The Tarim mummies are a series of mummies discovered in the Yellow River Valley in present-day Xinjiang, China, which date from 6730 BCE to the first centuries BCE, with a new group of individuals recently dated to between and 1700 BCE.School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, China, (2021). "The genomic origins of the Bronze Age Tarim Basin mummies", in ENA, European Nucleotide Archive. The Tarim population to which the earliest mummies belonged was agropastoral, and they lived in what was formerly a freshwater environment, which has now become desertified.
Zhang et al. (2021) found that these early mummies (dating from 2,135 to 1,623 BCE) had high levels of Ancient North Eurasian ancestry (ANE, about 72%), with smaller admixture from Ancient Northeast Asians (ANA, about 28%), but no detectable Western Steppe-related ancestry. They formed a genetically isolated local population that "adopted neighbouring pastoralist and agriculturalist practices, which allowed them to settle and thrive along the shifting riverine oases of the Taklamakan Desert." These mummified individuals were long suspected to have been "Proto-Tocharian-speaking pastoralists", related to the Afanasievo or BMAC cultures, but "the earliest Tarim Basin cultures appear to have arisen from a genetically isolated local population.": "Our results do not support previous hypotheses for the origin of the Tarim mummies, who were argued to be Proto-Tocharian-speaking pastoralists descended from the Afanasievo, or to have originated among the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex or Inner Asian Mountain Corridor cultures. Instead, although Tocharian may have been plausibly introduced to the Dzungarian Basin by Afanasievo migrants during the Early Bronze Age, we find that the earliest Tarim Basin cultures appear to have arisen from a genetically isolated local population that adopted neighbouring pastoralist and agriculturalist practices, which allowed them to settle and thrive along the shifting riverine oases of the Taklamakan Desert." Zhang et al. (2025) investigated a Late Bronze Age site in the far west of the Tarim Basin, dated 1600 to 1400 BC. Its inhabitants overwhelmingly descended from the Sintashta and Andronovo population, with additional ancestry from BMAC (10%) and Tarim_EMBA (12%). Nearly all subjects belonged to Y-DNA haplogroup R-M17.
Later Tarim Mummies dated to the Iron Age (1st millennium BCE), such as those of the Subeshi culture, have characteristics closely resembling those of the Saka (Scythian) Pazyryk culture of the Altai Mountains, in particular in the areas of weaponry, horse gear and garments. They are candidates as the Iron Age predecessors of the Tocharians.
Discovery
The Tarim mummies were discovered at ancient cemeteries and settlements across the Tarim Basin, a large desert basin in present-day Xinjiang in northwestern China. The first remains became known to archaeologists during expeditions to the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. European explorers including Sven Hedin, a Swedish geographer and explorer; Albert von Le Coq, a German archaeologist; and Aurel Stein, a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, encountered naturally preserved human bodies while investigating ancient sites around the Taklamakan Desert, which occupies much of the centre of the basin. Over the following century, hundreds of naturally mummified bodies were identified at sites around the basin.
Some of the oldest remains were found in cemeteries around the eastern and southern margins of the desert. At Gumugou, a cemetery near the former Lop Nur lake in the eastern Tarim Basin, the earliest burials date to about 2135–1939 BCE, making them roughly 4,000 years old. The earliest mummies at Xiaohe Cemetery, another burial ground in the Lop Nur region, date to about 1884–1736 BCE, while those at Beifang, in the southern Tarim Basin, date to about 1785–1664 BCE.
Of these early cemeteries, Xiaohe has one of the best documented modern discovery histories. In 1911, Ördek, a local hunter who had previously assisted Swedish explorer Sven Hedin in locating the ruins of Loulan, encountered the cemetery in the desert west of the ancient settlement. Wooden posts marking the graves projected above the desert surface.
Twenty-three years later, in 1934, Ördek guided Folke Bergman, a Swedish archaeologist, back to the cemetery. Bergman excavated 12 burials and named the site Xiaohe, meaning "Small River", after a nearby watercourse.
After Bergman's expedition, the precise location of Xiaohe was lost to archaeologists for more than 60 years. It was relocated in 2000 by a team from the Xinjiang Archaeological Institute using GPS equipment. Systematic excavations followed between 2002 and 2005, about 90 years after Ördek first encountered the cemetery.
By the early 21st century, mummies had been identified at numerous sites across the Tarim Basin and dated to periods spanning more than two millennia. The earliest known examples date to the late third and early second millennia BCE, while other naturally preserved bodies from the basin date to the Iron Age and the first centuries CE.
Notable individuals Cherchen Man and the Zaghunluq burials Cherchen Man was one of five individuals excavated from two intact graves at the Zaghunluq cemetery near Qiemo, on the southeastern edge of the Tarim Basin. In September 1985, his body was found in Tomb 85QZM 2 with three adult women; nearby Tomb 85QZM 1 contained an infant. The adult grave has been radiocarbon dated to around 1000 BCE.
Cherchen Man lay on his right side with his legs bent and wore dark purple woollen clothing, felt socks and white deerskin boots. Painted ochre designs were preserved on his face. Two of the women were only partially preserved, while the third wore a dark reddish-brown woollen dress and white deerskin boots, with four braids, two of them artificial, and painted designs on her face.
