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CHINA

January/February 2022

JF22 ATW ChinaCHINA: Genome sequencing has revealed the surprising genetic origins of the enigmatic mummies found in the Tarim Basin. Because of the mummies’ distinctive Western appearance and clothing, researchers believed they were part of a population that migrated to the area more than 4,000 years ago, perhaps from the Eurasian steppe. But the new results show that the people were actually indigenous to the region and were direct descendants of a group known as the Ancient North Eurasians, who were thought to have largely disappeared toward the end of the last Ice Age, around 11,500 years ago.