The Tarim mummies are a group of preserved bodies found in the Tarim Basin, which is now part of Xinjiang, China. These mummies date back from about 1800 BCE to the first centuries BCE. Recently, a new group of mummies was found to be from around 2100 to 1700 BCE. The earliest Tarim mummies belonged to a population that practiced farming and herding. Around 2000 BCE, they lived in an area that was once a freshwater environment but has since turned into a desert.
In 2021, Zhang and others discovered that the earliest mummies (from about 2135 to 1623 BCE) had a large amount of Ancient North Eurasian ancestry (about 72%), with smaller contributions from Ancient Northeast Asians (about 28%). These people did not have ancestry linked to the Western Steppe. They formed a genetically separate group that adopted farming and herding practices from nearby cultures, allowing them to live and thrive near the shifting river oases of the Taklamakan Desert. These mummies were thought to be Proto-Tocharian-speaking herders, possibly related to the Afanasievo or BMAC cultures. However, the earliest Tarim Basin cultures seem to have developed from a genetically isolated local population.
In 2025, Zhang and others studied a Late Bronze Age site in the far west of the Tarim Basin, dated to 1600–1400 BCE. The people living there mostly descended from the Sintashta and Andronovo populations, with some ancestry from BMAC (10%) and Tarim_EMBA (12%). Nearly all individuals in this group belonged to the Y-DNA haplogroup R-M17.
Later mummies from the Iron Age (1st millennium BCE), such as those from the Subeshi culture, show similarities to the Saka (Scythian) Pazyryk culture of the Altai Mountains, especially in weapons, horse gear, and clothing. These mummies may be the ancestors of the Tocharians. More recent mummies from Qumul (Yanbulaq culture, 1100–500 BCE) are the earliest in the Tarim Basin to show "Mongoloid" features, as well as others with "Europoid" characteristics.
Archaeological record
At the start of the 20th century, European explorers like Sven Hedin, Albert von Le Coq, and Sir Aurel Stein described finding dried-up bodies during their searches for ancient items in Central Asia. Since then, many more mummies have been discovered and studied. Many of these mummies are now displayed in museums in Xinjiang. Most were found near the eastern part of the Tarim Basin, such as around Lopnur, Subeshi near Turpan, Loulan, and Kumul, or along the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, including Khotan, Niya, and Cherchen or Qiemo.
According to Mallory & Mair (2000), the oldest mummies found at Qäwrighul (Gumugou), dated to 2135–1939 BCE, were studied based on skull shapes. These mummies were classified as a type called "Proto-Europoid," which is similar to Bronze Age groups in southern Siberia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and the Lower Volga. Later, Hemphill & Mallory (2003) studied the same mummies again and found that they did not closely match European groups but formed their own group, different from those in the Andronovo and Afanasievo cultures or the BMAC culture in Western Asia. Later mummies showed connections to Andronovo-like, BMAC-like, or Han-like groups, suggesting different groups of people arrived in the Tarim Basin over time.
Some well-known mummies include the tall, red-haired "Chärchän man" or "Ur-David" (1000 BCE), his son (1000 BCE), a baby with brown hair wearing a red and blue felt cap and stones over its eyes, the "Hami Mummy" (c. 1400–800 BCE), a red-haired person found in Qizilchoqa, and the "Witches of Subeshi" (4th or 3rd century BCE), who wore large black felt hats. At Subeshi, a man was found with signs of surgery on his stomach, and the cut was sewn with horsehair threads.
Many mummies were found in excellent condition because the desert’s dryness helped preserve their bodies. These mummies often had Caucasian physical traits, and their hair was well-preserved, with colors ranging from blond to red to dark brown, and it was usually long, curly, and braided. Their clothing and textiles suggest they may have shared techniques with early Indo-European groups or used similar basic textile methods. The Chärchän man wore a red twill tunic and tartan leggings. Textile expert Elizabeth Wayland Barber noted that the tartan-style cloth looked similar to pieces found in Austrian salt mines from around the second millennium BCE. Because of the dry conditions, tattoos have been found on mummies from several sites, including Qäwrighul, Yanghai, Shengjindian, Shanpula, Zaghunluq, and Qizilchoqa.
