Mystery Of Tarim Mummies Buried In Boats In A Chinese Desert Finally Solved

Who were the Xiaohe mummies, and why are they so mysterious and controversial? In this video, we explore the secrets of the Xiaohe tombs, one of the most fascinating archaeological discoveries of the 21st century. We learn about the origins, the culture, and the appearance of the ancient people who lived and died in the remote desert of China, but left behind clues that suggest they had connections to Europe, Siberia, and the Americas. We also examine the political and scientific challenges and debates that surround the study and the display of the mummies, and how they reflect the diversity and the complexity of human history. Join us as we uncover the mystery of the Xiaohe mummies, a treasure of human history and a challenge for human understanding.
#Xiaohe #Mummies #History #Archaeology #China #DNA #Culture #Mystery

[@ulexite-tv]

Title: "Finally Solved." Script: "Not fully solved." Editor: "Make up your mind!"

[@dianelipson5420]

To be fair? That’s just called Archeology? I don’t necessarily agree with the sensationalist speculation, but at least the guy doesn’t click bait and tease. Miniminuteman might be a lot more constructively critical, tho.

[@jenniferbennett9602]

Lots of wood here. Was it even considered that it was not a complete dessert and there were lakes and trees nearby

[@Manuka-px2pe]

No germanics

[@poorman7526]

Eaxactly!!! Back then the desert wasnt as dry and hot. It was very different

[@charliecharles9738]

4000 years ago the environment may have been very different. There may have been rivers and lakes. Just because it's desert now, doesn't mean it was then... Perhaps?

[@rerawho]

Perhaps there was plenty of water in the region during their time.Maybe they used boats in their everyday life. Deserts don’t support trees so wood would not be available. The clothing doesn’t look like anything worn by desert dwelling people.

[@muqeo]

💯

[@myriamickx7969]

Maybe there were even lakes or rivers which later disappeared as a result of climate change.

[@raclark2730]

They could represent solar boats as are found in some ancient traditions.

[@harry130747]

It must have been dry or the mummies wouldn't have survived.

[@beetafly2]

There's a lot about history that we don't know or quite understand.........

[@minecraftingmum5574]

In order to raise cattle, sheep, wheat and millet water is required. This is the problem with looking at the past from the point of view of now. Too often we forget that the climate has been in Flux forever, not just now. We make assumptions based on our current, modern way of thinking and miss the obvious. This was an area of water. Lakes, rivers etc. Trees grew there, hence the boats. It was colder too, hence the woolen clothing. The clues are there.

[@robertdewitt6188]

While the find is fascinating, the theories of the speaker has to many problems to be taken seriously. Were the coffins really boats, the badly dated Vikings, the lack of a map, the lack of climate data for that period, and so on, is very poor science.

[@summerman2]

It probably was not a a desert back then. Very interesting

[@elenabaker3967]

Agree

[@peternolan4107]

Two excellent books about this: Elizabeth Wayland Barber, The Mummies of Urumchi, 1999. J. P. Mallory and Victor H. Mair, The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West, 2000. There are undoubtedly many new developments since these books were published, but still lots of interesting information about linguistics, the Silk Road, the Tocharians.

[@muqeo]

their felt hats look Peruvian

[@Bakedea87]

Chinese and Native American cultures have a lot in common.

[@roysnider3456]

I really don’t get it, if the area were desert back then there wouldn’t be any trees to make into boats that would mean the a stone and bone tool culture spent a lot of time and energy hauling boats into the middle of a desert and that just doesn’t add up to me.

[@annepoitrineau5650]

You say they used woven wool...and showed us knitted wool lol. These mummies are fascinating. We need to learn more about them.

[@emmahardesty4330]

Glad you talked about those people but maybe tighten up your info. Good book: The Mummies of Urumqi.

[@susanjane4784]

I'm a bit bothered that there was no presentation of geography. A map with a single pin does not provide enough information. Were there rivers? Any bodies of water? Where did their irrigation water come from? The mountain people were located where? Also, a better genealogical map would be helpful featuring even general percentages -- flashing a European map is not good supporting evidence.

[@TheOtherKine]

It's a fricking desert. LMAO

[@raritica8409]

China really doesn’t want to have to change the narrative of their “independent history”.

