The Ancient Corpses of Xinjiang: The People's of Ancient Xinjiang & Their Culture by Wang Binghua. The publisher says: In the Xinjiang region, especially the vast area south of the Celestial Mountains (Tian Shan), the weather is extremely dry. Here desiccated corpses are often discovered in ancient graves. When unearthed, apart from dehydration, they remain basically the same as when buried with their hats, clothes, ornaments, and detailed physical features. They therefore provide us with rich historical and cultural information not previously selected or revised by scholars. 

Scientific data that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to acquire are obtained from these corpses and their associated artifacts - the inhabitants’ racial characteristics, ethnic customs, basic necessities of life, religious beliefs, artistic and aesthetic concepts, nutritional condition, causes of illness, infestation by parasites, the natural ecological environment and its changes, etc. This data is unusually significant in Xinjiang, a region where minority races prevailed, where Chinese, Indian, Persian, Greek, and Roman cultures intermingled. 

This book describes the historical and cultural items that accompanied the ancient desiccated corpses.