Description:
In the late 1980's, perfectly preserved 3000-year-old mummies began appearing in a remote Chinese desert. They had long reddish-blond hair, European features and didn't appear to be the ancestors of modern-day Chinese people. Archaeologists now think they may have been the citizens of an ancient civilization that existed at the crossroads between China and Europe. (53min 13sec)
Excellent, thanks
Thank you for posting this Greg. The narcissist in me thinks you're posting this, the First Emperor of China and the Google Earth video of China's pyramids, to motivate my lazy butt into finishing my long-promised novel about a much-neglected Chinese archaeologist. Whether by design or accident, I'm motivated! ;)
Anyone who's interested in the topic, I heartily recommend Peter Hopkirk's Foreign Devils on the Silk Road (Amazon US or UK), a brilliant discourse on the men (and women) who explored the Taklamakan/Gobi Deserts and Central Asia for lost cities and archaeological treasures.
And if any TDG reader finds themselves in Melbourne between now and July, you can find me once or twice a week at the Melbourne Museum in the Great Wall of China: Dynasties, Dragons and Warriors exhibition, in the Guard Tower room helping visitors make their own Chinese calligraphy bookmark. I volunteer for the museum (so I can eventually get a job!).