Some textiles found with the mummies are similar to early European textiles, as they closely match fragments from Austrian salt mines dating to the second millennium BCE. Anthropologist Irene Good, an expert on early Eurasian textiles, noted that the woven diagonal twill pattern suggests the use of a complex loom and called the textile "the easternmost known example of this kind of weaving."
At the Yanbulaq cemetery, 29 mummies were found, dating from 1100 to 500 BCE. Twenty-one of them had a "Mongoloid" appearance, which was the first time this type of appearance was seen in the Tarim Basin. The other eight mummies had the same "Europoid" traits found at Qäwrighul.
Genetic studies
In 2007, the Chinese government allowed a team from the National Geographic Society, led by Spencer Wells, to study the DNA of mummies. Wells successfully extracted DNA from the internal tissues of the mummies. Scientists found enough material to suggest the Tarim Basin was continuously inhabited from 2000 BCE to 300 BCE. Early results showed the people likely came from Europe, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and other regions not yet identified.
A 2008 study by Jilin University found that the Yuansha population had close genetic ties to modern populations in South Central Asia and the Indus Valley, as well as to the ancient Chawuhu population.
Between 2009 and 2015, scientists analyzed the remains of 92 individuals from the Xiaohe Tomb complex for Y-DNA and mtDNA markers. Genetic analysis showed the maternal lineages of the Xiaohe people came from both East Asia and West Eurasia, while paternal lineages all came from West Eurasia. The mtDNA haplogroup C found in the Tarim mummies is linked to southeast Siberian groups like the Udeghe and Evenks, not East Asian groups, which carry different subclades of mtDNA C.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the Xiaohe people showed maternal lineages included haplogroups H, K, U5, U7, U2e, T, and R, which are now common in West Eurasia. Other haplogroups found were B5, D, and G2a, which are common in East Asia. Haplogroups C4 and C5 were linked to Central Asian or Siberian populations, while M5 and M were linked to South Asia.
In 2010, Li et al. found that 11 out of 12 males (about 92%) belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup R1a1a-M198, which is now common in Northern India and Eastern Europe. One male belonged to the rare paragroup K* (M9) from Asia.
The geographic location where these genetic mixtures occurred is unknown, but south Siberia is a likely area.
In 2021, Jilin University analyzed 13 individuals from the Tarim Basin, dated to around 2100–1700 BCE. Two were assigned to Y-haplogroup R1b1b-PH155/PH4796, and one to Y-haplogroup R1-PF6136.
In 2025, Zhang et al. studied a Late Bronze Age site in the far west of the Tarim Basin, dated 1600–1400 BCE. Nearly all individuals had Y-DNA haplogroup R-M17. One sample from the late Iron Age belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup Q1a2.
mtDNA samples from the Late Bronze Age Tarim Basin included haplogroups H27e, H11b, U4a1, U4c1, T2b34, N1a1a1a1, H5b, U2e3, U5b2a1a2, U4a2, H91, W1-T119C, U2e1e, T2d, U5a1b1, R1b1, H6a1a, HV14, T2a1b1, and R1b*. Two late Iron Age mtDNA samples belonged to haplogroup A+T152C!+T16362C and A2d1.
A 2021 study on Early Bronze Age Tarim mummies (13 mummies, including 11 from Xiaohe Cemetery, dated 2135–1623 BCE) found they were most closely related to Ancient North Eurasians, especially the Afontova Gora 3 (AG3) population. The AG3 genetic profile made up about 72% of the Tarim mummies’ ancestry, while the remaining 28% came from Ancient Northeast Asians. Beifang Tarim_EMBA mummies had slightly more ANA ancestry (about 11%) and were modeled as 89% Xiaohe-like ancestry. The Tarim_EMBA mummies are considered the best representatives of Ancient North Eurasians.
Comparisons with other ANE-derived populations showed early Tarim mummies from Xiaohe (“Tarim_EMBA1”) had the highest genetic similarity to Middle Holocene hunter-gatherers in the Altai Mountains (5500–3500 BCE). Both groups could be modeled as mixtures of each other and Ancient Paleo-Siberians.
