DNA technology helps reconstruct the face of Chinese emperors of the Northern Zhou period

Emperor Wu ruled China as part of the Northern Zhou dynasty from 560 to 580 and is credited with unifying the northern part of ancient China during a particularly turbulent period.

Archaeologists found his tomb in northwest China in 1996. In a study published March 28 in the journal Current Biology, researchers analyzed genetic material from the remains. his skull, which included an almost complete skull. They collected information about his appearance, health and ancestors.

This emperor belonged to a little-studied nomadic group called the Xianbei people who lived in what is now Mongolia and northern and northeastern China. Genome analysis sequenced from DNA shows that Emperor Vu had brown eyes, black hair and dark to neutral skin color.

Shaoqing Wen - study co-author and associate professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, said: 'According to some scholars, Tien Ti is an ethnic group with 'strange' appearances, such as thick beards, High nose bridge and blonde hair. Our analysis shows that Emperor Wu had facial features typical of East or Northeast Asians'.

The authors hope ancient DNA can shed light on the cause of Emperor Vu's death. According to research, the emperor died suddenly at the age of 36. Explanations for his death given in historical texts include illness and the possibility of intentional poisoning by others.

The face of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty was reconstructed.

The team could not find any definitive evidence as to why he died. However, researchers say they have discovered a genetic susceptibility to stroke, which may explain some of the symptoms historians attribute to Emperor Vu: drooping eyelids, blindness. and gait is affected.

Archaeologists are increasingly applying ancient DNA techniques to uncover information from bones, teeth, artifacts and dirt in caves.

The team used genetic information from remains, including Emperor Wu's skull, to imagine what he would have looked like, creating a 3D facial reconstruction that humanizes a little-known figure arrive.

Tobias Houlton, a lecturer in craniofacial identification and forensic imaging at the University of Dundee, who has researched facial reconstruction of historical monuments, said: 'The study… provides profound insights. Fascinating historical figure of Emperor Wu whose approximate face is presented convincingly realistic'.

'In particular, it is impossible to predict color details (skin, hair and eyes) based on the skeleton alone, making genetic analysis a profound tool ' – emphasized this expert.

However, the study does not provide enough details on other morphological variables such as skin thickness, muscle and fat covering the facial bones, eyeball position and projection, eyebrow shape, nose width and height. lip augmentation, elements that can be incorporated into facial reconstruction, Houlton said.

Jeong Hoongwon - associate professor at the School of Biological Sciences at Seoul National University (South Korea) said, what is more interesting than the emperor's appearance is his Tien Ti ancestors . Jeong, who was not involved in the new study, studied the Xiongnu tribe, a separate nomadic empire that prompted China to build the Great Wall.

Genetic analysis showed that Emperor Wu married an ethnic Han.

'I think it's important to understand the elite group to which he belonged, which arose from the fusion of Xianbei and local Han elite groups, not the man himself' - Jeong commented to CNN. 'This group has rarely been studied genetically and this study provides one of the first such cases.'

Bryan Miller - assistant professor of Central Asian art and archeology at the University of Michigan, (USA) information, Emperor Vu ruled during a period of Chinese history often considered a 'time of chaos' , with successive dynasties rising and falling.

This is a period of history that needs more study, said Miller, who was not involved in the study.

'It's interesting to see this genetic research, but none of the findings in this genetic research are surprising,' Miller told CNN. We know the great rulers married each other, but what about the political class - to what extent were the lower elites allowed to intermarry?

'I think that's where genetics can really start to tell an interesting story,' he said.