A recent study by Dr. Gino Caspari revisits early interpretations of Xiaohe burial practices, highlighting the importance of considering them within the broader cultural and environmental contexts. "The funerary ritual is completely different from the surrounding cultures, and that is part of the fascination of this culture," says Dr. Caspari.

The Xiaohe culture was based in the Tarim Basin, in modern-day Xinjiang, China. The aceramic culture relied heavily on agriculture and pastoralism. The Xiaohe site was first discovered in the early 1900s and excavated by Swedish archaeologist Folke Bergman in 1934.

A complete excavation of the site did not take place until the early 2000s under the supervision of the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology. In total, 167 graves were found in addition to the 12 that had been excavated by Bergman in 1934.

The researchers estimated that the site had once contained around 350 graves, many of which had since been destroyed or eroded.

Of these, however, only a handful have been analyzed and reported on in detail, while many others are simply mentioned in condensed form in Chinese language excavation reports.

"Apart from limited maps of the Xiaohe cemetery, the information is unfortunately still rather incomplete. The burials that I've marked in red in [the figure above] are the only ones that have been properly published. So, unfortunately, we cannot really say very much about the overall patterns because we need to wait for our Chinese colleagues to fully publish the materials," says Dr. Caspari.