Agents of the Empire

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Between 200 BCE and 100 CE, the Xiongnu nomadic culture dominated the Eurasian steppes, covering a vast territory from modern-day Kazakhstan to the edge of China.

These mounted warriors from what is now Mongolia were also a persistent threat to their Chinese neighbors and one of the reasons the Great Wall of China was built.

Still, there are lingering questions about the nomadic group, including whether they were a centrally-controlled empire or a loose confederacy of tribes.

Now, a new study combining archaeology and genetics has found that the Xiongnu employed female royalty to build and maintain their large, multi-ethnic empire, Science Magazine reported.

In 2007, archaeologists discovered two cemeteries from the edge of the empire, located near the border between present-day Mongolia and China: One contained the tombs of aristocrats, while another was a less fancy graveyard for local elites.

Genetic testing showed that the skeletons in some of the richest graves were female, and were not just any women: Further analysis revealed they were closely related to people from the core of the Xiongnu empire whose DNA had been analyzed in earlier research.

The research team explained that this evidence suggests that Xiongnu relied on high-ranking female relatives to knit their far-flung territory together. The lavishness of frontier graves also suggested that they were not just mere partners but would serve as active agents of the empire to help control local elites.

“Now we know men aren’t the only ones with bling,” said co-author Brian Miller. “Throughout their life and into death, these were important players in the community.”