No Celts in Ancient China
Every now and then a news story comes to light about the so-called Celtic mummies of China. The story has been making rounds for most of this century, from scientific conferences to ABCNews. Without detracting from the wonder that is the Cherchen mummies, let’s set the record straight concerning the Celticness of these men and women" writes Emma Wohlfart on her blog PastPresenters. What arguments does she offer and err.. were we mistaken too?
Emma - who introduces herself as a twenty-something writer with an archaeology degree, a laptop and a maxed out library card - agrees that there were Bronze Age contacts between Europeans and the Chinese, but wants to get the message across, preferably once and for all, that they were not Celtic:
- The 'Xinjiang Europeans' had all died by the time anyone was referred to as a Celt.
- Icons found with the bodies which resembled in some ways the Sheela na Gig figure are no sign of Celticness. The Sheela na Gigs we know from Ireland are 2400 years younger and occure all across Europe.
- The standing stones surrounding the burial was linked to the British dolmens, but these belong to the Stone Age and predate Celtic culture by thousands of years and exist in Asia too.
- DNA findings were that the mummies shared DNA with, amongst others, modern Swedes, Finns, and Italians, neither of which are particularly Celtic.
After Emma has convinced you that the Celts never got quite as far as China, you can quickly learn more about the these fascinating ancient peoples of Europe by listening to the Sixty Second Celtic Chronicle podcast series on Emma's YouTube Channel, starting at the introduction, of course.
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These people may have been Tocharians, the easternmost branch of the white Europeans, who had spiritual and trade links with Asia. Or possibly proto-Celts i.e. the peoples who were there before the Celts were named as such by the Greeks. As to the argument that there is no blood link between Celts and Italics and Scandinavians, some experts might disagree. Denmark was Celtic for centuries and the famous Cimbri, who came from Jutland, had Celtic names.
The Celts were in India, they served as mercenaries in Cleopatra's Egypt, so it seems a little short sighted to conclude that they could never have reached China.
Anne, first I'd like to say I'm Chinese and I think you are hot!
Anyway, It is interesting that these people from the Caucasis region settled in China and from all indication, had contact with the Mongolians. One has to wonder if there are any intermixed decendents still living in China.
The Chinese like to think they are a "pure" race, but the funny thing is, we're just as mixed as the Americans. China was one of the first melting pots of the ancient world.
A new study at the Hui Zhou of Jilin University in Changchun, confirms indeed part eurasian ancestry (but did not mention any Celts). ;) A combination of DNA tests and gathering archaeological evidence for human remains found at the Xiaohe cemetery, Tarim Basin, an important site on the ancient Silk Road.
Their genetic analyses revealed that the maternal lineages of the Xiaohe people were originated from both the East and the West, whereas paternal lineages discovered in the Xiaohe people all originated from the West. The Xiaohe people were an admixture from populations originating from both the West and the East, implying that the Tarim Basin had been occupied by an admixed population since the early Bronze Age. The team says that considering the unique genetic haplotypes and particular archaeological culture, the admixed population might have had relationship with populations settled South Siberia during the Bronze Age.
The abstract:
The Tarim Basin, located on the ancient Silk Road, played a very important role in the history of human migration and cultural communications between the West and the East. However, both the exact period at which the relevant events occurred and the origins of the people in the area remain very obscure. In this paper, we present data from the analyses of both Y chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) derived from human remains excavated from the Xiaohe cemetery, the oldest archeological site with human remains discovered in the Tarim Basin thus far.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that the Xiaohe people carried both the East Eurasian haplogroup (C) and the West Eurasian haplogroups (H and K), whereas Y chromosomal DNA analysis revealed only the West Eurasian haplogroup R1a1a in the male individuals.
Our results demonstrated that the Xiaohe people were an admixture from populations originating from both the West and the East, implying that the Tarim Basin had been occupied by an admixed population since the early Bronze Age. To our knowledge, this is the earliest genetic evidence of an admixed population settled in the Tarim Basin.
The complete paper - 'Evidence that a West-East admixed population lived in the Tarim Basin as early as the early Bronze Age' - can be found on biomed central.
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