Unexpected Origins of Mysterious Mummies Buried in Boats in a Chinese Desert

[Judi Lynn]

In 1990, hundreds of mummified bodies were found buried in boats in an inhospitable desert area in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China. Known as the Tarim Basin mummies they have now been genetically examined and scientists have narrowed down the origins of the mysterious mummies. The results are quite surprising.

The mummies’ bodies and clothing are strikingly intact despite being up to 4,000 years old, having been discovered in the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang. Their facial features and hair color are visible, having been naturally preserved by the dry desert air.

The mummies were discovered buried in boat-shaped coffins which were covered with cow hides. Beside them were signs of a farming society: food items like wheat, barley, and cheese, as well as livestock like sheep, goats, and cattle.

They had the appearance of strangers from a foreign land because they were tall, had wool felt hats and leather booties on, and some of them had fair hair. However, genomes of 13 remarkably preserved 4,000-year-old mummies weren’t migrants who brought technology from the West, as previously supposed. A study of the mummies’ DNA finds that they were locals with deep roots in the area.

More:
https://arkeonews.net/unexpected-origins-of-mysterious-mummies-buried-in-boats-in-a-chinese-desert/

[brer cat]

1. Sounds interesting, but Malwarebytes blocked my access to the site, so I

couldn't get more information.

[Croney]

3. I added more

[brer cat]

4. Thanks!

[Croney]

2. More

They appear to be relics of an ancient population that disappeared in Eurasia after the last ice age—one that was ancestral to Indigenous peoples living in Siberia and the Americas today.

Individuals 400 kilometers apart at opposite ends of the Tarim Basin had DNA that was as similar as siblings. Even though the mummies were locals who had not intermarried with the migrant herders in nearby mountain valleys, they were not culturally isolated. By 4000 years ago, they had already embraced new ideas and cultures: they wore woven woolen clothing, constructed irrigation systems, grew nonnative wheat and millet, herded sheep and goats, and milked cattle to make cheese.

Although previous work has shown that the mummies lived on the shores of an oasis in the desert, it’s still unclear why they were buried in boats covered in cattle hides with oars at their heads – a rare practice not found anywhere else in the region and perhaps best associated with the Vikings.

[Irish_Dem]

7. DNA studies seems to tell us that the Vikings traveled further than we have thought.

And made larger and stronger settlements than we previously thought.

These guys sound like Vikings.

[Easterncedar]

5. Arkeonews is a treasure trove itself

The excavation of what may be Pliny’s villa is interesting.

[2naSalit]

6. Bookmarkrd...

I have to ponder this for a little bit. Very interesting news.