Tests showed many Central Asian and Xinjiang groups have ancestry linked to the Early Bronze Age Tarim mummies. The Tajik people have the strongest genetic connection to the Tarim_EMBA mummies, though their main ancestry comes from Bronze Age Steppe pastoralists.
In 2025, Zhang et al. studied a Late Bronze Age site in the far west of the Tarim Basin, dated 1600–1400 BCE. Its inhabitants mostly descended from the Sintashta and Andronovo populations, with 10% ancestry from BMAC and 12% from Tarim_EMBA. By the late Iron Age, as cities in the Western Tarim Basin became Silk Road hubs, Andronovo-related ancestry was no longer detected.
Posited origins
Mallory and Mair (2000) suggested that at least two groups with certain physical traits moved into the Tarim Basin. They linked these groups to the Tocharian and Iranian (Saka) branches of the Indo-European language family. However, Professor Elizabeth Wayland Barber warned that assuming the mummies spoke Tocharian might not be correct. She pointed out that there was a gap of about 1,000 years between the mummies and the known Tocharians, saying that people can change their language without changing their physical traits.
Linguist Ronald Kim argued that the differences between known Tocharian languages suggest that Proto-Tocharian must have existed about 1,000 years before the Tocharians were recorded. This time period matches when the Tarim Basin culture was active.
In 1995, Mair claimed that the earliest mummies in the Tarim Basin were all Caucasoid, or Europoid. East Asian people arrived in the eastern parts of the basin around 3,000 years ago, and the Uyghur people came around the year 842. Mair's team suggested that these populations may have reached the region through the Pamir Mountains
Historical records and associated texts
The Western Regions, also known as Hsi-yu (Chinese: 西域; pinyin: Xīyù; Wade–Giles: Hsi-yü), was a historical term used in China from the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE to describe areas west of Yumen Pass, including the Tarim Basin and Central Asia.
Some groups living in the Western Regions were described in Chinese records as having full beards, red or blond hair, deep-set blue or green eyes, and high noses. Chinese sources note that city-states in the Tarim Basin reached their peak political power between the 3rd and 4th centuries CE. However, this may reflect increased Chinese influence in the region after the fall of the Kushan Empire.
The name "Rouzhi" may have been mentioned around the 7th century BCE by the Chinese philosopher Guan Zhong. However, his writings are often believed to have been written later. Guan Zhong described a group called the Yuzhi (禺氏) or Niuzhi (牛氏) as people from the northwest who provided jade to China from nearby mountains in Gansu.
After suffering major defeats by the Xiongnu in the 2nd century BCE, a group of the Rouzhi migrated to Bactria, where they founded the Kushan Empire. By the 1st century CE, the Kushan Empire had grown significantly and may have taken control of parts of the Tarim Basin.
Scholars believe that the languages known today as Tocharian A (also called Ārśi-käntwa, meaning "tongue of Ārśi") and Tocharian B (Kuśiññe, meaning "of Kucha") were distinct but may have shared a common ancestor, called proto-Tocharian, in the Tarim Basin during the second half of the 1st millennium BCE. Tocharian languages were recorded in documents between the 3rd and 9th centuries CE, with the earliest known written evidence dating to the 6th century CE.
Although the Tarim Basin mummies date back about 2,000 years before the earliest Tocharian texts, their shared location and connections to Western Eurasia have led many scholars to suggest they may be related to the Tocharian people.
Arguments for cultural transmission from West to East
The presence of people who spoke Indo-European languages in the Tarim Basin around 2000 BCE could, if proven, show that early cultural exchanges happened between Indo-European and Chinese groups. Some researchers think that skills like chariot warfare and bronze-making might have been shared with eastern regions by these nomadic groups. Mallory and Mair also note that before about 2000 BCE, very few metal items were found in China. Those that were discovered were simple and made of mixed copper, which raises questions about their origin.
Scholars are still debating whether bronze technology spread from China to the West or whether early Chinese bronze-making was influenced by cultures from the western steppes. So far, evidence suggests the latter might be more likely. However, the bronze technology in the northwest Tarim Basin was less advanced than that in the Yellow River region of East China, such as the Erlitou (c. 2070–1600 BCE) or Majiayao (c. 3100–2600 BCE) cultures, which were the earliest known bronze-using societies in China. This suggests that the Tarim Basin did not use copper or other metals until the Shang dynasty introduced bronze technology around 1600 BCE. The oldest bronze items in China were found at the Majiayao site (between 3100 and 2700 BCE), and from there, the Chinese Bronze Age began.
