Archaeological Findings of the Tarim Basin Graves and Mummies

Abstract

In this chapter, through descriptions of the Xiaohe cemetery, related Silk Road archaeological sites, and the mummies discovered therein, we have reviewed the present situation of research on the Bronze Age cultures left by ancient Indo-Europeans who drifted into northwestern China as early as 2000–1500 BCE. The mummies and the early Bronze Age artifacts associated with them found in the Xinjiang area have been investigated in the last century, but professional analyses based on substantive evidence has been limited. But because of archaeological information that has recently emerged from the Xinjiang Silk Road reinvestigation, the significance of the mummies has been validated anew. The Xinjiang mummies currently maintained in the local museums have significance in two aspects: their contribution to the history of Silk Road researches and to mummy studies worldwide. Especially for the latter, the mummies and their culture could provide invaluable information about the first demic diffusion of Indo-Europeans to the east in the prehistoric era. The Xinjiang mummies are also significant because of their superb preservation, even after the lapse of several millennia. As is well-known, naturally mummified examples provide the best research subjects for scientific analysis for revealing the life and health status of ancient peoples. Since the mummies are very rare cases that have been preserved in the remote periphery of China during ancient times, sensitive and detailed scientific studies on them in the future could provide wonderful data to archaeologists, anthropologists, and paleopathologists worldwide.