Strontium isotope analysis of the Xiongnu nobles and their followers in Central Mongolia

Abstract

As the first provenance study focusing on Xiongnu nobles and their followers, this study analyzed eleven human and four animal remains from the Gol Mod 2 cemetery in western Mongolia for strontium isotope ratios. The results suggest that two of the three nobles had lived in the Khanuy valley for an extended period of time, and one had lived elsewhere but was buried at the same cemetery as were the other nobles. These Xiongnu nobles might have migrated in the grassland, but the Khanuy valley and the Gol Mod 2 site surely played an irreplaceable role for them, providing valuable information for the investigation of the Xiongnu political center. A number of the followers did not grow up locally but were chosen to follow the nobles and lived in or close to the valley during their later lives. Furthermore, strontium isotope values and dietary features together confirmed that the human skeleton in G2T189 belonged to the tomb owner rather than a buried intruder. This study is a reminder that some traditional methods used to determine the local strontium isotopic range for a site are not suitable when the studied human individuals did not live a sedentary lifestyle or their social roles evidently varied.