Dan Davis Author
24.02.202512:35
Sanest Dan Davis History fan
Reposted from:
TheBeakerLady
09.02.202518:46
According to the recently published paper from the Harvard lab on the origins of the Indo-European languages, the roots of the Yamnaya culture is hypothesized to come out of the Mikhaylovka culture. This group forms a bridge from Sredny Stog to Core Yamnaya, expand from Ukraine.
According to one of the paper’s authors, Losif Lazaridis, he had the following to say on his twitter account.
Photo credit
According to one of the paper’s authors, Losif Lazaridis, he had the following to say on his twitter account.
The Yamnaya, proximal scions of the Serednii Stih archaeological culture that preceded them in the Eneolithic North Pontic region, and more distally composed of a mix of CLV newcomers and Dnipro-Don hunter-gatherers, largely eclipsed the previous inhabitants of the steppe. 4/
Source
The Yamnaya's precursors were formed by admixture ca. 4000BCE and experienced an interlude of relative isolation before the emergence of the Yamnaya horizon ca. 3300BCE. Our best guess of where this happened is in the vicinity of Mykhailivka in the Lower Dnipro in Ukraine. 5/
source
Photo credit
21.01.202519:39
05.01.202510:59
Otomani-Füzesabony was rich and powerful and technologically advanced and internationally important. But you won't know anything about it.
These societies need way better marketing, especially the names they go by. Shameless self promoters in the past understood this.
The Minoans and Mycenaeans and Sumerians etc are famous in part because the late 19th / early 20th century excavators were also promoters doing great PR.
Marija Gimbutas didn't write bestselling books by accident, and coining terms like Old Europe and the Kurgan Culture was part of why her ideas had such resonance.
People like Schliemann and Evans are derided for their practices and colonialist attitudes and their showmanship is considered bad form or embarrassing. Some of Western - esp Anglophone - archeology has long since moved away from culture history, and terms like "The X culture" are no longer used anyway. They might say "the middle bronze age Carpathians" or something.
Naming conventions aren't done for PR purposes but for academic ones. Archeologists are mostly focused on their work rather than publicity, although of course getting one helps fund the other. A few academics court and love the limelight but many are indifferent to it or find it distasteful.
My interest as a completely unqualified amateur is in promoting these fascinating cultures for a general audience.
And for specific ancient societies to grab the public consciousness, there needs to be a coherent concept of what it is. A great evocative name, a distinct location, and clear aesthetics expressed in a few iconic artefacts. It might not always be possible but confusing names are a hindrance.
These long, hyphenated names are esp common in balkan archeology where ancient cultures of course did not conform to modern national borders.
I don't have any obvious solutions, these are just some thoughts on the subject.
These societies need way better marketing, especially the names they go by. Shameless self promoters in the past understood this.
The Minoans and Mycenaeans and Sumerians etc are famous in part because the late 19th / early 20th century excavators were also promoters doing great PR.
Marija Gimbutas didn't write bestselling books by accident, and coining terms like Old Europe and the Kurgan Culture was part of why her ideas had such resonance.
People like Schliemann and Evans are derided for their practices and colonialist attitudes and their showmanship is considered bad form or embarrassing. Some of Western - esp Anglophone - archeology has long since moved away from culture history, and terms like "The X culture" are no longer used anyway. They might say "the middle bronze age Carpathians" or something.
Naming conventions aren't done for PR purposes but for academic ones. Archeologists are mostly focused on their work rather than publicity, although of course getting one helps fund the other. A few academics court and love the limelight but many are indifferent to it or find it distasteful.
My interest as a completely unqualified amateur is in promoting these fascinating cultures for a general audience.
And for specific ancient societies to grab the public consciousness, there needs to be a coherent concept of what it is. A great evocative name, a distinct location, and clear aesthetics expressed in a few iconic artefacts. It might not always be possible but confusing names are a hindrance.
These long, hyphenated names are esp common in balkan archeology where ancient cultures of course did not conform to modern national borders.
I don't have any obvious solutions, these are just some thoughts on the subject.
04.12.202411:23
Another interesting find in the new paper preprint. Even though they struggled to find steppe related R1b in Anatolia, they did find two Hittite related samples with steppe associated I2-L699 which was the most common haplogroup of current published Sredny Stog males. This fits well with the possibility of proto-Anatolians stemming from a I2-L699 rich Sredny clan.
27.11.202413:09
I feel like I talk about prehistoric mining a bit too often. Making YouTube videos about it, posting online about it, cornering lone women at parties to explain the 15 step prehistoric process for converting ore into copper ingots, etc.
