Re: [paleoanthropology] song of the forest in mtDNA

From: Gerry Reinhart-Waller
Message: 757
Date: 2000-01-04

----- Original Message -----
From: Gerry Reinhart-Waller <waluk@...>
To: <paleoanthropology@eGroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2000 3:38 AM
Subject: [paleoanthropology] Re: song of the forest in mtDNA


> Nah. When the Scythians buried their dead, they included lots of burial
> goods including horses and elaborate costumes not to mention costumes
> for the horses. And as we all know, the Scythians were nomads; the
> antithesis of a civilization.
> Gerry
>


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Gerry:

Here's the danger of thinking in antitheses. Nomadic : sedentary =
uncivilised : civilised.
The Scythians had NO CIVILISATION??? Who built Neapolis (Crimea) then?

Piotr
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Hi Piotr,
According to the ten criteria for a "civilization" as established by V.
Gordon Childe, a nomadic tribe does not quality as a "civilization".
This is no comment on whether the group was or was not civilized. And
for the most part, these Scythians were noted for their nomadic
behavior. As far as Neaoplis (Crimea), this site is familiar to me, is
attributed to one of the Scythian groups, and is referenced as a
Scythian kingdom. But because of it's close proximity to Greek
colonies, I wasn't certain whether it was actually Scythian, but after
referencing it on the web, yes, Neapolis in Crimea is a Scythian
kingdom. But also, high in the Altai is the Scythian Kingdom of
Pazyryk. Did you know that the burial ground of Ak-Alaka contains six
kurgans and at Kuturguntas a female body was found in permafrost and she
has been subjected to DNA testing. Do you know what the results of
these tests were?

But the major question of whether Pazyryk and Neapolis qualify as
"civilizations", if I strictly read Childe's criteria, then they
definitely do not. But given the fact they were founded by nomadic
tribes rather than sedentary farmers, they become more of a
"civilization" than does any site in Egypt or the Near East. So once
again I come across an instance where definitions given to words such as
"civilization" become difficult to apply to ALL situations. What is
your opinion on these Scythian kingdoms?

Also, were these Scythians Neanderthals? Kiik-Koba is also located in
Crimea.

Gerry