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Full title: The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mysteries of the Earliest Peoples from the West
I started this book at the end of April and finished it in mid-October. Don't let that fool you, though: the only real problem with this book is that it's too large and heavy to take on the train, and so (for someone like me, anyway) the only time to read it is at bedtime, when I can only get through four pages max before conking out, which is the only reason why it took almost six months of fairly regular reading to finish it. In terms of the content and the writing style, this book is a gem.
This book explores the Tarim mummies, the extraordinarily well preserved mummies found in central Asia, many of whom are of a Caucasian physical type, and tries to figure out who these people were and what they were doing in Asia. It's a really well-written, well-organized, and in-depth look at the history, prehistory, cultures, textiles, archaeology, anthropology, burial practices, and languages of the region. The writers come at the topic from every possible angle to try to gather more information that could help to understand the mummies' identities.
For the most part, the book is understandable at the layman's level. Mallory and Mair explain each topic clearly. My only comprehension problem was related to the length of time it took me to read the book; by the time I got up the late chapter on languages, I was four months away from my reading of the chapter on the groups of people who occupied these areas in the historical record, so I had a little trouble keeping the Andronovo and Afanasevo straight and remembering the characteristics of the Kucheans vs. the Saka and whether some of them might have been the same people. But if you read this book like a normal person in a reasonable amount of time, you should be okay there, although a few big maps in an appendix would have been a welcome addition. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.
I started this book at the end of April and finished it in mid-October. Don't let that fool you, though: the only real problem with this book is that it's too large and heavy to take on the train, and so (for someone like me, anyway) the only time to read it is at bedtime, when I can only get through four pages max before conking out, which is the only reason why it took almost six months of fairly regular reading to finish it. In terms of the content and the writing style, this book is a gem.
This book explores the Tarim mummies, the extraordinarily well preserved mummies found in central Asia, many of whom are of a Caucasian physical type, and tries to figure out who these people were and what they were doing in Asia. It's a really well-written, well-organized, and in-depth look at the history, prehistory, cultures, textiles, archaeology, anthropology, burial practices, and languages of the region. The writers come at the topic from every possible angle to try to gather more information that could help to understand the mummies' identities.
For the most part, the book is understandable at the layman's level. Mallory and Mair explain each topic clearly. My only comprehension problem was related to the length of time it took me to read the book; by the time I got up the late chapter on languages, I was four months away from my reading of the chapter on the groups of people who occupied these areas in the historical record, so I had a little trouble keeping the Andronovo and Afanasevo straight and remembering the characteristics of the Kucheans vs. the Saka and whether some of them might have been the same people. But if you read this book like a normal person in a reasonable amount of time, you should be okay there, although a few big maps in an appendix would have been a welcome addition. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.
