Re: [cybalist] Linguistic Mathematics?

John Croft wrote:

>
> Gerry in her post to Glen wrote
>
> > You're correct Glen. Samaritans are totally different from
> Sarmatians.
> > Celts are now thought to have been Scythians. I'm quite sure that
> > Samaritans could have been Scythians. Perhaps Samaritans were also
> > Sarmatians. But my original question was whether Sarmatians were
> later
> > (oops, there it is) or latter day Scythians?
>
> Gerry from my understanding of the "Peoples of the Steppes" the
> nomadic pastoralists across the steppes originally formed a chain of
> cultures something like
>
> Thracians - Dacians - Cimmerians - Scyths - Sarmatians - Sakae -
> Yueh-Chih (Tocharians) - Altaics
>

Gerry here: Thanks John for the concept of "chain of cultures". Did
Thracians relate to Altaics or were they too far removed? And if my
broomstick concept hold any water, then Scythians, Sarmatians, and Sakae
should be more alike than different.

> It seems that there was a constant assimilation at the western end of
> this chain leading to increasing adoption of agriculture and a
> reduction of momadic pastoralism into transhumance. At the eastern
> end, climatic change and periods of aridity would lead to population
> pressure on their neighbours causing the chain to move westwards (and
> in some cases southwards).

Gerry: So in the western end of the chain, the climatic conditions were
favorable allowing for the development of agriculture; whereas, in the
eastern end, the inhospitable climate pressured the tribes to continue
moving.

Thus Dacii pushed Thracii pushed

> Phrygians
> into Anatolia after the 1,200BCE collapse. Scythii pushed Cimmerii
> into Anatolia in the 8th Century BCE, Sarmatians pushed Scythae west,
> and came west themselves as Alans under presure from Altaic huns,
> settling eventually with the Germanic Sueves is Galicia in Spain (and
> surviving as Ossettes in the Caucasas today). The Yueh Chih were
> griven by Altaic Huns out of the Kansu corridor into the Tarim Basin
> and then moved into India where under Kushana they established an
> Empire that stretched from the Ganges to the Aral Sea. The Sacae
> (Saka) allied with the Parthians to form a number of petty dynasties
> in Rajasthan in India. With the collapse of the Huing Nu
> confederacy,
> being driven west by Manchu Juan Juan, two groups of Huns were pushed
> west and south. One attacked the north eastern frontier of the
> Sassanid Persian empire, but were pushed into India (where they
> became
> the Rajput princes). The other became the Huns under Atilla. After
> Atillas death the huns moved east and split into two groups who took
> the name Bulgar. Arriving again in Europe one group gave Bulgaria
> its
> name. The second group settled an independent Muslim state on the
> Volga river until they were assimilated into Ghenghiz Khan's Empire.

Gerry here: But your chain "implies" a path type movement, which in all
respects probably was the case. In satellite images of the Berteck
Basin in the Altai area of the former Soviet Union, these migration
paths clearly show up. Please let me add my compliments for a super
rendition of pre-history :-)

Gerry

> Hope this helps
>
> Regards
>
> John
>
>