[@esbliss13]

Was it a desert when they lived there?

[@TheOtherKine]

@@esbliss13 Yes.

[@aandrus2169]

Clickbait Headline. "Finally solved" 5:59 "Not fully solved."

[@vipertwenty249]

Ancient cultures do not care about modern politics. They were what they were and that is all that mattered to them. China should celebrate the great diversity of the cultures and histories of its people.

[@knife-wieldingspidergod5059]

Only when they fall within the party's doctrine.

[@vipertwenty249]

@@knife-wieldingspidergod5059 There is a difference between foolishness and stupidity. If the Chinese Communust Party can only think of that then it falls into the Stupid category.

[@IDD.Bronze.Sculptures]

Their clothes look so modern and wouldnt be out of place today. That child looked like it had sun glasses on.

[@shawnstine3244]

Vikings in 2000 BCE? That's reaching for straws😂

[@oltedders]

I thought they came from the Eurasian steppes.

[@DCrypt1]

Who said anything about Vikings? I too thought Eurasian Steppes.

[@alexandergutfeldt1144]

@@DCrypt1The Narrator mentions the vikings as possible influence or inspiration for the boats. I too think that is unlikely!

[@bryanm5233]

@@alexandergutfeldt1144. Since we’re reaching for straws, maybe they influenced the Vikings? If they were from 2K BC, maybe there were rivers close by.

[@stephanieyee9784]

​@@bryanm5233, If they lived in the middle of an Asian desert and no one knew of their existence until the 20th century it's highly unlikely Norsemen knew of them. Perhaps there was a small river that ran through the territory at the time of their existence.

[@jasonhare8540]

So if I'm understanding this correctly these people are the ancestors of everyone from the Portuguese and the French and everyone else in the low countries all the way out to the Alti mountains with traces of Native American . I mean is this the base camp everyone's ancestors gathered at after we left Africa . A default Eden if you will though I hate to use the term due to the connotations. *If these people existed far back enough in time that they carry genetic markers of indigenous Americans there is no way they saw Vikings because Vikings didn't exist yet . Water is seen as sacred in places where there's not a lot of it . That's why it was so important to the Persians and the Egyptians and everyone else in that region. It's far more likely it was seen as a type of heavenly relief from a desert environment than was inspired by Vikings . I mean if they're carrying genetic markers of indigenous Americans that is well before the Viking age .

[@walkertongdee]

Not boats silly, many tribes still inter their dead in hollowed-out trees, it is a somewhat common practice that still happens today here in northern Thailand with the Akha hilltribe people.

[@mkuti-childress3625]

I think the oars made the boat hypothesis more plausible. But you’re right, it could be something completely different. I’d love to see the actual research and why they concluded what they did.

[@riikkaalanen3429]

Xiaohe means “small river”. There used to rivers and lakes where there’s now only desert. Shaping the coffins like boats makes some sense in that respect because they very likely were meant as boats or something similar, maybe who knows, carrying the dead away in some spiritual sense - or maybe just because they came in handy. So yeah, I’d love to know a bit more about the scientific reasoning behind the interpretation presented here.

[@Laura-y4h]

There were tattoos on some of them, which some have posited were for purposes of healing. In another, and much better documentary about these mummies, the suggestion was made that the Caucasian people descended from them had intermarried with Asian people and their genes were incorporated over many years into the larger population among which they lived. I like that idea. In other areas excavated they were buried into the ground in rock or timber lined tombs. Caucasian and Asian were buried together, indicating shared lives and a shared society.

[@sentimentalcircuscurator]

Umm... did they have viking dna as well?? Because the boats....thats how we buried the dead, in the old asatro/norse gods, with the difference that we also burnt the whole thing. And we DID go to asia as well, I believe? wasnt there a small jade buddha statue found in an old viking grave here in the north ? We went EVERYWHERE. And sometimes, we stayed. That tattoo, on the mans skull, is that a dragon or just a spiral ? It actually kinda sorta looks like something that could come from us. Or some culture similar to us. The way they wear their hair/hairstyle also reminds me of this preserved scalp by a woman I once saw at a museum here. They had some of her bones, but the main thing about her was that her head of hair was so well preserved, that even her hairdo and the long strips of fabric/ "ribbons", keeping it in place was fully visible. It was the first thing I thought of, when I saw this. Maybe they all got sick, by some disease, or maybe their source of water got unexpectedly poisoned ? It could have been a matriarchy, and so their queen or priestess got the most thourough embalming. Did they have celtic ancestry by any chance ???? The thing on the side of his skull looks familiar somehow, but I dont know from WHERE excactly. This is VERY interesting.

