Mummies of Nomadic Pastoralists

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Mummies of Nomadic Pastoralists

• Adrian McClain

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Mummies

• Mummies do not come back to life
• They can be created by humans or are the product
  of natural causes
• Extreme conditions heat, cold, low humidity,
  etc.

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When and Where the Mummies Were Found

• 1978 (with some earlier reports)
• Northwestern China near Taklimakan Desert
• Province of Xinjiang
• Dry, hot (over 100 degrees at times) environment
• Hair, skin, and other tissues remained intact

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Basic Mummy Info

• Dated from about 4000-2300 BP
• Common people, no evidence they were elites
• Buried with clothing and other grave goods
  ritualistic burial (tattoos, etc.)

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But the Most Interesting Thing

• Mummies were tall and thin, and had light-colored
  hair, thick beards (on men), round eyes, and
  relatively large noses
• These features are usually associated with
  Europeans whats up with that?!?

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Over a Decade Later, the Investigation Continues

• After Ice Man discovered in Alps in 1991, DNA
  research publicized
• Victor Mair (U.S.A.), Wang Binghua (China), and
  Paolo Francalacci (Italy) team up to study again,
  using new methods
• DNA collected problems with analysis (one
  individual) but limited results show relation to
  European peoples
• Physical anthropology findings earlier
  individuals physically similar to groups to
  northwest later resembled western and
  southwestern neighbors

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Why Might it Matter???

• Caucasian presence this far East might change
  thoughts about isolation of early Chinese states
• If contact occurred, many accepted facts would be
  questioned invention of first metal objects,
  wheel, horse-riding, chariots, etc.
• Indo-European language missing piece?

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Other Evidence of Origins

• Clothing
• Wagons, wheels, and horses
• Historical accounts
• Tocharian language
• Pottery

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Clothing

• Mummies wore brightly colored wool clothing,
  leather boots, and sometimes tall, pointed hats
• Wool is woven in same twill pattern as usually
  associated with Europe

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Wagons, Wheels, and Horses

• Wagon wheels found near mummies resemble ancient
  Ukrainian ones
• Bit, reins, whip, saddle, etc. found near graves
• Could have come from Eastern Europe with this
  technology, which later spread to Shang Dynasty

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Historical Accounts

• Old books describe tall, bearded men with light
  eyes and hair as historical or legendary figures
• Modern-day people in the region also have these
  featureswhy so different from neighbors?

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Tocharian Language

• Texts discovered in area dating between sixth and
  eighth centuries written in a language we named
  Tocharian
• This language belongs to Indo-European family,
  separate from Chinese

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Pottery

• Studied and found by experts in field to resemble
  style that extended geographically from
  modern-day Russia to Hungary
• Bronze objects similar origins
• Sun design

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Conclusions

• No clear-cut evidence that these people came from
  West, but widely accepted with few criticisms
• Studies continue, though poorly funded, and with
  some limits from Chinese government