Bronze metallurgy in China started during the Erlitou period, which some historians link to the Shang dynasty. Others believe the Erlitou sites belong to the earlier Xia dynasty. The US National Gallery of Art describes the Chinese Bronze Age as the time between about 2000 BCE and 771 BCE, beginning with the Erlitou culture and ending with the fall of the Western Zhou dynasty. While this gives a clear timeline, it does not fully explain the ongoing importance of bronze in Chinese history. Since bronze was discovered in Mesopotamia much earlier, it is possible that China imported the technology rather than developing it independently. However, there is evidence that bronze-making in China developed separately.
In 126 BCE, the Chinese official Zhang Qian traveled to regions like Bactria and Sogdiana and reported on many western areas for the first time. He noticed Greek influences in some kingdoms and called Parthia "Ānxī," a translation of "Arshak," the name of the Parthian dynasty’s founder. Zhang Qian described Parthia as an advanced civilization that grew grain and grapes, made silver coins, and produced leather goods. He compared Parthia’s development to that of the Dayuan in Ferghana and the Daxia in Bactria.
Historical records confirm that jade from the Tarim Basin was sent to China for many years. Liu (2001) wrote that ancient Chinese rulers valued jade highly. Over 750 jade items found in the tomb of Fuhao from the Shang dynasty were from Khotan in modern Xinjiang. As early as the middle of the first millennium BCE, the Yuezhi people traded jade, with the rulers of agricultural China being the main buyers.
Famous mummies
The Princess of Xiaohe (Chinese: 小河公主) was discovered and named by archaeologists from the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology at Xiaohe Cemetery Tomb M11, located 102 km west of Loulan, Lop Nur, Xinjiang, in 2003. She had reddish brown hair and long eyelashes. She was wrapped in a white wool cloak with tassels and wore a felt hat, string skirt, and fur-lined leather boots. She was buried with wooden pins and three small pouches. Ephedra twigs and branches were placed beside her body. She is not currently displayed in any museum.
The Beauty of Loulan (also called the "Loulan Beauty" or the "Beauty of Krorän") is the most well-known of the Tarim mummies, along with the Cherchen Man. She was found in 1980 by Chinese archaeologists working on a film about the Silk Road. The mummy was discovered near Lop Nur and buried 3 feet underground. The dry climate and salt helped preserve her body. She was wrapped in a woolen cloth made of two separate pieces, which did not fully cover her body, leaving her ankles exposed. Funerary items were placed around her. Scientists estimate she lived around 1800 BCE.
The Beauty of Loulan lived about 1800 BCE until she died at approximately 45 years old. Her death likely resulted from lung failure caused by inhaling sand, charcoal, and dust. Elizabeth Barber suggests she may have died in winter because of clothing meant to protect against cold weather. The rough quality of her clothes and lice in her hair indicate she lived a difficult life.
The Beauty of Loulan had auburn hair, which was infested with lice. She wore clothing made of wool and fur. Her hood was made of felt and had a feather. She wore rough leather moccasins with fur on the outside, a leather skirt with fur on the inside for warmth, and a woolen cap. Elizabeth Barber notes that her clothing and a comb with four remaining teeth suggest she used the comb for both grooming and weaving. A neatly woven bag or soft basket was found near her, containing grains of wheat.
A 23-poem sequence about the Beauty of Loulan appears in the 2015 book Karyotype by Canadian poet Kim Trainor.
The Yingpan man is a much later mummy from the same region, dating to the 4th–5th century CE. He wore luxurious clothing and may have been a Sogdian or an elite member of the Shanshan Kingdom.
Controversies
In an article from 2008, Ed Wong wrote in the New York Times that Mair was not allowed to leave the country with 52 genetic samples. However, a Chinese scientist secretly sent him six of these samples, and an Italian geneticist did tests on them.
Since that time, China has stopped allowing foreign scientists to study the mummies. As Wong explained, "Even though there are political problems, people are still digging at the burial sites."