Over the next few days, you're going to hear some very 'excited' takes about this recent Lazaridis, Reich et al paper - "The genetic history of the Southern Arc: A bridge between West Asia and Europe" - effectively 'dethroning' the Pontic Steppe by positing a pre-Yamnaya "Armenian" Indo-European ur-urheimat. Yet the paper doesn't actually disprove … Continue reading On The Recent Archaeogenetic Speculation As To An Armenian Ur-Urheimat
Urheimat
“Our Mother, Who Reigns Supreme – A Western Reflection of Indian Independence Observance
Where do you come from, Indo-European Man? The Steppe or the Indus Valley? This is a question that has some serious resonancy both in the West and in India, for reasons that are somewhat similar and somewhat different. The answers to that question also differ, driven more or less by the similar reasons. Now, I … Continue reading “Our Mother, Who Reigns Supreme – A Western Reflection of Indian Independence Observance
On Proto-Indo-European Agriculture – A Brief Excerpt
Running this as an excerpt [it's from my latest long-form (A)Arti-cle], because I think that this is quite important: "The supposition that this may, therefore, preserve an archaic PIE traditional understanding is likely to run into the immediate objection that so far as we know the Proto-Indo-Europeans were not large-scale plantation farmers. Which is often … Continue reading On Proto-Indo-European Agriculture – A Brief Excerpt
On Triptolemus And Demeter, Soma And The Sacral Rites Of Life And Land
A foundational principle of Indo-European ritual is succinctly expressed in the Latin maxim - 'Do Ut Des' : "I Give So That You Might Give". The Tale of Triptolemus might be thought to similarly simply express the truth of this utterance - although upon closer examination, its resonancies are anything but "simple", especially when considered in … Continue reading On Triptolemus And Demeter, Soma And The Sacral Rites Of Life And Land
On The Restoration Of The Position Of Women To That Of Archaic Indo-European Society
I find this image - and what it represents - rather intriguing. Because what we are presented with here is an instance of a Past challenging a Present. And it is something with quite archaic Indo-European mytho-cultural resonancy. What do I mean by this? Well, first, here's a brief description of what's going on in … Continue reading On The Restoration Of The Position Of Women To That Of Archaic Indo-European Society
On The Wind-Walk Of Aristeas Of Proconnesus As Mythic-Metaphoric-Metempsychotic Journey
[Author's Note: This piece, examining the legendary journey of Aristeas of Proconnesus across Scythia, is an extract from my earlier "The Gryphon – Indo-European Guardian of the Golden Realm". I felt that it was of sufficient import and general interest to publish separately as well - and may further expand the concepts it touches upon … Continue reading On The Wind-Walk Of Aristeas Of Proconnesus As Mythic-Metaphoric-Metempsychotic Journey
The Gryphon – Indo-European Guardian of the Golden Realm
One of the more seizing figures to have captured the imagination - both ancient and modern - is the Griffin (occasionally, and to my mind superiorly, spelled 'Gryphon'). Almost everybody knows it - a creature that is simultaneously leonine and aquiline. Part Lion, part Eagle. And usually pictured by us in its heraldic form, something … Continue reading The Gryphon – Indo-European Guardian of the Golden Realm
The Origin of the Indo-Europeans, Part I: Early Theories
The scientific study of the Indo-European language family is generally dated to 1786, when Sir William Jones read his famous paper before the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, which includes these immortal lines: ‘The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and … Continue reading The Origin of the Indo-Europeans, Part I: Early Theories
arya-akasha 