The Tarim Mummies
by J. P. Mallory, Victor H. Mair
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Book Summary Information
Author: J. P. Mallory, Victor H. MairEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-15
ISBN: 0500283729
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Book Reviews of The Tarim Mummies
Book Review: Evenhanded Treatment of Difficult Subject
Summary: 5 Stars
This book, written by two reputable professors, is probably the only book any non-specialist needs to read about the Tarim Mummies. J.P. Mallory is a professor of pre historic archaeology at Queen's University in Belfast, and Victor Hair is a Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at University of Pennsylvania. Furthermore, Mallory is the world's foremost non insane authority on the Indo Europeans. The Indo Europeans are the semi-mythical linguistic/ethnic group that spawned the languages and people that comprise essentially all of Europe as well as Sanskrit and it's derivatives and Iranian. The debate over these people's was badly tarnished by a century and a half of racist ideology (No one calls them the Aryans anymore, even though they called themselves Aryans.) Regardless of the historical baggage, it's an interesting area to read about. Mallory has written multiple books about the subject either by himself (In Search of Indo Europeans) or in conjunction with others (Oxford's Guide to Proto Indo European Linguistics.)
The Tarim Mummies reads like a synthesis of his theories about indo european linguistics, but here he has added the insight of Victor Hair, who is able to bring Chinese records into the equation.
According to Mallory, the Tarim Mummies emigrated into the Tarim Basin from the North West. His thesis is that they represent the Eastern fringe of a "centrifugal" migration of Indo Europeans south from their ancestral homeland in the Russian Steppes. In doing so, Mallory is advancing his long running thesis that places the indo european "home land" in the Asian-Russian steppelands of the North, as supposed to those who would place it the Caucauses, the western steppes or in south-eastern Europe.
This homeland debate is anachronistic in my mind- we have been so accustomed to fixed national borders that it seems foreign to think that entire nations migrated thousands of miles in the early period of civilization. In fact, settling down was a pretty good way to get wiped off the face of the map by nomads who kept their fighting spirit. Such was the case with the Tarim Mummy culture, who founded cities at the center of the silk road, only to be levelled by Ughyurs and ulitmately dominated by the Chinese.
Mallory's use of comparitive linguistics to buttress his arguments is fairly ingenious. I would like to see that technique applied to some other area of history besides the Indo European language question. It also helps take the matter out of the world of archeology. I have issues with the discipline of archeology, but that is not a subject for today.
Summary of The Tarim Mummies
"A fascinating and readable account...a valuable compendium of recent research on a little-known region." ?Archaeology. "Essential reading for archaeologists and scholars." ?ChoiceThe best-preserved mummies in the world are found not in Egypt or Peru but in the museums of Xinjiang, the westernmost province of modern China. For thousands of years the occupants of the barren wastes and oases that would later become the Silk Road buried their dead in the desiccating sands of the Taklimakan, the second greatest desert on earth. This arid environment, preserving body and clothing, allows an unparalleled glimpse into the lives and appearance of a prehistoric people: these are the faces of ancient Indo-Europeans who settled in the Tarim Basin on the western rim of China some four millennia ago, 2000 years before West and East recognized each other's existence.
The book examines the clues left by physical remains; economy, technology, and textiles; and traces of local languages. It is the definitive account of one of the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of recent times. 190 illustrations, 13 in color.
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