Mummies in the Desert.. with Boats

WELL PRESERVED: The mummy of an infant was one of about 200 corpses with European features that were excavated from the cemetery. Photo by Wang Da-Gang

Here is an interesting article by Nicholas Wade of the New York Times about a cemetery of mummies found in what is now China's northwest province of Xinjiang. The graveyard is located near a dried-up riverbed in the Tarim Basin. With layers of symbolism in many parts of their burial rituals, these mummies add some interesting information to history. They also have European features, but DNA markers of East and South Asian origin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/science/16archeo.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc

SYMBOLISM: Archaeologists believe the hundreds of 13-foot poles at the Small River Cemetery in a desert in Xinjiang Province, China, were mostly phallic symbols. Photo by Liu Yu Sheng

On March 27, an exhibition of these Tarim Basin mummies will open at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California. Wade notes that this is the first time the mummies will be seen outside of Asia. For more information, visit the Bowers Museum website:

http://www.bowers.org/

A 3,800-year-old mummy, the Beauty of Xiaohe, found at the Small River Cemetery. Photo by Wang Da-Gang