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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