Subject:

Tarim Basin Mummies

Date:

Sat, 24 Mar 2001 00:31:47 ‑0800

From:

Dwyer <[email protected]>

To:

Barbara Hamrick <[email protected]>,

Dwyer <[email protected]>

This is the garden of eden. This is where the white

race was cast down

to earth to redeem the true children of Israel.

Is‑sons Ra‑rule El‑ya

yahweh...Click on the photo....

http://www.kirby.on.ca/tbm/who.htm

Who were they?

Even a cursory look at the photos of the mummies in the Tarim Basin

reveals that they were not Asians. Their long noses, high foreheads, brown

and red hair, not to mention their brightly coloured twill clothing, immediately

brings Europe to mind.

That the bodies are preserved in the state they are found is remarkable.

Many look like they have just laid down to sleep and we have rudely

interrupted them. Before looking at the preliminary examinations of the DNA

from the mummies, we should explore the reason for their excellent

preservation.

To begin with, the term "mummy" used up to this point, is incorrect. By using

this word, it is implied that someone set about to embalm the bodies of the

deceased. The embalming process involves the removal of the body's organs

and rinsing out the fluids. If this is not done, the micro‑organisms in the

stomach begin to devour the body. It bloats, and finally dehydration causes all

the flesh to sink into the skeleton. This mummification process is mostly

associated with the ancient Egyptians.

The bodies found in the Tarim Basin were buried complete with all their

internal organs. There is evidence of an unknown yellow material made of

protein which was smeared onto some of the bodies. It's also true that where

this material was used (usualy under clothing) the flesh is better preserved.

However, it was not this material that kept the bodies in such excellent

condition.

The climate of the Tarim Basin ranges from temperature extremes of ‑20 to

+50 degrees celcius with an annual rainfall of less that 100 mm. This,

combined with the high salt levels in the ground hinders the growth of bacteria

and presents the perfect conditions for preservation.

For this reason, the correct term to use instead of mummies, is desiccated

corpses, which means they are dried‑out.

We can move now to look at the results of preliminary DNA testing that has

been carried out on the mummies (this word just carries more flavour).

The study of mitochondrial DNA with respect to archaeology is a relatively

new discipline which attempts to bridge the gap between physical

anthropology and poplulation genetics. It does so by using ancient samples

as physical anthropology does, but at the molecular level.

In any examination of ancient DNA, there are extra precautions which must be

carried out because the ancient DNA in the samples degrades and mixes with

acids from other micro‑organisms.

Nature is not the only challenge to preserving and reading ancient samples;

throughout the whole process of site excavation and the extraction of

samples, field workers must avoid contaminating the bodies. In fact,

contamination can take place at many levels,

During the burials, foreign DNA from anyone present may come in

contact with the body

multiple burials over time at the same site can also mix DNA from several

individuals and time periods

within the labratory, foreign DNA from researchers and other specimens

poses a contamination threat.

With the mummies in the Tarim Basin, there have been

many possible opportunities for contamination to occur. In

fact, since the conditions of the museums in Xinjiang are

not sufficient to offer the mummies a safe home, the

corpses are often reburried in their graves after cursory

examinations. In order to avoid any modern DNA

contamination, the samples were often taken from beneath

the wollen clothing.

The field work and subsequent labratory work has been carried out by Paolo

Francalacci, a geneticist with the Anthropology Institute at the University of

Sassari in Italy and one of the first group of Western academics to travel to

visit the mummies in the Tarim Basin. Under his guidance, 25 tissue and bone

samples were taken from eleven corpses found near Hami in eastern Xinjiang,

although tests have been carried out on only 5 of those samples.

Early tests seem to point to origins to the west and around the meditteranean.

This observation was arrived at by comparing the number of changes in the

DNA sequence of the Tarim Basin Mummies from the sequence that is

commonly considered the "concrete individual of European origin." Those

peoples closer to Europe show a smaller number of changes in the sequence

than those further away. What the samples from the Caucasoid corpses in

Xinjiang show is that they are more closely related to Europe than their Asian

neighbours. However, at the moment, it is still too early to pinpoint the exact

area where these people originated.

It should also be remembered that DNA sampling can only reveal the genetic

lineage of a group, and not the cultural evolution and linguistic development

which has led them to where they were found. As Francalacci states, the

evolution of the "ancient Xinjiang people is somewhat more complicated than

the knowledge of a fragment of DNA, and it can be understood only by an

integrated vision of genetic, linguistic, historical, archaeological and

anthropological records." Francallaci in JIES 396.

FROM TEST TUBES TO SKULLS

While the genetic research continues, another technique can be used to

determine the identity of the mummies: the study of skulls. Research has

been conducted by HAN Kangxin, a physical anthropologist with the Chinese

Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing on several hundred skulls found in the

Xinjiang region. By measuring the crania and structure of the skulls,

anthropologists have concluded that the majority of the inhabitants of the

Tarim Basin from 1800 BC until the last few centuries BC were predominantly

Caucasian.

However, the research has also shown that there were many different groups

living in the Tarim Basin including those with Nordic roots, some from the

Meditteranean, Russian Steppe peoples called the Andronovo culture and

Mongolians.

The table below is a break down of where most of the skulls were found, and

what they tell us about the people who once lived in these areas.

Konch Darya‑ 70 km

west of Lop Nor

18 skulls

from

two time

periods

Definately European with Nordic

features. Earliest skulls close to

Afansievo culture (3rd millenium).

Later skulls close to Andronovo

horizon (2nd millenium).

Earlier skulls found are close to

Nordic and East Meditteranean.

Hami

29 adult

crania

21 were East Asian Mongloids, 8 were

Caucasoid like above.

Both groups shared the same burial

ground and customs.

Monghol Kora‑ Tekes

River Valley of

the "Celestial

Mountains" (Tian

Shan)

11 skulls

All the skulls are European

10 skulls are brachycephalic (broad

and short)

1 is mesocephalic (medium sized)

Date from 2400‑1800 BP

Sampul near Lop Nor

56 skulls

2200 BP. East Meditteranean

caucasoids with Central Asian

features

Loulan

6 skulls

5 are caucasoid. Indo‑Afghan pattern.

Mair in JIES 289‑293

Together, the cranial studies and the elementary DNA analysis point to a wide

range of peoples living side‑by‑side in the Tarim Basin region during this

period. This may have an impact on the commonly accepted date for the

opening of the silk road in the 2nd century BC. This will be looked at more

closely in the page about how they lived. When researchers gain more

access to the corpses for DNA sampling and anthropological studies, the full

extent of early cultural trade may come to light.

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