guy Posted October 28, 2021 Report Share Posted October 28, 2021 (edited) In the Tarim Basin in China, genomic studies suggest that the mummies discovered were of North Eurasian descent. “The genomic study found that the Tarim Basin mummies were not newcomers to the area but rather appear to be direct descendants of Ancient North Eurasians.” “With over 300 tombs, the Little River (Xiaohe) Cemetery, a Bronze Age burial located in the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, Western China, contains the largest number of mummies found at any single site to date. Located on the Silk Road at the confluence of the Eastern and Western cultures, the naturally mummified human remains in boat coffins dating to circa 2,000 BCE to 200 CE have inspired speculations on their enigmatic origins.” “Despite being genetically isolated, the Bronze Age peoples of the Tarim Basin were remarkably culturally cosmopolitan—they built their cuisine around wheat and dairy from the West Asia, millet from East Asia, and medicinal plants like Ephedra from Central Asia.” The wooden boat-shaped coffins covered on cowhides are an unusual finding since the region is far from any large body of water: https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/mysterious-mummies-found-in-chinese-desert-have-an-unexpected-origin/ An excellent video on the discovery: Edited October 28, 2021 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy Posted October 28, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2021 (edited) Quote “The mummies were found in cemeteries belonging to the so-called Xiaohe culture, which are scattered across the Taklamakan Desert in the Xinjiang region of China. The desert “is one of the most hostile places on Earth”, says Alison Betts, an archaeologist at the University of Sydney in Australia.Here, bodies had been buried in boat-shaped coffins wrapped in cattle hide. The hot, arid and salty environment of the desert naturally preserved them, keeping everything from hair to clothing perfectly intact. Before the latest study, “we knew an awful lot about these people, physically, but we knew nothing about who they were and why they were there”, says Betts. ”13 people from the Tarim Basin did not share this ancestry. They seem to be solely related to hunter-gatherers who lived in southern Siberia and what is now northern Kazakhstan some 9,000 years ago “ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02948-y Edited November 2, 2021 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispina Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 I remember watching a documentary on TV about this some years ago. Very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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