Jakarta –
The permafrost of the eastern Eurasian mountains is slowly melting. This apparently helped archaeologists uncover the remains of the Mongol Empire as well as their obsession with yak milk.
In this regard, experts have studied the remains of graves at the so-called Khorig site, located in the Khovsgol Mountains. The dating there shows that the cemetery was used in the 13th century, around the time of the unification of the Mongol Empire in AD 1206.
At that time Genghis Khan was proclaimed ruler of all the Mongols. Backed by an army of fearless horsemen, he launched a series of bloody military campaigns across Asia. This event laid the groundwork for the largest land empire in history that stretched from the Pacific coast of Asia to Eastern Europe.
Elite Mongolian Lifestyle
Earlier in 2018 and 2019, the remains of 11 Mongols were found in elite burial sites after they were partially uncovered by melting permafrost. The bodies were apparently in fairly good condition, even though they were over 800 years old. This is due to the sub-zero temperatures that preserved the remains.
The people who were buried were thought to have high social status. They are buried beside luxury goods and dressed in quality materials.
Meanwhile, in a recently published study, researchers were keen to analyze the remains of the Mongol nobility to understand their lifestyle and diet. By observing protein found in dental calculus (tartar), archaeologists found evidence that the remains had drunk the milk of horses, sheep, goats, cows, and especially yaks during their lifetime.
For those who don’t know, in the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), yak is defined as a type of ox that lives in the Himalayas.
Yaks play a very important role in the culture of the peoples of the eastern Eurasian highlands. They are also of great benefit to people living in those harsh environments. Yaks provide a high-calorie food source, thick hair for warm textiles, and fat to make useful commodities such as candles.
“Our most important finding is the existence of an elite woman who was buried wearing a birch bark hat called a bogtog and a silk robe depicting a golden five-clawed dragon. Our proteomic analysis concluded that she drank yak milk all her life,” said Alicia Ventresca-Miller, assistant professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan in a statement, citing from, IFL Science.
The find, Ventresca-Miller said, helped her team verify the long-term use of yaks in the region and their links to the Mongol ruling elite.
“Ceramic vessels are transformed into lanterns made from dairy products. This expresses long-standing religious ideas as well as the daily life of the elites of the Mongol Empire,” added J. Bayarsaikhan, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the National Museum of Mongolia.
Melting Permafrost Makes Loot Vulnerable
While melting permafrost has helped scientists find the bodies, it has also made historical remains more vulnerable to looting. If temperatures continue to increase and permafrost declines, it is feared that some of the frozen archaeological remains, both here and elsewhere, will disintegrate before they can be properly appreciated.
“The level of looting we’re seeing is unprecedented. Nearly every burial we’ve found on the surface recently has been destroyed by looting activity,” said Julia Clark, an archaeologist at Nomad Science.
This study was published in the journal Communications Biology on March 31, 2023.
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