The Opposite End of China || Xinjiang & Northwest China Blog (中国的另一端 || 新疆 & 中国西北博客): Gruesome Gansu Find

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April 06, 2006

Gruesome Gansu Find

121 skulls found in Gansu Province... where did they come from?

There's a really gruesome story that's been developing in Gansu Province these past few days. A local herdsman was apparently minding his own business in a forest near the Gansu/Qinghai provincial border when he discovered a plastic bag containing more than a hundred human skulls... 121 skulls, to be exact. Many of the skulls had been sawed off at the top (see photo), and tests show that they came from the bodies of both children and adults.

So, what's the deal? Is there a psychotic serial killer on the loose in northwest China? Is this another case of shady post-mortem organ harvesting? Nobody seems to know at the moment, but I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: Are Tibetan skullcrafters behind the bag of heads? Yes. Actually, no. Or... maybe? I'm still confused. Read more below.

China to conduct DNA tests on 121 skulls found in forest
3 April 2006
The Press Trust of India Limited

Beijing, Apr 3 (PTI) Authorities have ordered DNA testing on 121 skulls found last week in a forest in central China's Gansu Province, to determine whether they belonged to humans, a media report said today.

The skulls were first thought to be monkeys, but Liu Naifa, life science professor at Lanzhou University in Lanzhou, the provincial capital, said they were human.

Plastic teeth were found in a jaw of one of the skulls, the 'Lanzhou Morning Newspaper' reported.

Most of the skulls bore marks of cutting with a saw.

Liu said the skulls, which belonged to young and old and men and women, were sawn not long ago.

A herdsman found the bones in a forest in Tanshanling Town of the Tibet Autonomous County of Tianzhu last week, according to the newspaper.

The forest is on the border between Gansu and Qinghai.

The provincial police have reported the case to the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing.

-----------------------------------------------------

Police in northwest China investigate discovery of 121 human skulls
5 April 2006
Associated Press Newswires

SHANGHAI, China (AP) - Scores of human skulls, many of them with the top sawn off, have been found in a hillside forest in northwestern China, though it is unclear how or when the people died, police said Wednesday.

The 121 skulls found on March 27 by a herdsman in Gansu province showed severe head injuries, and the crowns of many had been sawn off or otherwise damaged, police in Gansu's capital Lanzhou said in a statement.

It said the skulls were confirmed as human, and that the injuries had been inflicted after the people died, although what caused their deaths was still under investigation.

The statement cited forensics expert Chen Shixian as saying that medical research had been ruled out and that the head injuries did not appear to have been the cause of death.

The skulls were both male and female, young and old, the statement said, without elaborating on ages.

A photo published on the Sohu.com Web portal showed rows of skulls with the tops cut off, some of which still had skin and facial hair on them.

The police statement did not give any indication of when the people died, though local media reports said the skulls were not thought to be very old.

A Hong Kong newspaper, the South China Morning Post, reported Wednesday that police were also investigating the discovery of two human arms at a landfill site in Lanzhou.

It cited a reporter for the local newspaper, Lanzhou Morning Post, as saying that the arms were those of a child.

Police said they had no comment on that report.

The report said the landfill handles both household and medical waste.

posted April 06, 2006 at 11:21 AM unofficial Xinjiang time | HaoHao This!

Comments

A confusing article from SCMP first implies that foul play has been ruled out because Buddhists are suspected of using the skulls for ritual purposes. Then at the end, Buddhists are ruled out. Still confused? So am I.

Foul play ruled out in mysterious skull case
7 April 2006
South China Morning Post

An initial investigation has ruled out foul play in the case of 121 skulls discovered last week in Gansu province , a senior public security official said yesterday.

The skulls were found abandoned with their crowns sawn off, and religious specialists said lamas were known to use skull caps as bowls or ceremonial artifacts.

Security official Liu Shuo said: "The possibility of a crime can be excluded, based on the initial investigation."

Last Monday, the skulls were found in plastic bags on a riverbank in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on the border of Gansu and Qinghai .

