Scientists reveal the origin of the mysterious Chinese mummies of Tarim

The genomic study of mummies from the Tarim basin in western China has revealed that these enigmatic human remains belong to an indigenous population that, in the Bronze Age, was genetically isolated but culturally cosmopolitan.

The study’s findings, published today in Nature, are based on the first genomic study of prehistoric populations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and considered a crossroads for East and West culture, agriculture and languages.

In the late 1990s, in the Tarim basin of this region, hundreds of naturally mummified human remains were discovered dating from, physically ‘western’ in appearance, woven and felt woolen clothing, and an economy based in cattle, sheep and goats, wheat, barley, millet and kefir cheese.

These mummies, buried in ship coffins in the middle of a desert, and have inspired numerous theories about their origin.

Some scientists believe that due to the cattle and their unusual physical appearance, it could be the Yamnaya, a population of shepherds from the Bronze Age from the Russian steppes that in a few centuries spread throughout the rest of Eurasia.

Others trace their origins to the Central Asian desert oasis cultures of the Bactriana-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC), a group with strong genetic links to the early farmers of the

To better understand the origin of the founding population of the Tarim Basin mummies, researchers from Jilin University, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Germany), Seoul National University (Korea) and the University of Harvard, dated between 2,100 and 1,700 BC, and of five individuals between 3,000 and 2,800 BC from the neighboring Dzungarian Basin.

The researchers found that the mummies were not foreign, but were widespread and largely disappeared at the end of the last Ice Age.

This population, known as the ancient North Eurasians, is still present in the genomes of current populations, especially those indigenous to Siberia and America, which have the highest proportions (approximately 40%).

In contrast to current populations, the Tarim basin mummies do not show evidence of mixing with any other Holocene group, but form a genetic isolation unknown until now and probably prolonged before settling in the Tarim basin.

In contrast, analysis of the remains of individuals from the neighboring Dzungarian Basin showed that and of western steppe herders, the Afanasievo, a group with strong genetic ties to the Yamanya of the Early Bronze Age.

“These findings contribute to our understanding of the eastward dispersal of the Yamnaya ancestors and the settings in which mixing occurred when they first encountered the populations of Inland Asia.”says Chao Ning, a co-author of the study and a professor at the School of Archeology and Museology at Beijing University.

The study also reveals that the groups in the Tarim basin were genetically but not culturally isolated, as demonstrated by the proteomic analysis of their dental calculus, which confirmed that their individuals were practicing, and were well aware of, the different cultures and technologies in their environment.

“Despite being genetically isolated, the Bronze Age peoples of the Tarim basin were remarkably cosmopolitan from a cultural point of view,” concludes Christina Warinner, lead author of the study, and a Harvard professor.

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