Abstract
Archeological researches have proposed arguments for human mobility and long-distance trading over the Eurasia before the Silk Roads. Here we utilize biologically available strontium isotope analysis to assess the extent of pre-Silk Road population movements and cultural communications across the Asian interior. From an early Iron Age cemetery (ca. 2500 yr B.P.) on the eastern Pamir Plateau, mean 87Sr/86Sr ratios from 34 individuals display considerable isotopic variability, and 10 individuals are distinguished as migrants based on the local strontium isotope range of 0.710296–0.710572 defined by 12 ovicaprine bones. Comparison of the proportion (10/34) with the regional census data completed in 1909 A.D. (3% non-locals) suggests a highly migratory behavior on the plateau 2500 years ago. Furthermore, exotic mortuary objects, such as silk fabrics from eastern China and angular harp originated from the Near East, clearly demonstrate an interaction between different cultures on the plateau before the establishment of the Silk Road.
Highlights
Well-established civilizations over the eastern and western part of the Eurasian continent at least can be dated back to the Bronze Age
The rest 10 individuals (29.4%) have 87Sr/86Sr ratios outside the local range, suggesting that they migrated to the cemetery from someplace else after childhood
These data indicate a highly mobile population settled on the Pamir Plateau around 2500 yr B.P. when compared to a historical population census data in the Kashgar where the cemetery affiliated
Summary
Archaeological researches provide subtle hints for pre-Silk Road intercultural communications across inner Asia[4]. 1000 B.C. mummy’s hair in ancient Egypt[7,8] These discoveries have implied the existence of long-distance migration and trade, little information on the extent and intensity of interactions between the pre-Silk Road cultures is available yet. Ancient cultural communications directly result from human migrations[9], which can be effectively traced by strontium (Sr) isotopes in archaeological researches[10]. The mean 87Sr/86Sr value with ±2 s.d. in archaeological animal bones is conventionally defined as the local range for charactering ancient migration[10,11]. We present here the first set of biologically available 87Sr/86Sr data from a 2500-year-old cemetery on the plateau to investigate the extent of pre-Silk Road human mobility around the region
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