One of the skulls had a moustache and another had false teeth attached. None is thought to be from a recently deceased person.

Mr Liu said forensic expert Chen Shixian identified the skulls as human and said they bore no signs of fatal injuries.

Buddhism researcher Zhao Min said some practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism used craniums to "destroy desire and remind us that life is unpredictable".

Mr Zhao said cups made from skull caps were not mandatory tools for Buddhist lamas and were not in widespread use.

Cups and beads made from human skulls can be found on the online shop taobao.com for more than 1,000 yuan.

According to a Beijing man who sells items on taobao.com, the beads are made from the skulls of lamas, who donated them to be made into items to protect people.

He said the skull caps of ordinary people were also sometimes made into cups or beads, but they were usually dangerous because their histories were unknown.

He said he believed that because the Gansu skulls had been abandoned, Buddhists could not have been involved: "This is very evil. And the punishment it brings about must be huge."

The comment above was posted by michael at April 7, 2006 04:20 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.

121 Chinese skulls may have been used for art, report says
6 April 2006
Agence France Presse

BEIJING, April 6, 2006 (AFP) -

Craftsmen making macabre handicrafts may be responsible for the 121 human skulls found in northwest China with their tops sawn off, state media reported Thursday.

There are two theories of what the skulls might have been used for, both related to traditional art forms in that part of the country, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

One is that the tops of the skulls were embellished for use as bowls, while the other refers to a tradition of using human skin for drums, according to the paper.

The skulls were found in plastic bags, along with fur and other bones, in a forested riverbank on Monday last week in Gansu province's Tianzhu Tibetan autonomous county, reports said.

Local police initially suspected the bones belonged to monkeys but DNA testing by police later confirmed they belonged to humans, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

Art involving the use of human bones is a prominent part of, among others, Tibetan folklore. Handicrafts claiming to be made from human skulls are often on prominent display in many Tibetan markets.

The comment above was posted by michael at April 7, 2006 04:23 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.

I can't believe they're trying to blame the Tibetans for this... That's hillarious. Look at the look of pure terror on the faces of the skulls. Seriously, these people did not die a natural death and donate their bodies to art. What a cop-out. Good ol' CCP.

The comment above was posted by Lara at April 13, 2006 08:16 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.

China's cut skulls between rock and an art place
12 April 2006
Agence France Presse

BEIJING, April 13, 2006 (AFP) -

Chinese police have concluded 121 skulls found in a ravine with their tops missing were byproducts of a local handicraft industry using human bone as a vital ingredient, state media reported Thursday.

A farmer surnamed Qiao, a resident of the northwestern province of Qinghai, had hacked the skulls from the bodies of unmarked graves and sold them to two artists in neighboring Gansu province, the Xinhua news agency said.

The two artists only needed the top of the skulls and dumped the rest in the ravine, leading to speculation after their discovery that the skulls might be anything from monkeys to the victims of a serial killer.

Art involving the use of human bones is a prominent part of, among others, Tibetan folklore.

Handicrafts claiming to be made from human skulls are often on prominent display in many Tibetan markets, and some websites also put them up for sale.

The comment above was posted by michael at April 14, 2006 12:23 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.

Hi Michael.

I have enjoyed reading your articles on this site. I am taking my daughter to Xining in September of this year. Her dad, who is Tibetan, lives by lake Qinghai.

We are moving to India....

Can you tell me, are there internet cafes by lake Qinghai? I would hate to be out of touch with mom while we are there....

Thanks so much

Yeshi

The comment above was posted by Yeshi Dolma at June 18, 2006 03:08 AM unofficial Xinjiang time.

Hi Micheal,
I'm Ravi Sharma a journalist from Delhi. Actually I want to do a story on humen bone crafts. can you help me some how. or if you could just tell me where in Tibbet Ii can get a few such things if i wish to buy them. You can be a great help, I'm looking forward for your reply.
Thanks and regards,
Ravi Sharma

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April 06, 2006

Gruesome Gansu Find

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