"The Mummies of Urumchi"

Paper Summary:

The paper describes the finding of mummified bodies near Loulan, on the eastern edge of the Tarim Basin in China. The writer explains that originally the mummies were thought to be connected to Chinese history, however, they had many features of western people and are now thought to be from central Europe. The paper explains that some of Urumchi's mummies date almost 4,000 years old and that they are preserved more beautifully than Egyptian mummies. The writer concludes by explaining that the main theme of Barber's book is to explain that the mummies, even though found in Chinese territory, really belong to the west.

From the Paper:

"The mummies were found to be buried in the desert area and probably in winter season due to which it froze or got very cold and dried out before they could start rotting. When the summer season started, the bodies were already changed into the form of mummies. As the bodies were already dried, the summer's heat could cause any harm of deformation.
"These bodies were placed in coffins lacking any bottom which facilitate air to circulate well this allow the bodies to dry out completely, only few of them, found in nearby locality, were most probably buried in summer season, turned them into skeletons. The highly salty desert accelerated the drying out process, as the salt absorbs the moisture.
"The Urumchi mummies include Cherchen Man, his wife, two other women, and a baby girl wrapped in a beautiful brown cloth tied with red and blue ribbons. The infant was buried with a nursing bottle made from a sheep's udder and his both eyes were covered with a blue stones.
"Mummies found in Qawrighul, a little away form the place where Urmchi mummies were found includes the Beauty of Loulan and a few other mummies, among them was an eight-year-old boy covered with a patterned woolen cloth but his both eyes were covered with bone pegs. The cloth covering the Loulan body seems to be considerably less colorful may be the time factor, might faded its beauty, but even then its impressive in its patterns and weaves, it is knitted."

More papers on "The Mummies of Urumchi":

• Analytical Essay # 49319 : "The Mummies of Urumchi"
• Research Paper # 109505 : "The Mummies of Urumchi, China"
• Book Review # 62236 : "The Mummies of Urmuchai"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: