Abstract: The skulls of Qidan nationality studied in this paper were excavated from the Liao dyna-sty tombs in Shanzuizi site, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia. The cranial. materials (9males and 3 females) are all adult skulls (22- -50 years of age). The article described the morphological features of Shanzuizi crania in some details and discussed the problems concer nedwith the racial relationship between the Shanzuizi crania and other modern and ancient cra-nia of Asiatic Mongoloids.
The characteristics of the crania are as follows: The cranial shapes in norma verticalisbelong to ellipsoid and ovoid. According to the cranial length-breadth index, cranial length-height index and cranial breadth-height index, their cranial forms belong tobrachycrany,orthocrany and tapeinocrany. The cranial vault sutures are uncomplicated in their structures.The transition between the lower margin of zygomatic process of the maxilla and the inferiormargin of zygomatic bone is rough in most of the crania. Their faces are wide. (141.56 mm)and very flat (the naso-malar angle is 150.06). Their nasal bones are low and flat (the simo-tic index is 31.60) and the nasal index shows that their nasal shapes belong to mesorrhiny. Theshape of orbit is low and wide (the orbital index I is 77.50).
The physical features of Shanzuizi crania show that the racial type of Qidan nationalityin Liao dynasty is mainly related to the modern Siberia Mongoloids (Northern Asiatic Mongoloids), but some characteristics of individual skulls show that they may be mixed with somephysical elements of the Eastern Asiatic Mongoloids or the Arctic Mongoloids (Northeastern Asiatic Mongoloids). In comparison with some ancient and moderncrania,the Shanzuizicrania are mostly similar to the crania of Xianbei nationality in Han dynasty and the modernMongolian crania.

Key words: Shanzuizi site; Liao Dynasty; Qidan Nationality; Human skull; Siberia Mongoloid