Stephen Jones
Pronouns: he/him
Research Mentor(s): Bryan Miller
Research Mentor School/College/Department: History of Art + Museum of Anthropological Archaeology / LSA
Program: UROP
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Authors:
Abstract
The Xiongnu were a nomadic empire on the Mongolian steppe from the third century BC to the first century AD. Most of what we know about them comes from imperial Chinese sources, and the little physical evidence they left behind. As a nomadic people, they left few structures behind, except for their burial sites. We are studying these burial sites, both from the Xiongnu period, and similar burials from the Bronze Age preceding the Xiongnu. The burial sites are in the Altai Mountains in the far west of modern day Mongolia. The data we have consists of the coordinates of these graves, as well as their shape, and if they have any other outlying characteristics, such as an external fence. The data was collected in the field by traveling to the grave sites, and recording the coordinates and physical features of the burials. We are seeking to examine the importance of the locations of these burial sites, as they are very much removed from what was the center of the Xiongnu Empire, and important royals are buried there. We are also examining the significance of this location over time, as even preceding the Xiongnu, this location was a burial ground in the Bronze Age. This location in the Altai Mountains was culturally significant before the Xiongnu, and the Xiongnu adopted the preceding culture of the area, and continued to have important burials there.
