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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