The Surprising Origins of the Tarim Basin Mummies

© Wenying Li, Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

In a new study, an international team of researchers has determined the genetic origins of Asia’s most enigmatic mummies - the Tarim Basin mummies in western China. Once thought to be Indo-European speaking migrants from the West, the Bronze Age Tarim Basin mummies are revealed to be a local indigenous population with deep Asian roots and taste for far-flung cuisine.

Publication: Zhang, F., et al., The genomic origins of the Bronze Age Tarim Basin mummies, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04052-7

Original Story Source: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology