Archaeologists have discovered a 1,500-year-old skeletons of two warrior women from ancient Mongolia that have inspired the Ballad of Mulan. The remains stood out because of the unique markings in the bones, indicating that the women were skilled in archery and horseback during a time when the region was riddled with conflict.

It is believed that the women lived during the Xianbei period in the fourth or fifth century, the same period in which the legend of Mulan had emerged.

Warrior Women in Ancient Mongolia

According to a report from LiveScience, the pair skeletons were uncovered during an excavation of a cemetery at the Airagiin Gozgor archaeological site, located at the Orkhon province of northern Mongolia.

The remains from 29 burials in the area were discovered by researchers from the California State University in Los Angeles. They were studying the prolonged effect of horseback riding, archery, and trauma when they found the skeletons.

The two women lived during the Xianbei period between A.D. 147 to 552, a time of political unrest and fragmentation that gave rise to the ballad of Mulan, according to the researchers.

Bioarchaeologists Christine Lee and Yahaira Gonzalez have led the excavations in the area for years and have found three groups that were laid to rest there. These are the Xiongnu, who dominated the region 2,200 years ago; the Xianbei, who overthrown the Xiongnu around 1,850 years ago; and the Turkic people, who successively occupied the Mongolian prairies around 1,470 years ago.

Significant markings on the three female Xiongnu skeletons suggest that they may have occasionally practice archery or horseback riding, while the Turkic skeletons only did horseback riding. But the two skeletons out of three Xianbei stood out as riders and possibly skilled fighters.

Lee believes that the two may have seen time on the battlefield. According to her, women in neighboring China may have been secluded, but women in Mongolia are the total opposite. Women in the north were also doing what men are doing, so they may have some gender equality in their culture, said Lee.

An Inspiration for the Ballad of Mulan

According to the ballad of Mulan, every family in the region are required to send one man from their family to join the military as the area was riddled with conflict. Being a loving daughter, Mulan took her father's place and pretended to be a man, sparking the legend that was adopted by Disney in 1998.

Despite the changes in the story over time, Mulan is said to have succeeded on the battlefield and became the leader of the military.

The skeletons of women warriors found by the team of archaeologists may have inspired the Ballad of Mulan. Lee believed that the two women were from the Xianbei period during the fourth and fifth centuries, the same period that researchers of Mulan's history are trying to tell.

Lee and Gonzalez have not yet published their findings in a peer-reviewed journal, but they are planning to present their work at a meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists just before it was canceled due to the pandemic.