A new study by archaeologist Dr. Gino Caspari is offering fresh insights into one of China’s most mysterious ancient burial traditions – boat-shaped coffins buried deep in the desert sands of the Tarim Basin.
The Xiaohe culture, which thrived between 1950 and 1400 BCE, is best known for its distinctive graves found in present-day Xinjiang.
Located in one of the driest regions on Earth, the cemetery preserved wooden coffins, cattle remains, and upright posts in exceptional condition. Many of these graves resemble small boats, complete with curved sides and flat bottoms.
“The funerary ritual is completely different from the surrounding cultures, and that is part of the fascination of this culture,” said Caspari, who revisited earlier interpretations of the site to better understand its meaning.
The Xiaohe site was first uncovered in the early 1900s and partially excavated by Swedish archaeologist Folke Bergman in 1934. But it wasn’t until the early 2000s that a complete excavation took place, led by the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology.
Researchers uncovered 167 new graves, adding to Bergman’s original 12. They estimate the site once held as many as 350 burials, though many were lost to erosion and damage over time.
Despite the scale of the site, only a few graves have been studied in depth. “Apart from limited maps of the Xiaohe cemetery, the information is unfortunately still rather incomplete,” Caspari said.
Researchers have identified three main burial types. The most common features of wooden coffins are set in sandy pits, each marked by a tall pole at the head.
A second type, much rarer, includes clay shells around wooden coffins containing only female remains.
A third, rectangular structure topped with cattle skulls and hides has no human remains and may have served a different purpose.
Caspari’s study focused on the boat-shaped coffins. Earlier scholars suggested these might represent symbolic canoes. He supports this idea, pointing to their construction and the use of cattle hides that may have served as waterproofing.
Mummy from a Bronze Age cemetery at Xiaohe, Xinjiang(1500BC). By DNA test, archaeologists find the Xiaohe people had a mixed ancestry of South Siberians and West Europeans. Yet perhaps she should be left alone in her snug boat coffin, instead of being displayed in a glass case. pic.twitter.com/foKyn0U7s4
— Jin Xu 徐津 (@xujnx) November 3, 2019
He also proposes that the upright poles may not symbolize human anatomy, as once thought, but rather paddles or mooring posts for guiding the dead on a journey through the afterlife. He draws comparisons with ancient beliefs in a mirrored or upside-down afterlife, seen in early Scandinavian, Saharan, and Egyptian cultures.
The Xiaohe culture vanished around 1400 BCE. Its disappearance remains unexplained. “At this point, it would be mere speculation. We simply do not have the data,” Caspari said. Access to the region remains limited.
“This is unfortunate and occasionally frustrating because Xinjiang plays such an important role in our understanding of the dynamics of prehistoric Central Asia.”