But there's been so many requests for a tin mining video I guess I'll have to do that now too. It's not that easy, however, as there's way less evidence for ancient tin mining that copper and gold. The tin mines haven't generally been found (probably as they've been blown up by later industrial mining), and it's really hard to trace tin sources using the techniques they use for copper and gold. But I guess that's kinda interesting in itself.
In the meantime I made an ancient mining playlist on YouTube. There's only three videos on it so far as they're exclusively about the subject but I mention it in loads of other videos, like the ones on the Unetice, Agaric, Vinca cultures etc. Maybe I should make a montage video or something too.
But the next few videos will be on other subjects instead. Some cool topics coming up, in my opinion. Currently making maps of East Asia.... 🤔
But there's been so many requests for a tin mining video I guess I'll have to do that now too. It's not that easy, however, as there's way less evidence for ancient tin mining that copper and gold. The tin mines haven't generally been found (probably as they've been blown up by later industrial mining), and it's really hard to trace tin sources using the techniques they use for copper and gold. But I guess that's kinda interesting in itself.
In the meantime I made an ancient mining playlist on YouTube. There's only three videos on it so far as they're exclusively about the subject but I mention it in loads of other videos, like the ones on the Unetice, Agaric, Vinca cultures etc. Maybe I should make a montage video or something too.
But the next few videos will be on other subjects instead. Some cool topics coming up, in my opinion. Currently making maps of East Asia.... 🤔
23.02.202519:21
Irishman leaves a thoughtful kind comment about appreciating Sardinian history.
Someone thinks he's British and leaves an insane angry reply seething at the very idea that a British person exists.
Someone thinks he's British and leaves an insane angry reply seething at the very idea that a British person exists.
Reposted from:TheBeakerLady
09.02.202518:46
Map of the samples locations of the two most common Steppe Eneolithic y haplogroup. This map was created by HurrianFan.
I2-L699 was found in the Sredny Stog culture but also in a Khvalynsk male. It was also found in the Cernavodă culture and in the Yamnaya. In Anatolia, I2-L699 was found in Hittite related samples. It was also found in Iron Age Swat Valley in Pakistan showing it survived in small amounts in later steppe groups such as Andronovo.
R1b-V1636 was the most common y haplogroup in steppe Eneolithic groups. It was related to but not ancestral to Yamnaya and Corded Ware R1b subclades. However it did show up in a Corded Ware related Single Grave culture male buried in Demark.
Supporters of the western route of Anatolian languages (through the Balkans from steppe) use I2-L699 as genetic support for the hypothesis. While supporters of an eastern route (from CLV groups migrating down through the Caucasus) may point to R1b-V1636 in eastern Anatolia.
Link to original post of the image.
I2-L699 was found in the Sredny Stog culture but also in a Khvalynsk male. It was also found in the Cernavodă culture and in the Yamnaya. In Anatolia, I2-L699 was found in Hittite related samples. It was also found in Iron Age Swat Valley in Pakistan showing it survived in small amounts in later steppe groups such as Andronovo.
R1b-V1636 was the most common y haplogroup in steppe Eneolithic groups. It was related to but not ancestral to Yamnaya and Corded Ware R1b subclades. However it did show up in a Corded Ware related Single Grave culture male buried in Demark.
Supporters of the western route of Anatolian languages (through the Balkans from steppe) use I2-L699 as genetic support for the hypothesis. While supporters of an eastern route (from CLV groups migrating down through the Caucasus) may point to R1b-V1636 in eastern Anatolia.
Link to original post of the image.
16.01.202522:20
Just FYI
04.01.202520:04
As hard as it might be for some to believe, there really have been some exceptional people in history.
William Marshal was not a perfect man, and was not a faultless paragon of virtue. He was however a great man, it is a fact that he was the greatest tournament champion of his day, and he really did save the Kingdom of England from conquest by France. And he did it by leading a cavalry charge at the age of 70.
Imagine if Cristiano Ronaldo went from football to becoming a leading politician, somehow remaining virtuous in the face of hostile leaders, and then in old age leading the army of Portugal in a great charge against her enemies, saving his people from conquest, and steering the country out of a crisis before passing away.
(Or Messi or whatever, but Messi is too much of a sperg)
William Marshal was not a perfect man, and was not a faultless paragon of virtue. He was however a great man, it is a fact that he was the greatest tournament champion of his day, and he really did save the Kingdom of England from conquest by France. And he did it by leading a cavalry charge at the age of 70.
Imagine if Cristiano Ronaldo went from football to becoming a leading politician, somehow remaining virtuous in the face of hostile leaders, and then in old age leading the army of Portugal in a great charge against her enemies, saving his people from conquest, and steering the country out of a crisis before passing away.
