Tarim Mummies' 13 Genomes Overturn European Migration Theory After 3,500 Years
Updated
Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 1
Tarim Mummies' 13 Genomes Overturn European Migration Theory After 3,500 Years
3 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 1
Summary
Genome-wide DNA from 13 early Tarim mummies dated 2100-1700 BC shows they were a local, long-isolated population rather than migrants from Europe or the western steppe.
The 2021 study found about 72% Ancient North Eurasian ancestry and 28% ancient Northeast Asian ancestry, with the gene pool forming roughly 9,157 years ago after a severe bottleneck.
Afanasievo steppe herders did reach nearby Dzungaria a millennium earlier, but the data indicate they did not cross the Tianshan into the Tarim Basin.
Artifacts still point to wide cultural exchange: the Xiaohe people used West Asian wheat and dairy, East Asian millet and Central Asian ephedra despite remaining genetically isolated.
Dental plaque and 2024 cheese analysis show they consumed fermented milk without lactase persistence, while language and later population changes in the Tarim Basin remain unresolved.
If the famous Tarim mummies were not western migrants, how did an isolated desert population acquire foreign dairy, millet, and western-style clothing?
How did a genetically isolated Bronze Age population safely consume a dairy-heavy diet of cheese and kefir despite being completely lactose intolerant?
If genetic evidence disproves western migration into the Tarim Basin, who actually brought the Indo-European Tocharian language to ancient northwest China?