[@weirdredpanda]

Fascinating! I don't think that I had ever heard of these mummies before. And of course, the Chinese government is limiting access to them. 😒

[@rosescott9299]

They are commonly referred to as to as the Tarim mummies and have been famous (among people who study such things) for some time. The Chinese have allowed outsiders to study their DNA since 2007, and since then many studies have taken place.

[@weirdredpanda]

@@rosescott9299 Thank you. So the video isn't completely accurate.

[@DiscoveryFuture]

www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/tarim-basin-mummies-dna-archaeology Check out the last part of the article.

[@greensage395]

Seems like a ton of trees went into making these....what kind of trees, and where did they originate?

[@westaussie965]

BC not BCE

[@timkbirchico8542]

dubious political references.

[@lynnestamey7272]

This is amazing. Now I wonder about what else could be discovered.

[@winstoncrane7803]

Imagine what else the Chinese government wants to hide.

[@dianelipson5420]

Why can’t all click bait be like your clickbait? And then you actually deliver? No teasing? Damn good. Subscrimbo.

[@qooguy]

Finally Solved? Video's conclusion: "We may never know why boats..."

[@BlackyBrownDestruction9337]

Needs facial reconstruction

[@janeb1484]

i was interested until you started the chinese propaganda

[@jintonic07]

finally solved?? oook

[@elzaaltmann]

Heard something similar about a woman with bright red hair and probably thought of as a queen

[@seventen7195]

tocharian language

[@YooAKang]

Have found any weapon or agricultural tools? Andy dwelling site? Thanks

[@skydivingcomrade1648]

China (the current land mass) has always had a variety of peoples and cultures, it isn't until post WWII and the rise of communist Chinese party that the Han have been able to push others out of their lands.

[@capitalistdingo]

7:38 “Do you find them fascinating or frightening?” Spoiler alert: if you find them frightening you are a pathetic wretch and should be institutionalized. I realize this was a desperate solicitation for comments as is common to game the algorithm gods these days - so I played along - but really? “Do you find the spooky mummies frightening?” 😂

[@MichaelWinter-ss6lx]

Was that 3000 to 1500 BC ? They could not have seen Vikings, as these go back only to 1200BC. Also not possible that they immigrated to America, as that happened at a much earlier time.

[@apaisarachannel5525]

We native of Sarawak Malaysia Borneo called Iban have a similar coffin like boat to put the death and than place inside the cave or familiar place to the deceased at the hill or mountain. Maybe we related to this ....

[@livinginthenow]

Uyghur is pronounced WEE-ger, not OY-ger.

[@westaussie965]

Who cares

[@livinginthenow]

@@westaussie965 The Uyghur people care, that's who.

[@ottodidakt3069]

they could very well be a travelling group, I don't see any evidence that they where settled ? you mentioned Vikings, who indeed did travel not so far from those regions, and who where a diverse group of people, "Viking" being an activity and not an ethnic belonging even tho it originated in Scandinavia and was culturally mainly that. The time frame given by the sites dating makes it possible. And whose to say that the Vikings where the only travelling groups ?

[@clairemercer3099]

All you need is one river for them to use boats. When the river dries up the city ends up being abandoned.

[@elenabaker3967]

The Chinese government should be approached again so more research can be done. The warriors have bought a lot of tourists to China as well as money. Perhaps approaching China with the idea of tourists and money might allow more research.

[@zasmirko100]

Buried in boats - common in old Scandinavian ("wiking") burials.

[@esbliss13]

What was the climate like when they lived there? Some places the climate has gone from temperate to very dry.

[@joewhite4080]

Uyghur is pronounced -- "Wee-Gerr" The narrator keeps mispronouncing it.

[@gayleblack1919]

2000bc, the area would be very different from the desert. If they can find whale bones in the desert why not sea fairing people.

[@yahwea]

Did that last mummy have a pair of chop sticks? I know in old Japan one traveled with chop sticks.

[@YasrabAli-v7h]

I think there was no desert there was a ocean or river if they are Egyptian .. Egyptian buried some people in river and ocean

[@Itsnotapet]

Theres literally maps from ancient times showing there were rivers and lakes there

[@davesky538]

DNA don't lie

[@zarb88]

you would have been a superior juror on the o.j.simpson case.

[@raritica8409]

Ancient Celtic people

[@allhailqueenhelga]

"they may have encountered the vikings" has so many layers of shit wrong with it i dont even know where to begin.

[@TheJaniceJoy]

The lady with the long eyelashes…isn’t her face covered by a mask?

[@2HighNoon]

What if they were descendants of Noah? 🤷‍♂️

[@gardenlifelove9815]

They went to valhalla

[@NotYoung3592]

Nothing is solved at all, just theories, as usual....

[@wcfields4469]

Maybe they weren't boats. And where did they get wood

[@melaniesmith1313]

They moved around.

[@goldcountryruss7035]

Nothing is solved here.

[@mauijonny]

Where'd they get all of that wood?

[@galeocean4182]

excellent question

[@harry130747]

Where did all this wood come from in a desert?

[@llxxll]

has anyone done DNA testing on them yet?

[@donwright3427]

Crewmember

[@darylkeeton8658]

Yes it seems that the silk road is a lot older than they say

[@markgarin6355]

Ok no where near Mongolia

[@comfortablynumb9342]

Maybe they built the boats in case of a flood?😂

[@arseniofernandezpaco987]

Yeaaaahhhh😎

[@winstoncrane7803]

Diverse group but closely related, strange clothes and burial practices for where they are. The boats resembles Egyptian but burial practices are like norse.... raises more questions than anything. I'd like to know how they all died, the girl looked rather young.

[@kubhlaikhan2015]

The boats are clearly indicative of the fact that a waterway once existed stretching all the way from Tarim through the Aral and Caspian to the Black Sea. Contemporary Greek legends attest to travels along this route. It would have been nothing less than an inland sea at the end of the Ice Age, dwindling ever since (and still dwindling today with the drying up of the Aral and receding shorelines of the Caspian). Flood and subsequent drought also explain why half the Tarim population fled to North America and the other half sailed beyond the Pillars of Hercules.

[@Northmanson1066]

The are an Indo-European people that originated in the Steps of East Asia (Siberia.) These people went into Europe, Anatolia, India and China.

[@theforestdweller625]

It just shows China is bigger today than what it use to be. These people could have been a werry eastern outpost of the people living north and vest of where they are found.

[@ALehrer-s8f]

they look uyghur

[@nievaconsing3344]

✝️RIP🙏🙏🙏❤❤❤🕊️💐🕯️🇵🇭

[@annepoitrineau5650]

Descendants of the Hittites, who sort of disappeared after their defeat? On the other hand...the Norse people went everywhere...

[@TheOtherKine]

Incredible!!!

[@gordonbrunner9429]

...very interesting ...would love to see this

[@DiscoveryFuture]

So do I

[@jaynorris3722]

Vikings, hey why not that got around. Always going, never arriving.

[@jamescoleridge7368]

Jackanory

[@lindajesse8250]

Clearly distinct

[@antoniotorcoli5740]

I stopped watching when they said they met the Vikings

[@systeminoperative8790]

they just cannot be trusted , ever!

[@stephanieyee9784]

Of whom do you speak?

[@jannetteberends8730]

The casket were boat shaped. That doesn’t mean that it are boats. The form can be just something that developed that way over time. The form follows the body. Just like coffins of today.

[@galeocean4182]

do the paddles suggest boats to you, or do you have an alternate explanation for those? I thought they looked like boat paddles

[@alisn.7998]

Why is it reaching for straws? One should always, surely, keep an open mind. After all, these people were found in an area apparently alien to them, and had small boats, for some reason, in what was presumably desert 4000 years ago. Maybe they were passing though? Who knows? Stranger things have happened than them possibly knowing about seafaring Vikings.

