The east-west direction of the Tien Shan Mountains separates the Dzungarian Basin in the north from the Tarim Basin in the south. Djungar is dry grassland, and in the Tarim Basin there is a huge Taklamakan desert surrounded by oases. In the east is the Turfan depression. The Tien Shan mountains diverge in the west, forming the Ili River valley.
History of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Between 2009 and 2015, 92 remains from the Xiaohe Cemetery were analyzed for Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA markers. Genetic analysis of the mummies revealed that the paternal line of Xiaohe man originated in Europe, while the maternal line of early humans was diverse, including East Eurasian ancestry, West Eurasian ancestry, and a small amount of Indian ancestry. Over time, the West Eurasian matriline was gradually replaced by the East Eurasian matriline. This means that frequent extramarital affairs with women in Siberian communities over hundreds of years led to the loss of the original diversity of mitochondrial DNA lineages observed in the early Creek people. As a result, Tarim's population has always been markedly diverse, reflecting a complex history of ancient mixing of ethnic groups of North Asian, South Asian and North European origin. Tarim mummies have been found in Loulan, the ancient tombs of Xiaohe, Qavrigul and other places in the western Tarim Basin. These mummies were previously thought to be Tocharian or Indo-European, but recent evidence suggests that the earliest mummies belonged to a separate group of people unrelated to the Indo-European shepherds, and may have spoken a mixed and isolated language.
Although many Tarim mummies are classified by anthropologists as Caucasian, "Caucasian" and "Mongoloid" remains have also been discovered at Tarim Basin sites, suggesting a connection between newly arrived Western nomads and eastern farming communities. Mummies have been found in Loulan, the ancient tombs of Xiaohe, Tsafri Guli and other places in the western Tarim Basin.
Nomadic tribes such as the Yuexi, Saki, and Wusun were likely part of the Indo-European immigrants who settled in western Central Asia long before the Huns and Han Chinese. By the time the Han dynasty under Emperor Wu of Han (141-87 BC) reconquered the western Tarim Basin from its previous rulers (the Xiongnu), it was already inhabited by a variety of ethnic groups, including the Indo-Europeans of Turfan and Qiutsi Tocharian language. , the Sakya people living in the Shule Kingdom and the Khotan Kingdom, various Tibeto-Burmese ethnic groups (especially those associated with the Qiang people), and the Han people. Some linguists believe that Tocharian is heavily influenced by ancient Siberian languages such as Uralic and Yeniseian.