The Mummies of Urumchi [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

The 2000-year-old mummies of Ürümchi, found in central Asia along the famed Silk Road trading route, are so well preserved as to show clearly that they seem to be of Caucasian origin. Where did these people come from? Where did they go? You can find their pale-skinned, light-haired descendants among the people of the region, but the story of their presence in this forbidding land leaves more mysteries than it answers. Mass migrations during the Bronze Age scattered many peoples across Europe and Asia, and these startlingly lively looking mummies may help answer some questions about this period of human history. Their intact, fantastically coloured and patterned clothing captures much of author Elizabeth Wayland Barber's attention--she is an expert on prehistoric textiles. Her enthusiastic descriptions of the sewing skills of these migrant people, while focusing on details, lend an immediacy to this fascinating tale. Black-and-white as well as colour photos, maps, and diagrams illustrate Barber's colourful tale of anthropology. --Therese Littleton, Amazon.com -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

The 2000-year-old mummies of Ürümchi, found in central Asia along the famed Silk Road trading route, are so well preserved as to show clearly that they seem to be of Caucasoid origin. Where did these people come from? Where did they go? You can find their pale-skinned, light-haired descendents among the people of the region, but the story of their presence in this forbidding land leaves more mysteries than it answers. Mass migrations during the Bronze Age scattered many peoples across Europe and Asia, and these startlingly lively-looking mummies may help answer some questions about this period of human history. Their intact, fantastically colored and patterned clothing captures much of author Elizabeth Wayland Barber's attention--she is an expert on prehistoric textiles. Her enthusiastic descriptions of the sewing skills of these migrant people, while focusing on details, lend an immediacy to this fascinating tale. Black-and-white as well as color photos, maps, and diagrams illustrate Barber's colorful tale of anthropology. --Therese Littleton

In an often fascinating glimpse of an exotic lost world, textile expert Barber (Occidental Coll.; Womens Work, The First 20,000 Years, 1994, etc.) unravels the mysteries of the beautifully preserved mummies of rmchi, a city in western China. In1994 the West learned of dazzlingly appareled ancient mummies, discovered buried in the deserts of China's remote Uyghur Autonomous Region. Astonishingly, these mummified remains, the most venerable of which were approximately 2,000 years old, evoked the specter of tall, blond Caucasian people, wearing magnificently colored clothing, including polychrome leggings and high-peaked ``witches' hats.'' The following year, as part of a team of US scholars, Barber was able to observe these finds in the museum of rmchi. Although the graves contained few artifacts besides garments, Barber gleans what she can of the origins, life, and culture of these people from their brightly hued textiles, preserved from decay by the dry desert climate. Afforded a rare glimpse of prehistoric fabrics, the author draws parallels with the weaving techniques of Japan and the Middle East, particularly Persiabut also, more provocatively, with those of the Celtic peoples of Ireland and Scotland. She speculates that these mysterious people were peripatetic herders and oasis-hoppers of Indo-European origin, possibly Turkic-speaking, and she establishes links between the Caucasian people of this remote Chinese region and the ancient Celts. Other evidence may link the mummies with the ancient Iranians. Barber attempts to visualize the primeval landscape: She concludes that todays desert was then lush and inviting, moisturized by runoffs of glacial rainwater. The trove of mummies points to a vital prehistoric culture, nourished by contacts with both European and Chinese societies, and shows an ancient commerce between East and West, the legacy of which lives on in the Caucasian features of Chinese-speaking modern inhabitants of the region. A haunting archaeological excursion. (16 pages color, 50 b&w illustrations) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

In the museums of Urumchi, the windswept regional capital of the Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China - what we know as Chinese Turkestan - a collection of ancient mummies lies at the centre of an enormous mystery. Some of Urumchi's mummies date back as far as 2000 years - contemporary to the famous Egyptian mummies, but even more beautifully preserved, especially their clothing. Surprisingly, these prehistoric people are not Oriental but Caucasian - tall and large-nosed and blond with round eyes (probably blue). Where did they come from? What were these blonds doing in the foothills of the Himalayas? Elizabeth Wayland Barber describes these remarkable mummies, their clothing, and the world to which they so mysteriously belonged, piecing together their history and peculiar western connections, both from what she saw in Urumchi and from the testimony of those who explored along the Silk Road centuries earlier.