Current Position: Dean, School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University

Title: Professor, Doctoral Supervisor

Education:

1997-2009: Studied at the School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University, earning bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees, specializing in Buddhist Archaeology, Archaeology of Central and Western Asia, and Archaeology of Ancient Nomadic Peoples, under the guidance of Professor Chao Huashan, Professor Lin Meicun, and Professor Thomas O. Höllmann (LMU Munich, Germany)

Research Interests:

Archaeology of Cultural Exchange between China and Foreign Cultures; Settlement Archaeology of Ancient Nomadic Peoples; Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Archaeology

Courses Taught:

Undergraduate: Archaeology of Nomadic Cultures, Applied Technical Theory of Field Archaeology, Archaeology of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties

Academic Activities:

Since 2001, he has been continuously involved in archaeological surveys, excavations, and research on ancient cities, religious sites, and remains of nomadic peoples in the following regions: the Eastern Tianshan region of Xinjiang, China; the Yinshan region of Inner Mongolia, China; the Samarkand Basin, Uzbekistan; and the northern foothills of the Altai Mountains, Russia.

Email:

eurasiansteppes@126.com

Research Projects:

· 2009: Later-Stage Funded Project of the National Social Science Fund of China, Translation and Compilation of Huns Culture and the Large Tomb of Nuoyanwula (09FKG004, Second Participant, completed in 2011).

· 2009: Complex Site Conservation Special Project of the Ministry of Finance and the National Cultural Heritage Administration, Archaeology and Conservation of Large Settlement Sites of Ancient Nomadic Peoples in the Eastern Tianshan Region (Principal Investigator, ongoing).

· 2010: Key Scientific Research Program Project of the Education Department of Shaanxi Provincial Government, Research on the Huns Archaeological Culture in the Eastern Eurasian Steppe (2010JZ29, Principal Investigator, completed in 2017).

· 2011: Youth Project of the National Social Science Fund of China, Archaeological Study of Huns Remains from the Warring States Period to the Early Western Han Dynasty (11CKG007, Principal Investigator, completed in 2014).

· 2014: Sub-project Archaeological Excavation Report for the Shirenzigou Site Complex (2006-2013) under the Major Bidding Project of the National Social Science Fund of China, Multidisciplinary Comprehensive Archaeological Research Report on the Shirenzigou Site Complex in Barkol, Xinjiang (14ZDB052) (Principal Investigator, ongoing).

· 2016: Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Bureau of Cultural Heritage & Hami Museum, Collation and Research of Archaeological Materials from the Tianshanbeilu Cemetery (Principal Investigator, ongoing).

· 2017: Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Science and Technology, Sub-project Molecular Biological Research on Ancient Humans in the Eastern Tianshan Region of the project Research on Ancient Human Genetic Evolution in the Tianshan Region (2016YFE0203700) (Principal Investigator, completed in 2022).

· 2018: National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences, Collation of Archaeological Excavation Data and Comprehensive Research on the Quan’ergou Site in Barkol, Xinjiang (Principal Investigator, ongoing).

· 2022: China Science and Technology Exchange Center, Construction of the China-Central Asia Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Human and Environment Research and Joint Research on Ancient Human Culture and Environment in the Surkhandarya River Basin (Principal Investigator, ongoing).

Research Achievements:

Monographs:

1. Archaeological Exploration of Huns Burial Practices: Also Discussing Cultural Exchange in the Eastern Eurasian Steppe. Lanzhou: Lanzhou University Press, 2011.

2. Lords of the Grassland: the Rise and Fall of Early Nomadic Peoples in the Eurasian Steppe. Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2014.

Papers:

3. Sayan-Altai in the 8th-3rd Centuries B.C.: the Interaction between Southern Siberia and Northwest China in the Early Iron Age. Eurasian Studies, 2008, Vol. 8, pp. 38–84.

4. Interflow between Ancient China and Central Asian Steppes through Gold. Western Region Studies, 2009(3), pp. 50–64.

5. Excavation Report on Structure F2 at the Shirenzigou Site, Barkol, Xinjiang, 2009. Archaeology and Cultural Relics, 2014(5), pp. 25–36.

