Tarim Basin
764882
222380145
2008-06-29T01:24:11Z
Squids and Chips
2947772
Disambiguate [[Brahmi]] to [[Brāhmī script]] using [[:en:Wikipedia:Tools/Navigation_popups|popups]]
[[Image:KunlunMountains.jpg|thumb|right|400px|[[Taklamakan Desert]] in the '''Tarim Basin'''.]]
[[Image:Wfm tarim basin.jpg|thumb|right|250px|NASA landsat photo of the Tarim Basin]]
<!-- [[Image:EuropoidMaskLopNurChina2000-1000BC.jpg|thumb|100px|Europoid mask, [[Lop Nur]], China, 2000-1000 BCE. [[Tokyo National Museum]].]] -->
The '''Tarim Basin''' ({{zh-cp|c=塔里木|p=Talimu }}) is a large [[endorheic basin]] occupying an area of more than 400,000 km². It is located in the [[Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region]] in [[PRC|China]]'s far west. Its northern boundary is the [[Tian Shan]] mountain range and its southern is the [[Kunlun Mountains]] on the northern edge of the [[Tibetan Plateau]]. The [[Taklamakan Desert]] dominates much of the basin. The area is sparsely settled by the [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]]s, other [[Turkic peoples]] and [[Tajiks]].
==Geology==
The Tarim Basin is the remains of an ancient microcontinent that amalgamated to the growing Eurasian continent during the [[Carboniferous]] to [[Permian]]. At present, deformation around the margins of the basin is resulting in the microcontinental crust to be underthrust beneath the Tien Shan to the north, and the Kunlun Shan to the south.
The Tarim Basin is believed to contain large reserves of [[petroleum]] and [[natural gas]], with [[methane]] comprising over 70 percent of the natural gas reserve, up to 9.2 bb.<ref>[http://www.searchanddiscovery.net/documents/2007/07082zhang/index.htm Tongwei Zhang, Quanyou Liu, Jinxing Dai, and Yongchun Tang, ''Natural Gas Geochemistry in the Tarim Basin, China and Its Indication to Gas Filling History''] Aug 20, 2007</ref> A thick succession of [[Paleozoic]], [[Mesozoic]] and [[Cenozoic]] rocks occupy the central parts of the basin, locally exceeding thicknesses of 15 km. The [[source rock]]s of oil and gas tend to be [[Permian]] mudstones. Below this level is a complex Precambrian basement believed to be the remnants of the original Tarim [[microplate]], which accrued to the growing [[Eurasia |Eurasian]] continent in [[Carboniferous]] time.
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:SteinMummy.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Tarim Mummies]]]] -->
The snow on [[K2]], the second highest mountain in the world, flows into [[glacier]]s which move down the valleys to melt. The melted water forms rivers which flow down the mountains and into the Tarim Basin, never reaching the sea. Surrounded by desert, some rivers feed the oases where the water is used for irrigation while others flow to salt lakes and marshes.
==History==
[[Image:Tarimbecken 3. Jahrhundert.png|thumb|300px|Tarim Basin in the 3rd century]]
The [[Silk Road]], a series of trade routes through regions of Asia, splits into two routes: the [[North Silk Road]] along the northern edge<ref>[http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18006 ''Silk Road, North China'', C.Michael Hogan, the Megalithic Portal, ed. Andy Burnham]</ref> and another along the southern edge of the [[Taklamakan Desert]] in the basin. A middle route was deserted in the sixth century. The southern [[trackway]] includes the [[oasis]] towns of [[Yarkand]], [[Niya (Tarim Basin)|Niya]], [[Pishan]], [[Marin (China)|Marin]] and [[Khotan]]. The key [[oasis]] towns along the northern route are [[Aksu, Xinjiang|Aksu]], [[Korla]], [[Turfan]], [[Gaochang]] and [[Loulan]]. Other key towns include [[Kashgar]] in the South-West, [[Kuqa]] in the North, and [[Dunhuang]] in the East.
<!-- Cities along each branch (from West to East) include:
*Northern Silk Road: [[Aksu]] ({{coor dm|41|10|N|80|15|E|}}), [[Kucha]] ({{coor dm|41|39|N|82|54|E|}}), [[Korla]] ({{coor dm|41|39|N|86|08|E|region:CN_type:city(200,000)}}), [[Turfan]] ({{coor dm|42|59|N|89|11|E|}}), [[Loulan]] ({{coor dm|40|55|N|89|9|E|}}), "middle route", deserted from the [[6th century]])
*Southern Silk Road: [[Yarkand]] ({{coor dm|37|52|N|77|24|E|}}), [[Pishan]] ({{coor dm|37|37|N|78|18|E|}}), [[Khotan]] ({{coor dm|37|6|N|80|1|E|}}) -->
Formerly the [[Tocharian languages]] were spoken in the Tarim Basin. They were the easternmost of the [[Indo-European languages]]. The Chinese name "[[Yuezhi]]" (Chinese 月氏; Wade-Giles: Yüeh-Chih) denoted an ancient [[Central Asia]]n people settled in modern eastern Tarim Basin, who, vanquished by the [[Xiongnu]], later migrated southward in order to form the [[Kushan Empire]], which was centred on Afghanistan/Pakistan, but also extended into northern [[India]].
The Han Chinese managed to take control of the Tarim Basin from the [[Xiongnu]] at the end of the [[1st century]] under the leadership of general [[Ban Chao]] (32 - 102).
