Eurasia holds one of the largest desert lands has a number of mummies buried beneath it. The span of the dry and sandy terrain is enough to preserve remains since the bronze age. In a new study, the unearthed bodies from the Chinese desert are found to have their links still tied to their origins.
Mystery of Xiaohe People
The desert was known to be a habitat for an ancient group known as the Xiaohe. During their time, the ancient Xiaohe colony built their economic growth through their expertise in the field of cattle herding. But among their specialized skills, little is known about the Xiaohe people's way of life. In addition, historical studies often debate the true origins of the group, considering that their appearances are excessively diverse. The distinct physical structure and ornament designs uncovered in Eurasia often confuse the records, and this was a big challenge for experts on tracking the Xiaohe's lineage.
Among the potential theories is that the ancestors of the Xiaohe people could have been migrants hailing from other places. Another guess is that they were originally the dairy farmers from Russia known as the Afanasievo or even the Iranian-Asian hybrids specializing in oasis farming.
The new study suggests neither of the initial theories but instead diverts the true origins based on the oldest mummy unearthed from the region. According to the research, the Xiaohe people originated from one of the groups that emerged during the Pleistocene period. These people are among the large population of hunter-gatherers that vanished without a trace right after the last ice age ended.
Seoul National University population genetics expert Vhoongwon Jeong said in a Science Alert report that the Holocene Ancient North Eurasian people had been a topic and mystery throughout the history of archaeogenetic studies. The expert said that finding clues and traces about the group is essential to complete the foundation of the genetic history in Inner Eurasia. Fortunately, the study was able to discover one of the missing fragments of the lineage, and Jeong said that it was found in the least expected region.
ALSO READ : Acheulean Tool-Making Tradition May Had Persisted Until About 177,000 Years Ago Before Homo Sapiens Arrived
Afanasievo Migrants: Siberians
The Tarim Basin, best known as the Xinjiang region, gave the most comprehensive clue. The place was isolated in the middle of mountainous terrains but was full of oases and riverine. The place is a link between the East and the West, where the active civilized exchange 40,000 years ago took place along with its infamous nearby area known as the Silk Road.
The archaeological excavation discovered many mummified remains from the basin since the 1990s. The group of bodies is dominated by a population that has brown hair and a long nose. Moreover, the Tarim mummies were also found in a unique burial process, where the placement of the coffin is similar to an upside-down boat. The remains were buried along with bronze artifacts, fine clothing, and several carcasses of various types of animals. The study confirmed that instead of the first-thought Indo-European group, the Xiaohe people's ancestors were indeed the Siberian migrants that brought farming skills to the region. The complete coverage was published in the journal Nature, titled "The genomic origins of the Bronze Age Tarim Basin mummies."
Check out more news and information on Archaeology in Science Times.
