238
The number of years that the fountain of a topless woman in Treviso, Italy, dispensed wine to celebrate the election of a new mayor – white from one breast and red from the other.
Who were the Tarim Mummies?
SHORT ANSWER
Despite their unusual characteristics for Asia, this isolated group were not travellers from far away
LONG ANSWER
The 20th-century discovery of hundreds of naturally preserved mummies in the desert of the Tarim Basin, in the present-day Xinjiang region of China, constituted a remarkable archaeological achievement. They dated from around 2000 BC to AD 200 – with one of the oldest being the so-called ‘Loulan Beauty’ – and had survived the ravages of time thanks to the extremely dry and arid environment.
Yet there is more to the Tarim Mummies: they were found to have Caucasian physical features, such as the ‘Cherchen Man’, from around 1000 BC, with his red hair and beard, high cheekbones and long nose. If that wasn't unusual enough for Asia, some were buried in upside-down boats with stakes that resembled oars, which sounds rather Viking-like. Their clothing made of wool, felt and leather was similar to what was worn in Europe, and some possibly intended as food for the afterlife.
For a long time, experts believed the mummies were of Indo-European ancestry, perhaps migrants from Siberia. Recent analysis, however, suggests the Tarim Mummies were, in fact, long-time locals of the area, descending from an