[@GerbenWulff]

Those seafaring Vikings didn't live yet in that era. So, unless they had invented time travel, that would have been impossible. Boats are used in many cultures as a way to reach the afterlife. Egyptians buried boats with their pharao's as these were deemed necessary to reach the afterlife. In ancient Greek mythology a ferryman brings the dead across a river to the afterlife. In some old cultures the dead were put on boats which were set on fire and left to flow down a river, or out with the tide.

[@MichaelWinter-ss6lx]

Vikings as such started not before 1200BC.

[@stephanieyee9784]

​@@MichaelWinter-ss6lx, incorrect. The "viking" were mainly active from around the 9th century until the 11th century. However, they were already raiding what is now England in the 8th century.

[@galeocean4182]

I'm so sad to learn China is making these mummies into a political quagmire. They deserve to be celebrated, studied and preserved. I'm afraid the govt. will disappear them. I heard about them many years ago and wondered about them. Thanks for the update.

[@simonevans343]

VIKINGS ????? 2000 BC TO 1500 BC . I DONT THINK SO

[@SacredDreamer]

2000 B.C. = Bronze Age. These are the survivor bloodlines fromThe Great Flood. .. (The Photographs are The most Extensive ive seen ! Thank You so much for your video.

[@DiscoveryFuture]

You're welcome.

[@SacredDreamer]

Think of it this way. WHERE did they get the wood from if they were in the desert 🤔 AND , where did the get the clay from They survived The Great Flood. Their descendants used Their boats as their coffin, and the Oar as their Marker after death, in Rememberance. ... And the clay ,, well, what do we get at the water table - CLAY. 🤔 I wonder if anyone has analysed the wood yet, be interesting to see what trees they are.

[@stephanieyee9784]

Oh please. Survivors of The Great Flood?

[@SacredDreamer]

@@stephanieyee9784 Yep. "Yu the Great - Wikipedia" en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_the_Great

[@esbliss13]

The Great Flood refers to the end of the last ice age when water levels rose. 😉

[@robertwaguespack9414]

It is said that the Goths and the Ostro-Goths came from the east.

[@User-kjxklyntrw]

Just found out that mummies shockingly actually ancient chinese native that means Altay was Chinese descendants, they were born from intermarry between ancient Sinotibetan and East European Caucassian Nomad arround 8000 years ago. So if u are White Caucassian that means u can say u re Chinese descendants.

[@judewarner1536]

Non-factual, unfortunately. The DNA of western European caucasians is very distinct from the various Eastern people's referred to. Apart from anything else, the DNA of eastern Asian people contains relict Denisovan genes, up to 6%, while Denisovan genes are not found in western Europe.

[@User-kjxklyntrw]

@@judewarner1536 what the different between Western and Eastern European Caucassian and Altay Caucassian dna and what are the similarities. In my observation the similarities are they all descent from Ancient Sino tibetan, the difference are they have intermarry with ancient other human sub species like if u re western European u will have dominance neanderthal intermarry genes than others. But the eastern European and Altay is closer to Sinotibetan genetically, because Sino tibetan firstly become eastern European before become western European that intermarry with Neanderthal, and Altay came from Sino tibetan that intermarry with eastern European. I know it is not popular in old day science journals, but after observe I found the sequence is reversed in old view and incomplete, yes it is relatively new point of view of our evolution sequence by nowadays scientists and arkheologs. If we want to say from African directly evolve into Western European, I don't find clue about it, because one think if we observe Asian Albino actually has closer appearance with eastern European Caucassian and Altay Caucassian, than we compare an African albino to Caucassian. And eastern European appearance closer to Western European. Neanderthal can not be evolved directly from Africa Homosapiens, because the hair shape model difference is to far , so that straight and a little bit wavy long hair of western European should came from 'Ancient Sino tibetan -> Homosapiens in China that intermarry with Tibetan Denisovans'. If western European evolved directly from Africa the hair should be so Curly like snails when it cut short.

[@poorman7526]

Uhhh back in ancient times, the desert wasnt a desert yet. It was a desert but not as dry and there were more rivers and forest

[@redstedman]

who says it is a boat? not a boat. casket,