local Neolithic to Bronze Age Baikal hunter-gatherers and Khövsgöl herders associated with the Deer Stones culture themselves were of primarily Ancient Northern East Asian ancestry, and are inferred to have expanded prior to the dispersal of Neolithic Amur-associated groups from further East. As the Khövsgöl herders harbored only limited Western admixture (4-7%) from Sintashta or Afanasievo sources, it is argued that the adaption of dairy pastoralism was via cultural transmission rather than by admixture.[19]
Genetic data indicates that the Slab Grave culture, in conjunction with the Chandman culture, gave rise to the succeeding Xiongnu confederation. Although early Xiongnu displayed a substructured genetic makeup, a differentiation based on social class is possible: While retainers of low status mainly displayed ancestry related to the Chandman/Uyuk culture or various combinations of Chandman/Uyuk and Ancient Northeast Asian Ulaanzuukh/Slab Grave profiles, high status Xiongnu individuals tended to have less genetic diversity, and their ancestry was essentially derived from the Ulaanzuukh/Slab Grave culture.[20]
The ruling clan of the Turkic peoples, the Ashina tribe, was found to display close genetic affinities with the Slab Grave and Ulaanzuukh culture remains.[21]
Paternal haplogroups
All eight currently sequenced Slab-grave males have been identified as belonging to East Eurasian paternal haplogroups.[22][23] The predominant Y-DNA haplogroup in Slab-grave males has been identified as Q (5/8 Q-M120 and 1/8 Q-L330), with a minority belonging to N-M231 (2/8).[24]
The transition from the Slab-grave culture period to the Xiongnu period was characterized as a massive increase of West Eurasian paternal ancestry, rising from 0% to 46%, which was not accompanied by increased West Eurasian maternal ancestry. This may be consistent with an aggressive expansion of males with West Eurasian paternal ancestry, or possibly marriage alliances that favored such people. According to Rogers and Kaestle (2022), these two scenarios are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but more data is needed to concisely explain why such an increase took place.[25]
Maternal haplogroups
Slab-grave maternal lineages were more diverse, with 64-72% being of East Eurasian origin (such as A, B, C, D, F, M, G, and Z), while approximately 28-36% were of West Eurasian origin (such as K, J, and H).[26][27]
East Eurasian maternal lineages in the Slab-grave population can be easily traced to Transbaikalian neolithic agriculturalists. On the other hand, West Eurasian maternal lineages are believed to have complex origins, with many tracing back to ancient hunter gatherers who mixed with early agriculturalists in the early Holocene period, or to middle eastern agriculturalists who expanded eastward after the advent of sheep herding. Others could be linked to much later Bronze Age populations such as Afanasievo or Scythians. The complex diversity of West Eurasian ancestral lineages in the Slab-grave population makes it difficult to pinpoint their exact origin.[28][29]
Grishin S. "Bronze and early Iron Age of the E.Baikal", Moscow, 1975
Konstantinov A.V., Konstantinova N.N. "History of E. Baikal (from ancient times to 1917)", Chita-2002.
Kirillov O.I., Stavpetskaya M.N., "Religious and ritual structures of E.Baikal pastoralists in 1st millennia BC", //Young Archaeology and Ethnology oid Siberia, Chita, 1999, Vol. 1.
Kiselev S.V., "Mongolia in ancient times", "Bulletin of USSR Akademy", Series History and Philosophy, 1947, Vol. 4
Okladnikov A.P., Kirillov I.I., "South-East E.Baikal in the Stone Age and Early Bronze Age", Novosibirsk, 1980
Tsibiktarov A.D. "Slab Grave Culture graves of Mongolia and E.Baikal", Ulan-Ude, 1998
D. Tumen. Anthropology of Archaeological Populations from Northeast Asia :user.dankook.ac.kr/~oriental/Journal/pdf_new/49/11.pdf
References
^Fitzhugh 2009b, p. 80, In Mongolia square burials begin almost exactly when the use of deer stones and khirigsuurs ceases, about cal. 2700 B.P., and continue well into the Scythian period (Honeychurch, personal communication 2008)..
