This documentary examines the famous mummies found in the Tarim Basin in China who are European Caucasian. There has been much controversy over the findings of archaeologists using genetic lab tests proving that Caucasians were roaming the Tarim Basin a good 1000 years prior to East Asian people arriving. Asians with Caucasian features; tall people with red or blond hair and light eyes have long been the part of ancient Asian legend. It was much to everyone's surprise when archaeologists unearthed evidence of these legendary "gods." Sadly, the Chinese government has appeared to have delayed making the research public out of concerns for fuelling Uighur Muslim separatism in its western-most Xinjiang region.
The discoveries in the 1980s of the undisturbed 4,000-year-old "Beauty of Loulan" and the younger 3,000-year-old body of the "Charchan Man" are legendary in world archaeological circles for the fine state of their preservation and for the wealth of knowledge they bring to modern research. In historic and scientific circles the discoveries along the ancient Silk Road were on par with finding the Egyptian mummies.
China's concern over its rule in Xinjiang has widely been perceived as impeding research into European caucasian mummies resulting in greater publicity of the findings. Tarim Basin mummies have not only given scientists a look into their physical biologies, they also looked into their clothes, tools and burial rituals.
Mair, the lead researcher said:
"I spent six months in Sweden last year doing nothing but genetic research... My research has shown that in the second millennium BC, the oldest mummies, like the Loulan Beauty, were the earliest settlers in the Tarim Basin."
He went on to say:
"From the evidence available, we have found that during the first 1,000 years after the Loulan Beauty, the only settlers in the Tarim Basin were Caucasoid."
"Modern DNA and ancient DNA show that Uighurs, Kazaks, Krygyzs, the peoples of Central Asia are all mixed Caucasian and East Asian. The modern and ancient DNA tell the same story."
East Asian people only began showing up in the Eastern portions of the Tarim Basin about 3,000 years ago and today the area is under communist China control.
The Uyghur Caucasians there today are wanting their independence from China. China has now moved large numbers of Chinese into the area.
China has only allowed genetic studies in the last few years. A 2004 study carried out by Jilin University also finding that the mummies' DNA had European genes, further proving that the earliest settlers of Western China were not East Asian.
East Asian people only began showing up in the Eastern portions of the Tarim Basin about 3,000 years ago and today the area is under communist China control. The Uyghur Caucasians there today are wanting their independence from China. China has now moved large numbers of Chinese into the area.
China has only allowed genetic studies in the last few years. A 2004 study carried out by Jilin University also finding that the mummies' DNA had European genes, further proving that the earliest settlers of Western China were not East Asians.
Useful Links and Videos
The Dead Tell a Tale China Doesn’t Care to Listen To
The Beauty of Loulan and the Tattooed Mummies of the Tarim Basin
China's Desert Mummies Documentary on the Taklamakan Mummies
Forbidden History - Mummies of China
David W. Anthony, Professor of Anthropology and Anthropology Curator of the Yager Museum of Art and Culture at Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York, presents "Horseback Riding and Bronze Age Pastoralism in the Eurasian Steppes"
Horseback Riding and Bronze Age Pastoralism in the Eurasian Steppes
Elizabeth Wayland Barber speaks on the Xinjiang Textiles: More Corridors in the Goldmine at the Silk Road Symposium held at the Penn Museum held in March 2011.
The Xinjiang Textiles: More Corridors in the Goldmine by Elizabeth Wayland Barber