New England Antiquities Research Association

Genetic testing reveals awkward truth about Xingiang's famous mummies

Khaleej Times Online

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April 19, 2005

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"After many years of controversy and political intrigue, archaeologists using genetic testing have proven that Caucasians roamed China's Tarim Basin, 1,000 years before East Asian people arrived."  Since reports first began circulating in the 1980s of well preserved Caucasian mummies with red hair and unique clothing that resembled nothing else ever found in Asia, interest has been high for more information and scientific research. In 1994 Discover Magazine published a cover article with color pictures and Elizabeth Wayland Barber managed to visit in 1995 and in 1999 published her excellent book Mummies of Urumchi.

Victor Mair, professor at the University of Pennsylvania has played a key role in bringing information to the west and "has worked tirelessly to get Chinese approval to take samples out of China for definitive genetic testing." Mair's endorsement on the back cover of Barber's book says "The Mummies of Urumchi is a brilliant and highly readable book by the world's foremost authority on ancient textiles. Those who read it carefully will not only gain a clear understanding of the nature and significance of what is arguably the finest collection of prehistoric textiles in existence; they will also receive a lucid, insightful exploration of the surprising origins and broad cultural interactions of the Bronze Age people of Central Asia."

The mummies range in age from 4,000 to 2,400 years old and are in such an excellent state of preservation due to the extremely dry climate of the Taklamakan Desert of the massive Tarim Basin in far western China.   One of the more recent discoveries is the 6' 6" Yingpan Man found in 1995. "...he had not only a gold foil death mask—a Greek tradition—covering his blonde bearded face, but also wore elaborate golden embroidered red and maroon garments with seemingly Western European designs."  Barber  had also found similarities in the weaving techniques and patterns that seem similar to early fabrics found in the Celtic Hallstatt Culture of Austria/Bulgarian region around the 5th Century BC.

China's reluctance to encourage dissemination of  this information is due to their concern about unrest in the Xinjiang region.  Mair said that "Modern DNA and ancient DNA show that Uighuirs, Kazaks, Krygzes, the peoples of Central Asia are all mixed Caucasian and East Asian. The modern and ancient DNA tell the same story. He hopes to publish his new findings in the coming months." (RS)

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