Hundreds of bodies have been unearthed in a cemetery in the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, western China. Known as the Tarim Mummies, they look as if they were still alive.

The bodies date back to around 4,000 years ago. Analysis of ancient DNA by scientists has revealed some of the findings.

Controversy over origins

From observations of their clothing, hairstyles and jewelry, scientists have speculated that they belonged to a very ancient culture of Indo-European migrants who settled thousands of years ago.

The perfect state of preservation of these mummies is not the only surprising thing. DNA results revealed that the bodies belonged to indigenous populations in the Tarim Basin, but were genetically distinct from other neighboring populations, deepening the mystery.

Today, researchers still wonder about their cultural activities, daily life, and their role in the spread of modern humans around the world.

The natural mummies scattered across the Tarim Basin were first excavated by European explorers in the early 20th century. Over time, more and more bodies were unearthed along with spectacular cultural relics.

To date, hundreds of bodies have been discovered. The oldest mummies date back to around 2,100 BC, and the most recent date back to around 500 BC.

One of the most famous mummies found in the Tarim Basin is “Princess Xiaohe” or “Beauty Xiaohe”. She is so well preserved that even her eyelashes have survived the pᴀssage of time.

Initially, these mummies were dressed in Western-style clothing, with a rather European appearance, leading scientists to believe that these were the remains of an Indo-European migrant group. Most likely, they were related to the Siberian people who had pastoral habits since the Bronze Age.

They had blond, reddish-brown hair, large noses, and wore light clothing. Sometimes their costumes were elaborate, made of wool, fur, or cowhide. Some wore pointed hats resembling witches’ hats and their clothes were made of felt or woven cloth, suggesting that these people had links to Western European culture.

Others wore checkered costumes reminiscent of Celtic culture, like one of the mummies known as Chärchän Man, who was over 1.8m tall, had red hair and a bushy beard, and was buried more than 1,000 years ago.

Another famous corpse was the 3,800-year-old princess or beauty Xiaohe, with blond hair, high cheekbones, and long eyelashes, Xiaohe appeared to be smiling before she died.

She wore a large felt hat, formal clothing, and jewelry, but scientists have yet to determine what Xiaohe’s social standing was.

Since the publication of DNA studies of 13 Tarim mummies, scientists have agreed that they belonged to an isolated group that lived during the Bronze Age in what is now the desert.

They concluded that the mummies descended from the ancient Norse, a relatively small group of ancient hunter-gatherers who migrated from West to Central Asia and are genetically related to modern-day Europeans and Native Americans.

The bodies were preserved by natural conditions

The bodies were not intentionally mummified. Rather, the dry, salty environment of the Tarim Basin, home to the Taklamakan Desert, one of the world’s largest deserts, caused the bodies to slowly decompose.

The harsh winter cold of the region may also have contributed to their preservation. According to researchers, many of the bodies were buried in boat-shaped wooden coffins, covered with cattle hides, and marked with wooden posts or oars.

The discovery of ephedra in the graves suggests that the plant may have had medicinal or religious uses.

However, archaeologists still do not know what this religion was or why certain graves included concentric rings of wooden stakes or the masks, tree branches, phallic objects, and animal bones found in cemeteries.

Although we know little about their culture, mummies were buried with barley, millet, and wheat, and even cheese-shaped necklaces, suggesting that they were farmers.

If the people of the Tarim Basin were genetically distinct, their practices, from burials to cheesemaking to clothing, reflect the techniques and arts practiced at the time.

Scholars also argue that the people of the Tarim Basin traded and interacted with other peoples in what would become an important corridor of the “Silk Road,” connecting east and west across the arid desert.

But archaeologists still have much to learn about the daily lives of these ancient people, especially about who they traded with, their beliefs, and the social hierarchy within society.