Xinjiang conducts major study in physical anthropology based on mummies

Female mummy found in Loulan of Xinjiang. (File photo/China News Service)

Research Institute of Turpan in Xinjiang and Archaeology Research Center of Jilin University have reached an agreement on the joint study of the mummies found near the Turpan region. It' the first major study in the field of physical anthropology in Xinjiang.

Turpan has unique natural environment featuring multi-winds, less rainfall, high temperatures and dry air, which helps preserve the body of ancient people.

The study selected more than 170 mummies from 2500 to 3000 years ago. Among them were children, adolescents, middle-aged and elderly. All the skeletons have been sent to Archaeology Research Center of Jilin University for further study.

Of the skeletons to be studied, the mummy of a middle-aged man excavated in the Ancient Tombs of Shengjindian was with skull fracture and a prosthetic leg. Scientific research found the prosthetic leg was more than 2,300 years old, which is some hundred years older than the Roman Capua Leg – one of the earliest known prosthetic limbs in the world.