6. The Rise of Nomads on the Barkol Steppe and Their Cultural Interflow with the Altai Region During the 1st Millennium BCE. Eurasian Studies II, 2014, pp. 29–37.

7. A Brief Report on the 2008 Archaeological Survey at the Hongshankou Site, Barkol, Xinjiang. Cultural Relics, 2014(7), pp. 17–30.

8. Archeological Survey at the Steppe Zone on the Southern Edge of the Samarkand Basin, Uzbekistan (2014). Eurasian Studies III, 2015, pp. 13–49.

9. Archeological Survey at the Steppe Zone on the Southern Edge of the Samarkand Basin, Uzbekistan (2014). Western Archaeology, 2015, Vol. 8, pp. 1–33.

10. A Preliminary Survey and Study of Early Slab Graves in the Yinshan Region, Inner Mongolia. Ancient Cultures of the Northern Area of China, Mongolia and Baikalian Siberia, Beijing: Science Press, 2015, pp. 278–286.

11. A Brief Report on the Excavation of Tomb No. 1 at the Xigou Site, Barkol, Hami, Xinjiang. Cultural Relics, 2016, No. 5, pp. 15–31.

12. The Survey and Study of Slab Burials in the Yinshan Mountains. Eurasian Studies V, 2017, pp. 54–85.

13. Ancient Genomes Reveal Yamnaya-Related Ancestry and a Potential Source of Indo-European Speakers in Iron Age Tianshan. Current Biology, Aug 5, 2019, pp. 2526-+.

14. Early Evidence for Mounted Horseback Riding in Northwest China. PNAS, Nov 24, 2020, pp. 29569–29576.

15. Chronology of the Tianshanbeilu Cemetery in Xinjiang, Northwestern China. Radiocarbon, Feb 2021, pp. 343–356.

16. The Baigetuobie Cemetery: New Discovery and Human Genetic Features of Andronovo Community’s Diffusion to the Eastern Tianshan Mountains (1800–1500 BC). The Holocene, Feb 2021, pp. 217–229.

17. New Evidence for Regional Pastoral Practice and Social Complexity in the Eastern Tianshan Mountains in the First Millennium BCE. Scientific Reports, Mar 16, 2023, 13(1).

Awards and Honors:

· 2007: China’s Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries, Archaeological Excavation at the Dongheigou (now Shirenzigou) Site in Barkol, Xinjiang

· 2011: Third Prize, Field Archaeology Award by the National Cultural Heritage Administration, Archaeological Excavation Project at the Dongheigou Site in Barkol, Xinjiang

· 2011: Third Prize, Geographic Information Science and Technology Progress Award by the China Association for Geospatial Information Society and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, Aerial Survey Mapping and Database Construction Project for the Archaeology and Conservation of the Hongshankou-Shirenzigou Site Complex (Rank 4)

· 2013: Special Prize, Outstanding Achievement Award in Humanities and Social Sciences Research by the Education Department of Henan Province, Translated work Huns Culture and the Large Tomb of Nuoyanwula (Rank 2)

· 2013: Second Prize, Shaanxi Universities Outstanding Achievement in Humanities and Social Sciences Research, Archaeological Exploration of Huns Burial Practices: with a Discussion on Cultural Exchange in the Eastern Eurasian Steppe (Rank 1)

· 2015: Northwest University Outstanding Teachers for the 2014–2015 Academic Year

· 2016: First Prize, Arts and Humanities Group, 11th Northwest University Young Faculty Teaching Competition

· 2016: Northwest University Cyrus Young Scholar

· 2022: Second Prize, National Teaching Achievement Award, Development and Practice of the One-Two-Three Practical Education System in Archaeology

· 2022: First Prize, National Teaching Achievement Award, From Filling a Gap to Leading the Field: The Creation and Practice of a Talent Training System for Cultural Heritage Conservation in China

· 2022: First Prize, National Teaching Achievement Award, Construction and Practice of an Interdisciplinary, Integrated, Whole-Process, Shared Practical Teaching System in Local Comprehensive Universities