Bio-Anthropological Studies on Human Skeletons from the 6th Century Tomb of Ancient Silla Kingdom in South Korea

In November and December 2013, unidentified human skeletal remains buried in a mokgwakmyo (a traditional wooden coffin) were unearthed while conducting an archaeological investigation near Gyeongju, which was the capital of the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE- 660 CE) of ancient Korea. The human skeletal rema...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2016-06, Vol.11 (6), p.e0156632-e0156632
Main Authors: Lee, Won-Joon, Woo, Eun Jin, Oh, Chang Seok, Yoo, Jeong A, Kim, Yi-Suk, Hong, Jong Ha, Yoon, A Young, Wilkinson, Caroline M, Ju, Jin Og, Choi, Soon Jo, Lee, Soong Doek, Shin, Dong Hoon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Anthropology
Anthropometry
Archaeology
Biology and Life Sciences
Corn
Cultural heritage
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics
Female
Fossils
History, Ancient
Human remains
Human skeleton
Humans
Influence
Medicine and Health Sciences
Millet
Mitochondrial DNA
People and Places
Physical Sciences
Potatoes
Republic of Korea
Skeleton
Social Sciences
Solanum tuberosum
Stable isotopes
Studies
Three dimensional models
Tombs
Triticum aestivum
Wheat
Zea mays
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Summary:In November and December 2013, unidentified human skeletal remains buried in a mokgwakmyo (a traditional wooden coffin) were unearthed while conducting an archaeological investigation near Gyeongju, which was the capital of the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE- 660 CE) of ancient Korea. The human skeletal remains were preserved in relatively intact condition. In an attempt to obtain biological information on the skeleton, physical anthropological, mitochondrial DNA, stable isotope and craniofacial analyses were carried out. The results indicated that the individual was a female from the Silla period, of 155 ± 5 cm height, who died in her late thirties. The maternal lineage belonged to the haplogroup F1b1a, typical for East Asia, and the diet had been more C3- (wheat, rice and potatoes) than C4-based (maize, millet and other tropical grains). Finally, the face of the individual was reconstructed utilizing the skull (restored from osseous fragments) and three-dimensional computerized modeling system. This study, applying multi-dimensional approaches within an overall bio-anthropological analysis, was the first attempt to collect holistic biological information on human skeletal remains dating to the Silla Kingdom period of ancient Korea.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0156632