^Fitzhugh 2009b, p. 80, In Mongolia square burials begin around when the use of deer stones and khirigsuurs ceases, about cal. 2700 B.P., and continue well into the Scythian period (Honeychurch, personal communication 2008)..
^Fitzhugh 2009b, pp. 72–88, "In contrast to DSK sites, SB sites have copious artifact and faunal deposits, but like DSK sites their human remains are often poorly preserved. Deer stones scavenged from DSK sites were often used as retaining walls and corner posts in slab burials and were sometimes inserted upside-down, showing little respect for DSK traditions. In many cases slab burials are found on the outer edges of DSK complexes, positioned beyond the last-constructed horse mounds. It appears that the purpose was to both mine DSK sites for building materials as well as to incorporate some element of DSK sacred power and prestige, perhaps to gain favor among a resident local population. (...) In Mongolia square burials begin almost exactly when the use of deer stones and khirigsuurs ceases, about cal. 2700 B.P., and continue well into the Scythian period (Honeychurch, personal communication 2008). In Russian Transbaikal, however, dates for the SB complex begin as early as 3300 B.P. As in Mongolia, many of these burials use re-purposed deer stones (Cybiktarov 2003:90).".
^Fitzhugh 2009b, pp. 80–81, Both Russian and Mongolian dates suggest that slab burial appearance is time-transgressive northeast-to-southwest, and Russian scholars believe this shift is accompanied by a replacement of Caucasoid by Mongoloid physical types (Cybiktarov 2003:84)..
^ abLee, Juhyeon; Miller, Bryan K.; Bayarsaikhan, Jamsranjav; Johannesson, Erik; Ventresca Miller, Alicia; Warinner, Christina; Jeong, Choongwon (14 April 2023). "Genetic population structure of the Xiongnu Empire at imperial and local scales". Science Advances. 9 (15): eadf3904. Bibcode:2023SciA....9F3904L. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adf3904. ISSN2375-2548. PMC10104459. PMID37058560. Likely arising out of the LBA Ulaanzuukh archaeological culture (ca. 1450 to 1150 BCE) in eastern Mongolia, Slab Grave groups expanded into central and northern Mongolia as far north as the Lake Baikal region (7, 14, 64). Overall, individuals from the Ulaanzuukh and the Slab Grave cultures present a homogeneous genetic profile that has deep roots in the region and is referred to as Ancient Northeast Asian (ANA) (14). ... This pattern, in which most Slab Grave individuals are genetically homogeneous while some have a large and heterogeneous ancestry fraction deriving from a Khovsgol_LBA-like gene pool, is likely due to population mixing in their recent past and is consistent with archaeological evidence that the Slab Grave culture expanded into central and northern Mongolia and replaced the preceding inhabitants in the region with a low level of mixing (65).
^Lee, Juhyeon; Miller, Bryan K.; Bayarsaikhan, Jamsranjav; Johannesson, Erik; Ventresca Miller, Alicia; Warinner, Christina; Jeong, Choongwon (14 April 2023). "Genetic population structure of the Xiongnu Empire at imperial and local scales". Science Advances. 9 (15): eadf3904. Bibcode:2023SciA....9F3904L. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adf3904. ISSN2375-2548. PMC10104459. PMID37058560. Overall, we find that genetic heterogeneity is highest among lower-status individuals. In particular, the satellite graves surrounding the elite square tombs at TAK show extreme levels of genetic heterogeneity, suggesting that these individuals, who were likely low-ranking retainers, were drawn from diverse parts of the empire. In contrast, the highest-status individuals at the two sites tended to have lower genetic diversity and a high proportion of ancestry deriving from EIA Slab Grave groups, suggesting that these groups may have disproportionately contributed to the ruling elite during the formation of the Xiongnu empire.
