title: Strontium isotope evidence for a highly mobile population on the Pamir Plateau 2500 years ago.
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, mean87Sr/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.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Xueye
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.|CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zihua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100071, China.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: History Department of Humanities School, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China.
authors.forename: Yiqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origin, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
authors.forename: Xinying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou