Mya Welch
Pronouns: They/them
Research Mentor(s): Bryan Miller
Research Mentor School/College/Department: History of Art + Museum of Anthropological Archaeology / LSA
Program: CG
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Authors: Mya Welch, Bryan Miller
Abstract
The Xiongnu empire of Iron Age Mongolia was likely a hierarchy of pastoralist groups united by a centrally-located ruling family. Examining the distribution of central places such as cemeteries in the Bronze Age before the Xiongnu is vital to understanding the structure of the empire, especially on the empire’s western frontier, where little research has been done. By looking at the grave sites of elite individuals in the Mankhan region of western Mongolia, we can identify constructed patterns on the Bronze Age ritual landscape, and determine how the Xiongnu changed or exploited these to solidify political power. If there was a similar distribution of mortuary monuments in both the mountains and low pasturelands during the Bronze Age, the Xiongnu probably invested resources in the lowlands to secure their influence. However, if there was a distribution difference during the Bronze Age, the Xiongnu tapped into preexisting hierarchies to assert their influence.
