A new study suggests that China was in contact with the western world long before the opening of the Silk Road. The new findings are based on the study of DNA found at the site of terracotta warriors in Xi'an.

In an interview with The Guardian, Li Xiuzhen, a senior archaeologist at the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Site Museum in China, said that the new evidence suggest that there may have been Greek inspiration behind the Terracotta Army, the bronze sculptures, and the acrobats. It is also possible that Greek artisans may have trained the locals in the 3rd Century BC.

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While it is believed that China's interaction with the western world started with Marco Polo's journey in the 13^th century, there have been plenty of evidence pointing to earlier interactions. Chinese historians have already documented the visits of foreigners during the 2nd and 3rd Centuries AD.

The terracotta warrior army was first discovered in 1974. It is located less than a mile away from the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor. It is believed that there was no existing tradition of creating life-size human statues in China before the creation of the army. The paradigm shift in style and skill points to some outside influence.

A separate study has also been conducted at sites in Xinjiang Province. The sites showed the presence of European-specific mitochondrial DNA at the sites, suggesting that Westerners may have lived and settled there before and during the era of China's First Emperor.

TagsXi'an, Marco Polo, Qin Shi Huang