^Yang, Xiao-Min; Meng, Hai-Liang; Zhang, Jian-Lin; Yu, Yao; Allen, Edward; Xia, Zi-Yang; Zhu, Kong-Yang; Du, Pan-Xin; Ren, Xiao-Ying; Xiong, Jian-Xue; Lu, Xiao-Yu; Ding, Yi; Han, Sheng; Liu, Wei-Peng; Jin, Li (November 2023). "Ancient genome of Empress Ashina reveals the Northeast Asian origin of Göktürk Khanate". Journal of Systematics and Evolution. 61 (6): 1056–1064. doi:10.1111/jse.12938. ISSN1674-4918. S2CID255690237. In addition, Ashina showed close genetic affinity with population related to Bronze Age Slab Grave and Ulaanzukh culture in Mongolia.
^Rogers & Kaestle 2022: "There are Y-chromosome data for only eight male slab burial individuals: four of which are from central Mongolia, two from the west central province of Khovsgol and two from the eastern regions, and all these individuals carry eastern Y-chromosome haplotypes (Jeong et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020). While this sample is small, in comparison 28.57% of the mtDNA gene pool consisted of western hgs. By the Xiongnu period the male burial population (n = 32) carried 46.88% western Y-chromosome types with a total western mtDNA component of 27.59% (Jeong et al., 2020; Keyser-Tracqui et al., 2003; Wang et al., 2020). This suggests that by the beginning of the slab burial mortuary tradition, there had already been an east–west mixed population. While during the slab burial period (ca.1100–300 BCE) eastern patrilines seem to have been dominant, in the Xiongnu period about half of the population had western patrilines with virtually no change to the mtDNA gene pool in east–west terms. If sex bias migration patterns were similar with those found in Europe, this increase of western patrilines would be consistent with aggressive expansion of people with western male ancestry (Batini et al., 2017); however, such a pattern could also be due to a gradual nonaggressive assimilation, such as the practice of marriage alliances associated with an expansion of trade or cultural networks that favored people with western patrilines...During the Xiongnu period, there seemed to have been a major increase of western patrilines, mainly of R1a1 and J hgs; however, there does not seem to have been a major change in the mtDNA gene frequencies of the population overall.
^Rogers & Kaestle 2022: "There are Y-chromosome data for only eight male slab burial individuals: four of which are from central Mongolia, two from the west central province of Khovsgol and two from the eastern regions, and all these individuals carry eastern Y-chromosome haplotypes (Jeong et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020). While this sample is small, in comparison 28.57% of the mtDNA gene pool consisted of western hgs."
^Rogers & Kaestle 2022:The second pattern is that there is a moderate, but perceptible increase in western mtDNA haplotypes among the slab burial populations (SBA 28.57%: CSB 36%) compared with that of the Bronze Age of eastern Mongolia (BAMCE) (14.8%), while the western mtDNA component within the Xiongnu population remains extremely similar to that of the slab burial populations.
^Rogers & Kaestle 2022: "The mtDNA hgs of the eastern component of the slab burial population can be found in most northeast Asian populations and so can be safely assumed to be a local contribution to the slab burial gene pool. The “western” component is more difficult to source. "
^Rogers & Kaestle 2022:"The mtDNA hgs of the eastern component of the slab burial population can be found in most northeast Asian populations and so can be safely assumed to be a local contribution to the slab burial gene pool. The “western” component is more difficult to source. The K hg may represent an ancient addition from early western foragers that had intermixed with early agriculturalists (Spengler, 2015), similar with the probable origins of the C hg found in the ancient Ukraine (Nikitin et al., 2012). The J1c8a haplotype might be from a regional polymorphism that is linked to migrating populations after the expansion of agriculturalism from the Middle East, perhaps associated with the development of caprine pastoralism that reached southeast Kazakhstan by at least 2800 BCE (Hermes et al 2020). The H hg, more specifically the H2a5b* haplotype, is unlikely to have originated in Mongolia; based on coalescence times the H2a5b* most likely arrived on the Eastern Steppe near the beginning of the first millennia BCE. Besides the H2a5b haplotype, which must have arrived in a relatively recent migration, the remaining western hgs can be found already in place in Mongolia, although predominantly in the western regions...the well-documented expansion of the Afanasievo archaeological culture and the populations associated with the Pontic Steppe Scythians into Central Mongolia likely introduced many of these matrilines (Honeychurch et al., 2021; Järve et al., 2019)."
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