(Or Messi or whatever, but Messi is too much of a sperg)
29.11.202415:32
Awesome
20.11.202416:00
This is the story of what ancient mining experts have called “the largest prehistoric copper mine in the world”; the incredible Mines of Kargaly.
At the farthest reaches of Europe, on the steppes, between the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea, almost four thousand years ago, massive mining works completely transformed the landscape, producing perhaps 150,000 tons of copper during the Bronze Age.
But what society was conducting operations of this scale out here on the steppe?
I hope you enjoy my new video. Please "like" and share it online, thank you.
At the farthest reaches of Europe, on the steppes, between the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea, almost four thousand years ago, massive mining works completely transformed the landscape, producing perhaps 150,000 tons of copper during the Bronze Age.
But what society was conducting operations of this scale out here on the steppe?
I hope you enjoy my new video. Please "like" and share it online, thank you.
22.02.202520:25
Regarding the golden hats. The gold is extremely thin and that they only weighed about 350 grams.
All the cones are heavily reconstructed. When they came out of the ground they were very deformed or even shredded. The black and white photo here shows how thin the gold was.
So they couldn't have been used to hold beer or whatever as some commenters suggested. Also, the shape of the bottom could have been made longer in one direction than the other rather easily and so fit a head better than the circular reconstructions. The brims could have been at different angles, too.
And we do have that artwork from Bohuslän with a pair of chaps with cones on their heads, along with the sun wheel and ritual axe symbol. The same symbols also seen on the Bredarör slabs at Kivik along with the cone symbol.
All the evidence suggests these were actually hats and were actually worn, at least sometimes.
All the cones are heavily reconstructed. When they came out of the ground they were very deformed or even shredded. The black and white photo here shows how thin the gold was.
So they couldn't have been used to hold beer or whatever as some commenters suggested. Also, the shape of the bottom could have been made longer in one direction than the other rather easily and so fit a head better than the circular reconstructions. The brims could have been at different angles, too.
And we do have that artwork from Bohuslän with a pair of chaps with cones on their heads, along with the sun wheel and ritual axe symbol. The same symbols also seen on the Bredarör slabs at Kivik along with the cone symbol.
All the evidence suggests these were actually hats and were actually worn, at least sometimes.
31.01.202519:38
Delightful WHG reconstruction seen on Instagram.
Give the chap a follow to show your support.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9vdtQ3ObKh/?igsh=aGEyNW50c3g2YXdy
Give the chap a follow to show your support.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9vdtQ3ObKh/?igsh=aGEyNW50c3g2YXdy
09.01.202519:04
Please read this truly fascinating and excellent article on the complex and ancient origins of the Scythians.
Looking at archeology and genetics going back into prehistory, this very long, detailed article explores multiple cultures of Central Asia and their complex ethnic origins and admixture events. This must have taken months to research and write.
Also check out the other articles and subscribe to the author, if you're into this sort of thing.
Looking at archeology and genetics going back into prehistory, this very long, detailed article explores multiple cultures of Central Asia and their complex ethnic origins and admixture events. This must have taken months to research and write.
Also check out the other articles and subscribe to the author, if you're into this sort of thing.
30.12.202419:13
I'm still making shorts, if you like that sort of thing (ie if you're a dopamine depleted ADHD zoomer)
Check out my new one on the incredible Mold Cape here.
I took some of these photos myself of the cape at the British Museum. It's such an incredible artefact. Makes you realise that Britain, on the edge of the Bronze Age world, was able to support genius metalworkers like the person who made this.
Check out my new one on the incredible Mold Cape here.
I took some of these photos myself of the cape at the British Museum. It's such an incredible artefact. Makes you realise that Britain, on the edge of the Bronze Age world, was able to support genius metalworkers like the person who made this.
29.11.202411:47
You should listen to this if you haven't already, it's only 126 hours long.
20.11.202413:33
New video will go live today. Keep an eye out for it in about 2.5hrs...
15.02.202515:48
How many of you were this guy yesterday?
24.01.202518:25
05.01.202511:00
TLDR: bring back dynamiting ancient cities and draping your young wife in treasure for PR photos
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25.12.202408:53
Merry Christmas everyone!
27.11.202414:29
Thanks for the 300k subs 🙏
19.11.202422:37
My brand new video is now live for Channel Members and Patreon Supporters.
I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up with this weekly release schedule but if I die from exhaustion then please know I died doing what I loved; sitting alone in my shed.
🙏
I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up with this weekly release schedule but if I die from exhaustion then please know I died doing what I loved; sitting alone in my shed.
🙏
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