Violence in the first millennium BCE Eurasian steppe: Cranial trauma in three Turpan Basin populations from Xinjiang, China.

Objectives: Violence affected daily life in prehistoric societies, especially at conflict zones where different peoples fought over resources and for other reasons. In this study, cranial trauma was analyzed to discuss the pattern of violence experienced by three Bronze to early Iron Age populations (1,000-100 BCE) that belonged to the Subeixi culture. These populations lived in the Turpan Basin, a conflict zone in the middle of the Eurasian Steppe.

Intentional cranial modification from the Houtaomuga Site in Jilin, China: Earliest evidence and longest in situ practice during the Neolithic Age.

Objectives: Intentional cranial modification (ICM) was a long-established tradition used to reshape the head. Unfortunately, motivation of the act is unclear. It has been found in recent and contemporary human populations throughout the Old and New Worlds, yet the drawback of the quest into the origin, diffusion, and meanings of ICM is the lack of early materials for scientific examination.