The Xinjiang Mummies
Reconstruction of life, their appearance and rituals
- The main mummies have been put in woolen and felt clothing where they have been displayed in museums.
- The 'Beauty of Loulan's ' face was reconstructed through an artists impression to gain a better sense of what she looked like.
- There physical appearance were generally short people who were Caucasian .
- Rituals may have included those in preparation for the afterlife as well as practices surrounding sacrifice and those of a sexual nature.
Reconstruction of lifestyle, appearance,clothing,environment, death and rituals
What are the Xinjiang
Mummies?
Place of Discovery
- All the Xinjiang mummies have been discovered in the Tarim basin, situated in the region of Xinjiang in modern China.
- Found at the edges of the Taklamaken desert.
- Many different sites including burial grounds near the Tien Shan mountains, the Pamir plateau and Lop Nur.
- They have often been discovered by European explorers.
- Also known as Tarim mummies
- Include over a hundred of dessicated bodies found in modern China.
- Famous due to their incredible preservation, age (ranging from 1800BCE - 200CE) and Caucasian appearance despite their location.
Preservation and Hypotheses of
the Find
- All the mummies have been preserved WITHOUT human intervention.
- This was achieved through a drying out and dessicating process induced by the hot, dry sand of the Taklamaken desert.
- Many of the mummies have Caucasian features eg. blonde and red hair, blue eyes, angular faces and high cheekbones. This is interesting due to the fact that the mummies date far earlier than it was thought that the West came into regular contact with the East.
- It is hypothesised that there has been a mixed population of europeans and asians since the early Bronze Age (5000 years ago)
- These Europeans may have come to the area travelling across the Pamir mountains on the Silk road.
Religious Beliefs and
Customs associated with
Burial Practices of this nature
- Preserved by chance, not mummification
-Afterlife
-Designated burial grounds
-Sexual Iconography
The Role of Science
+ Written Sources
- Dating of the mummies
-Fabric analysis to confirm mummies origin
-DNA analysis to confirm mummies ethnicity
-Facial Reconstruction
-Sexual iconography assisting in reconstructing past cultural and religious beliefs