The Takla Makan Mummies

The Takla Makan desert is a remote, barren area of the central Tarim Basin in modern China. Once part of the ancient Silk Road, it was supposedly first travelled by Europeans in the 12th century AD. Almost central to the Eurasian landmass, it is an arid salt pan which provides the perfect conditions for natural mummification. The dry heat and alkaline conditions lead to desiccation and preservation not only of human flesh but also textiles.

In the last 25 years, archaeologists have discovered a number of bodies dating from 2000BC. Perfectly preserved down to their clothing, hair and skin, they are the earliest settlers in the Tarim Basin and perfect specimens for the study of Bronze Age textiles and burial practices. But the mummies have also proven to be a conundrum. Today, the Tarim Basin is populated by Turkic or Mongol descendants. However, the mummies have distinctly Caucasian features,suggesting that Europeans discovered and settled in Ancient China earlier than supposed.

The Beauty of Loulan

The Tarim Basin was not always so barren, which is one explanation for its settlement. Two thousand years ago, a city existed in the Loulan area, sustained by the waters of the Tarim River. A link on the silk road running between China and the Roman empire, the city’s demise came in the 4th century AD when the course of the river altered, leaving it without water.

One of the oldest Takla Makan mummies came from the area of Loulan. Dated between 2000-1800BC, the Beauty of Loulan, so called because of her auburn hair and delicate features was one of the area’s earliest settlers.

The items she was buried with indicate that her community was agricultural; growing wheat and herding sheep and had the knowledge of dyeing fabrics.

Aged around 40 when she died, the woman was buried in s sheep’s wool garments, the skirt and leather ankle boots lined with fur for warmth. Although her clothing was predominantly brown, her woollen felt cap was edged with a cord of plaited blue and red cords. Placed above her head were items she had no doubt used in daily life: a woven basket for carrying grain and a winnowing tray.

The Cherchen Mummies

Consisting of three women, a man and a baby, these mummies found south of Loulan were buried in approximately 10000BC. Their height features and tartan clothing suggests they were of European, perhaps Celtic origins.

Two of the women were badly decomposed. But the remaining woman, child and the man were perfectly preserved, even to the extent that tattooing on their faces was clear and visible. The vivid dye in their clothing remained bright: the woman’s dress still a visibly red and the baby’s hat a vivid blue. The mummy known as Cherchen man, in his 50s when he died, was dressed in a purple-brown suit with red, yellow and blue stockings and accompanied by no less than 10 hats.

It has been speculated that they were a family group although there is no proof. The seal on the tomb was broken and then resealed suggesting one or more of the bodies were added to the burial at a later date. This may have been the three month old child, who was buried snugly wrapped in a blanket with its cow horn cup and sheep udder bottle.

Both the woman and the man were approaching six foot tall. The tartan design of their clothing suggests a Celtic origin for the group. In fact, the weave of the cloth has been identified by textile experts as the same as that found on the bodies of salt miners in Austria in 1300BC. This was not the only link to Celtic culture. The mummies' burial site was marked with dolmen like structures and carved with icons similar to Sheela na gigs.

Yingpan Man

The best preserved and one of the most comparatively recent of the Takla Makan mummies was discovered in 1995 in the Yingpan region. Two thousand years old, Yingpan man died at around thirty and was buried in sumptuous style.

Again, his features were western and he was very tall: at six feet six inches the tallest of all the mummies. However, his grave goods and clothing is suggestive of Southern rather than Northern Europe. His bearded face was covered with a gold foil mask, similar to those found in burials in ancient Greek. His garments were rich and elaborate: gold embroidered red and maroon cloth covered in figures of fighting men styled similar to Greeks or Romans.

DNA Evidence

Analysis of the DNA of the mummies is compatible with European DNA types. However, this does not mean they were European migrants. Experts believe that the mummies may represent tribes from the Anatolia region that migrated in two separate waves a thousand years apart. On each occasion, the groups split, some going east into China, others to Europe. The shared technology of the two groups explains the similarities between early Europeans and the Takla Makan groups.

It is also possible that the Tarim basin was a melting pot for various ethnic groups of migrants, who blended genes and cultures in a similar way to society today. No evidence remains of the mummies' culture. However, their legacy remains in the DNA of the modern occupants of the Tarim Basin, who with theirtendency to light hair and blue eyes mixed with East Asian features have been proven to be of combined descent.

Sources

The Mummies of Urumchi by Elizabeth Wayland Barber. (1999). W. W. Norton and Company, Inc

The Independant (2006)

Taklamakan

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