Major discoveries don't happen very often. Furthermore, these discoveries rarely cause scientists to re-examine something they once thought was true. This month, National Geographic Channel explores a mystery that will do just that. China's Mystery Mummies takes viewers to the Tarim Basin. This is a Chinese desert where hundreds of European-looking mummies were found.
Originally, scientists thought the desert was too
harsh to be
habitable. So where did the mummies come from?
The mummies were first found in 1978, but people forgot about them until they were found again in a
regional museum. This year, NGC follows a team of Chinese scientists as they
analyze the mummies and take DNA samples. DNA will help the team find real answers about who the mummies were. Luckily, the mummies are well preserved. That is because the weather conditions in the desert are extremely dry and perfect for mummification.
Besides what the
scientific tests show, the clothes and objects which were found with the mummies give clues about where they had come from. Their clothes are plaid, which was first seen in Europe. In addition, many of them have light hair.
重大的發現並不常發生。再者，這些發現鮮少能令科學家重新審視他們一度認為是真的事物。本月份，國家地理頻道探索一個將起如此效用的謎團。《中國神秘木乃伊》將帶觀眾一訪塔里木盆地。就在這片中國的沙漠裡，上百具狀似歐洲人的木乃伊為人所發現。起初科學家認為嚴峻的沙漠不適合人居住。那麼這些木乃伊到底從何而來？
這些木乃伊於西元1978年尋獲，不過人們竟將其忘記，直到它們再度於一間區域性博物館中被發現。今年，國家地理頻道跟隨一隊中國科學家前往分析這些木乃伊，並且抽取染色體樣本。染色體將幫助這批隊伍查出木乃伊身分的真正答案。幸運的是，這些木乃伊都保存得宜。那是因為沙漠裡的天氣情況極其乾燥，最適合木乃伊化。
除了這些科學化驗所呈現出的結果，跟木乃伊一同被發現的衣服及物品也提供線索顯示它們從何而來。他們的衣服為格子花紋，這種圖樣首見於歐洲。除此之外，它們多有淺色的頭髮。
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