Caucasoid mummies in China

A recent article in the New York Times pointed out the ongoing controversy about more than 200 mummies excavated in Xinjiang, China, over the past few decades. Because of their caucasian features, the mummies--referred to as the "Tarim Basin" or "Urumqi" mummies--support the idea that northern China was a melting pot. I first heard of them in Elizabeth Wayland Barber's The Mummies of Ürümchi. Click on the photos for further information.