Princess of Xiaohe

The Princess of Xiaohe (; died 1800 BC) or Little River Princess is one of the Tarim mummies. She was found in 2003 at the Xiaohe Cemetery in Lop Nur, Xinjiang. She is also known as M11 for the tomb she was found in. Buried around 1800 BC, she has European and Siberian genes and has white skin and red hair. She is unusually well preserved, with clothes, hair, and eyelashes still intact.

Identity and dating

The individual commonly known as the Princess of Xiaohe (Chinese: 小河公主, "Little River Princess") was a woman of the Xiaohe culture buried in Tomb M11 at the Xiaohe Cemetery near Lop Nur in present-day Xinjiang, China. Discovery Map of the Tarim basin and the surrounding area. Xiaohe is marked in red near the center of the map.

The Princess of Xiaohe was unearthed by the archaeologists of Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology at the Xiaohe Cemetery No. 5, Tomb 11, west of Loulan, Lop Nur, Xinjiang in 2003. She is unusually well preserved, with long eyelashes, clothes, and hair still intact. Archeologists attribute this to the dry, salty conditions in the desert and tightly sealed coffins, which were wrapped in cowhide before being buried. As the cowhide dried out, it shrunk, sealing the coffins. Her body was not embalmed before death, but mummified naturally due to the climate and burial method.

Appearances and grave goods The Princess has long hair and eyelashes, with some facial features more similar to Ancient North Eurasians than modern people of the region she was found in, such as high cheekbones. She was tall.

Associated objects and clothing She was buried wearing a white felt hat, a white wool cloak with tassels, and string skirt, with fur-lined leather boots on her feet. She had a red rope necklace and a bracelet with one jade bead on her right arm. She was buried with wooden pins and three small pouches of ephedra. Twigs and branches of ephedra were placed beside the body. Wheat and millet grains, strings made from the tendons of animals, and animal ears were spread over her body. A wooden phallic object was placed between her breasts. Like the other mummies in the Xiaohe Cemetery, she was buried in a boat-shaped coffin with a standing wooden pole above it. Her grave had not been disturbed since her burial when it was found by archeologists in 2003. Her entire body and boots were also coated in a white substance, likely also a dairy product but so far of unknown origin. She was featured in the first episode of the documentary series New Silk Road.