Chinese archaeologists reconstruct face of sixth century emperor using new DNA technique – and find new clues to his death
- The analysis of the remains of Emperor Wu from the Northern Zhou dynasty also offers an alternative theory to an ancient suspicion he was killed by poison
- The dynasty was founded by the Xianbei steppe nomads, but the analysis also suggests the emperor may have had Han Chinese ancestry too
Chinese archaeologists have reconstructed the face of an emperor who lived 1,500 years ago using new methods to analyse ancient DNA, and uncovered clues about what may have caused his early death in the process.
The team said that their technique could allow for more in-depth analysis of important ancient figures through samples of their bones.
Emperor Wu, a “highly influential emperor”, ruled over the Northern Zhou dynasty until his death in 578 AD at the age of 36.
Ancient texts have given rise to speculation he died from poison – either accidentally through taking toxic substances as an elixir or deliberately at the hands of an enemy.
This theory received some backing after his bones were rediscovered in 1996 and were later found to contain a larger than normal amount of arsenic, news portal The Paper reported last month. His femur also showed evidence of poisoning-related necrosis.
However, a thorough analysis of the emperor’s DNA obtained from his limb bones by a team led by researchers from Fudan University raises an alternative theory. The new analysis, published last week in the journal Current Biology, suggests he may have had an “increased susceptibility” to stroke.