The powerful Kushans expanded back into the Tarim Basin in the 1st-2nd centuries AD, where they established a kingdom in [[Kashgar]] and competed for control of the area with [[nomad]]s and Chinese forces. They introduced the [[Brāhmī script|Brahmi]] script, the Indian [[Prakrit]] language for administration, and [[Buddhism]], playing a central role in the [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism]] to Eastern Asia.
[[Lop Nur]], a saline [[marsh]]y depression at the east end of the Tarim Basin, is a [[nuclear testing|nuclear test]] site for the [[People's Republic of China]]. The [[Tarim River]] empties into the Lop Nur.
==Archaeology==
[[Image:Miran fresco1.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Fresco]] from a [[stupa]] shrine, [[Marin (China)|Miran]]]]
Although [[archaeological]] findings are of interest in the Tarim Basin, the prime impetus for exploration was [[petroleum]] and natural gas. Recently research developed fine-grained analysis at the ancient [[oasis]] of [[Niya (Tarim Basin)|Niya]] on the [[Silk Road]]; moreover, the work led to significant findings of remains of wattle hamlets and daub structures as well as farm land, orchards, vineyards, irrigation pools and bridges. The oasis at [[Niya (Tarim Basin)|Niya]] preserves the ancient landscape. Here also have been found hundreds of 3rd and 4th century wooden accounting tablets at several settlements across the oasis. These texts are in the [[Gāndhārī language]] script native today's [[Pakistan]] and [[Afghanistan]]. The texts are legal documents such as tax lists, and contracts containing detailed information pertaining to the administration of daily affairs.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/vol2num2/oasis.html
|title=Archaeological GIS and Oasis Geography in the Tarim Basin
|publisher=The Silk Road Foundation Newsletter
|accessdate=2007-07-21
}}</ref>
Additional excavations have unearthed tombs with [[Tarim_mummies|mummies]],<ref>David W. Anthony, ''Tracking the Tarim Mummies'', Archaeology, Volume 54 Number 2, March/April 2001</ref> tools, [[ceramic]] works, painted [[pottery]] and other artistic artifacts. Such diversity was encouraged by the cultural contacts resulting from this area's position on the [[Silk Road]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://sino-platonic.org/abstracts/spp097_sino_western.html
|title=A Discussion of Sino-Western Cultural Contact and Exchange in the Second Millennium BC Based on Recent Archeological Discoveries
|publisher=
|accessdate=2007-07-21
}}</ref> Early Buddhist sculptures and murals excavated at [[Marin (China)|Miran]] show artistic similarities to the traditions of [[Central Asia]] and [[North India]]<ref>{{cite web
|year=
|month=
|url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/exhibit/trade/trade.html
|title=Silk Road Trade Routes
|publisher=University of Washington
|accessdate=2007-08-25
}}</ref> and stylistic aspects of paintings found there suggest that Miran had a direct connection with the West, specifically [[Rome]] and its provinces.<ref>{{cite web
|year=
|month=
|url=http://www.asianart.com/forum/serindia.html
|title= Ten Centuries of Art on the Silk Road
|publisher=
|accessdate=2007-08-25
}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Tocharians]]
* [[Geography of China]]
* [[Kara-Khanid Khanate]]
* [[Kunlun Mountains]]
* [[Flaming Mountains]]
* [[Taklamakan|Taklamakan Desert]]
* [[Tarim mummies]]
* [[Turfan water system]]
==Notes==
<references/>
==References==
*Baumer, Christoph. 2000. ''Southern Silk Road: In the Footsteps of Sir Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin''. White Orchid Books. Bangkok.
*Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the ''Hou Hanshu''." 2nd Draft Edition. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html]
* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.'' Draft annotated English translation. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html]
*Mallory, J.P. and Mair, Victor H. 2000. ''The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West''. Thames & Hudson. London. ISBN 0-500-05101-1
*Stein, Aurel M. 1907. ''Ancient Khotan: Detailed report of archaeological explorations in Chinese Turkestan'', 2 vols. Clarendon Press. Oxford. [http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/]
*Stein, Aurel M. 1921. ''Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China'', 5 vols. London & Oxford. Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980. [http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/]
* Stein Aurel M. 1928. ''Innermost Asia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran'', 5 vols. Clarendon Press. Reprint: New Delhi. Cosmo Publications. 1981.
==External links==
* [http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/ Silk Road Seattle] (The Silk Road Seattle website contains many useful resources including a number of full-text historical works)
* [http://idp.bl.uk/idp.a4d The International Dunhuang Project]
[[Category:Landforms of China]]
[[Category:Xinjiang]]
[[Category:Ecoregions]]
[[Category:Endorheic basins]]
[[Category:Sites along the Silk Road]]
[[ca:Conca del Tarim]]
[[de:Tarimbecken]]
[[fr:Bassin du Tarim]]
[[ko:타림 분지]]
[[it:Bacino del Tarim]]
[[lv:Tarimas baseins]]
[[lt:Tarimo baseinas]]
[[nl:Tarimbekken]]
[[ja:タリム盆地]]
[[no:Tarimbekkenet]]
[[pl:Kotlina Kaszgarska]]
[[ro:Bazinul Tarim]]
[[ru:Таримский бассейн]]
[[fi:Tarimin allas]]
[[sv:Tarimbäckenet]]
[[vi:Lòng chảo Tarim]]
[[zh:塔里木盆地]]