The infant was wrapped in purple wool and wore a blue woollen hat, with two small stones placed over the eyes. A bovine-horn cup and sheep teat, possibly used for feeding, lay near the head.
Based on similarities in their burial garments, archaeologist Victor H. Mair suggested that Cherchen Man, one of the women and the infant may have formed a family group, although their relationships are unknown.
Witches of Subeshi
The individuals who became known as the "Witches of Subeshi" are naturally preserved women from Subeshi, an Iron Age cemetery and settlement near Turpan in eastern Xinjiang. Dating to approximately the fifth to third centuries BCE, the women are known for the distinctive tall, pointed hats found with their remains.
The surviving headgear was not uniform. At least some examples were made from dark felt, densely rolled and stitched to create a tall, tapered peak. One surviving hat has a broad brim and netting that appears to have held the woman's hair in place. The women were buried wearing other well-preserved clothing, including woollen garments and leather footwear.
The pointed headgear resembles the stereotypical witch's hat of later European culture, leading to the modern nickname "Witches of Subeshi". The name does not describe an archaeological identification: there is no evidence that the women were regarded as witches by their own community. Similar forms of pointed headgear were worn elsewhere in ancient Central Asia, including among groups described in Persian sources as Saka. Yingpan Man
The Yingpan man was a naturally preserved man excavated in 1995 from the Yingpan cemetery in the Lop Nur region. About 30 years old and tall, he died around 300 CE. His exceptionally rich burial included a red and yellow woollen caftan decorated with winged figures, animals and pomegranate trees, embroidered trousers, silk and gold decoration, and a gold diadem. Isotope analysis suggests that he grew up in an arid environment and had not travelled widely during the last years of his life, challenging earlier suggestions that he was a travelling Sogdian merchant. Princess of Xiaohe
The Princess of Xiaohe is a naturally mummified woman who died around 1800 BCE. She was excavated in 2003 from Tomb M11 at Xiaohe Cemetery in the Lop Nur region of present-day Xinjiang, northwestern China. Her grave had remained undisturbed for about 3,800 years.
She is unusually well preserved, with her skin, long hair and eyelashes surviving along with her clothing and numerous organic materials placed in her grave. She was buried in a boat-shaped wooden coffin covered by three ox hides. She wore a round white felt cap decorated with a leather peg and a dried weasel, a fringed loincloth, leather boots, a necklace of beads and feathers, and a jade bracelet. Her grave also contained ephedra, grains, a basket containing dried food, a leather bag, a wooden comb and a wooden phallic object.
A 2021 genome-wide study found that the Early Bronze Age people buried at Xiaohe belonged to a genetically isolated population with substantial Ancient North Eurasian ancestry. The researchers found no evidence that they descended from recent western Eurasian pastoralist migrants. Despite this genetic isolation, the Xiaohe population participated in wider cultural exchanges and practiced dairy pastoralism and cereal agriculture.
The Beauty of Loulan The Beauty of Loulan (also referred to as the "Loulan Beauty" or the "Beauty of Krorän") is the most famous of the Tarim mummies, along with the Cherchen Man. She was discovered in 1980 by Chinese archaeologists working on a film about the Silk Road. The mummy was discovered near Lop Nur. She was buried 3 feet beneath the ground. The mummy was extremely well preserved because of the dry climate and the preservative properties of salt. She was wrapped in a woolen cloth; the cloth was made of two separate pieces and was not large enough to cover her entire body, thereby leaving her ankles exposed. The Beauty of Loulan was surrounded by funerary gifts. The Beauty of Loulan has been dated back to approximately 1800 BCE.
The Beauty of Loulan lived around 1800 BCE, until about the age of 45, when she died. Her cause of death is likely due to lung failure from ingesting a large amount of sand, charcoal, and dust. According to Elizabeth Barber, she probably died in the winter because of her provisions against the cold. The rough shape of her clothes and the lice in her hair suggest she lived a difficult life.
The Beauty of Loulan's hair colour has been described as auburn. Her hair was infested with lice. The Beauty of Loulan is wearing clothing made of wool and fur. Her hood is made of felt and has a feather in it. She is wearing rough ankle-high moccasins made of leather, with fur on the outside. Her skirt is made of leather, with fur on the inside for warmth. She is also wearing a woolen cap. According to Elizabeth Barber, these provisions against the cold suggest she died during the winter. The Beauty of Loulan possesses a comb, with four teeth remaining. Barber suggests that this comb was a dual purpose tool to comb hair and to "pack the weft in tightly during weaving". She possesses a "neatly woven bag or soft basket". Grains of wheat were discovered inside the bag.
Other mummies Notable mummies include the "Hami Mummy" (c. 1400–800 BCE), a "red-headed beauty" found in Qizilchoqa.Though modern Westerners tend to identify this type of hat as the headgear of a witch, there is evidence that these pointed hats were widely worn by both women and men in some Central Asian tribes. For instance, the Persian king Darius recorded a victory over the "Sakas of the pointed hats". The Subeshi headgear is likely an ethnic badge or a symbol of position in the society. Also found at Subeshi was a man with traces of a surgical operation on his abdomen; the incision is sewn up with sutures made of horsehair.
Archaeological record