Did two distant ancient cemeteries share a single ancestral origin?
In short: Archaeologists are investigating the mysterious connection between two burial sites in the Tarim Basin. Despite being separated by 600 km, their striking similarities suggest a shared history that remains unsolved.
The Northern Cemetery, discovered more recently than the well-known Small River Cemetery No. 5 (also known as Ördek's Necropolis), shows such close ties to the latter that researchers consider them closely related. While the Northern Cemetery appears to be slightly older, the geographical distance between them poses a significant puzzle.
Both sites contain evidence of domesticated wheat, cattle, and goats or sheep—all originally from Southwest Asia. This leads to a central question: did these groups migrate from a shared starting point, or did one population descend from the other? Because formal reports for the Northern Cemetery are not yet available, current theories remain provisional.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Silk Road Symposium: The Northern Cemetery: Epigone or Progenitor of Small River Cemetery No. 5?
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