Research Catalog

Title

The Tarim mummies : ancient China and the mystery of the earliest peoples from the West, with 190 illustrations, 13 in color / J.P. Mallory, Victor H. Mair.

Author

Mallory, J. P.

Publication

New York, N.Y. : Thames & Hudson, 2000.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Mair, Victor H., 1943-

Description

352 p. : ill. (some col.), maps; 27 cm.

Summary

"J. P. Mallory and Victor Mair describe the discovery of the enigmatic mummies, and reveal the latest attempts of Chinese and Western scientists to explain their origin and ethnic identity. The book examines the clues left by physical remains; their economy, technology and textiles (some of the mummies even wore tartans); and the later traces of the languages of the Tarim region. The trail ultimately leads to two major contenders: the Indo-Iranians, the masters of the Eurasian steppes who poured south into the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, India and China, and the Tocharians, the most elusive of the major branches of Indo-Europeans."--Jacket.

Subject

• Mummies > Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu
• Mummies > history
• Emigration and Immigration > history
• White People > history
• Tarim Basin (China) > Antiquities
• Xingjiang Uygur Zizhiqu (China) > Antiquities
• China

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 337-343) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction: Rediscovery -- Beyond the Centres: Tarim Between East and West -- East Central Asia: Players at the Centre of the Board -- The Linguistic Landscape -- The Testimony of the Hoe -- The Mummies Themselves -- Tartans in the Tarim -- Skulls, Genes and Knights with Long Swords -- The Usual Suspects: The Indo-Iranians -- Tocharian Trekkers -- Who Were the Mummies? -- Legacy -- On the Tocharian Problems -- Radiocarbon Dates From Selected Sites.

ISBN

0500051011

LCCN

^^^99066166^

OCLC

• 43378559
• SCSB-12875756

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library