The Scythians

Territory occupied by the Scythians

The exhibition entitled Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia, at the British Museum in London, brought back memories for me of a people who lived around Lough Gara in the 5^th Century. It is said that St. Patrick went to the Gregraidhe of Loch Techet, now known as Loch Gara. The Gregraidhe (‘horse people’) or Gregory, occupied the baronies of Coolavin in Sligo and Costello in Mayo. Perhaps, the Gregraidhe owed their prowess as horse people to the Scythians - just a thought?

Who were the Scythians

The Scythians were a group of ancient tribes of nomadic warriors who originally lived in what is now southern Siberia. Their culture thrived from around 900 BC to around 200 BC, by which time they had extended their influence all over Central Asia from China to the northern Black Sea.  These people did not leave any written record of their lives. According to accounts written by the Greeks, Assyrians and Persians, they were terrified but also impressed by the Scythians. The Greek historian Herodotus, wrote:

‘None who attacks them can escape, and none can catch them if they desire not to be found.’

In the New Testament, a letter ascribed to St. Paul refers to the Scythians:

‘Here there is no Greek or Jew. There is no difference between those who are circumcised and those who are not. There is no rude outsider, or even a Scythian. There is no slave or free person. But Christ is everything. And he is in everything.’ (Colossians 3:11)

Early modern English writers on Ireland often resorted to comparisons with Scythians to confirm that the native population of Ireland descended from these ancient people and showed themselves as barbaric as their alleged ancestors.

 As the Scythians were nomads, their personal possessions had to be portable and durable, generally light, and small or collapsible. As well as objects made of leather, cloth, felt and wood, professional metalworkers also manufactured tools, weapons, and small personal ornaments.

Highly skilled horsemen

The Scythians were the first of many waves of warriors on horses who swept westward over the vast Eurasian steppes, which extend from Mongolia more than four thousand miles to the Carpathian Mountains in Europe. They would be followed over the centuries by the Huns, the Magyars (who settled in Hungary), the Bulgars (who settled in Bulgaria), and the Mongols.

Scythian Warrior

They developed more efficient ways of riding horses which meant they could move bigger herds to new grazing grounds over larger distances. They were skilled riders and their horse gear (saddles, bridles, bits etc) was also highly developed and functional, durable, and light.

Their horses were buried with very elaborate costumes including headgear with griffins or antlers, saddle covers decorated with combat scenes, and long dangling pendants. As well as providing milk, meat and hide, horses were the main means of transport and the driving force behind the Scythians’ military strength.

Battle tactics and weaponry

The Scythians were among the earliest peoples to master mounted warfare. They kept herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, lived in tent-covered wagons, and fought with bows and arrows on horseback.

The Scythians battle tactics included using large numbers of highly mobile archers who could shower hundreds of deadly arrows on the enemies within a few minutes. Some classical writers state that the Scythians dipped their arrows in poison! When the Scythians fought on foot, their weapon of choice was a battle-axe with a long narrow pointed blade like a narrow pick-axe. The weapons’ tell-tale puncture marks have been found on the heads of excavated human remains.

Another writer wrote that:

‘The Scythians have no houses but live in wagons. These are very small with four wheels. Others with six wheels are covered with felt; such wagons are employed like houses, in twos or threes and provide shelter from rain and wind.’

The Scythians played a leading role in the destruction of the Assyrian Empire, including the destruction of Nineveh in 612 BC, which was at that time, the greatest city in the world.

Burial customs

In the high Altai mountain region near the borders of Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia, the frozen subsoil has meant that the organic remains of Scythians buried in tombs have been remarkably well preserved in permafrost. The Scythians preserved the appearance of the dead using a form of mummification. They removed the brain matter through holes cut in the head, sliced the bodies, and removed as much soft tissue as possible before replacing both with dry grass and sewing up the skin.

Log trunk coffin

When the Scythians buried their dead, they took care to equip the corpse with the necessities needed for the perpetual rides of the afterlife. They usually dug a deep hole and built a wooden structure at the bottom. Inside the tomb chamber, the body was placed in a log trunk coffin, accompanied by some of their prized possessions and other objects. Outside the tomb chamber but still inside the grave shaft, they placed slaughtered horses, facing east.

Skilled metalworkers

Excavations of burial mounds in Siberia have revealed a wealth of Scythian objects. Scythian craftsmen were good at casting metal and worked with gold, bronze, and iron, using a combination of techniques like casting, forging, and inlaying with other materials. Many beautiful examples of Scythian metalwork survive today.

Collapsible table. Mound 2, Pazyryk, Altai mountains, southern Siberia, late 4th–early 3rd century BC. © The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 2017. Photo: V Terebenin.

Collapsible table. Mound 2, Pazyryk, Altai mountains, southern Siberia, late 4th–early 3rd century BC. © The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, 2017. Photo: V Terebenin.

Collapsible tables were common finds in the Pazyryk tombs. They vary in height from 18–47cm but share the same feature of a tray-like oval top and four lathe-turned or hand-carved legs).

  

Gold plaque - 300 BC

This beautiful gold plaque was made by nomads in Siberia about 2,300 years ago. One half of a symmetrical belt buckle, it would certainly have belonged to Scythian nobility, perhaps royalty. Gold was associated with the sun and royal power.

The scene shows a deceased man, a female deity with a high ponytail (left), a tree of life in which a quiver hangs, and a man holding two horses’ reins. When a Scythian man wanted to marry, he hung his quiver before the woman’s wagon. The scene may refer to a symbolic marriage between the deceased and the ‘Great Mother’ – a giver of life who is also associated with underworld powers.

Leisure time

Herodotus also describes how the Scythians had a ritual which involved getting high on hemp in a kind of mobile ‘weed sauna’:

‘They anoint and wash their heads; as for their bodies, they set up three poles leaning together to a point and cover these over with woollen mats; then, in the place so enclosed to the best of their power, they make a pit in the centre beneath the poles and the mats and throw red-hot stones into it… The Scythians then take the seed of this hemp and, creeping under the mats, they throw it on the red-hot stones; and, being so thrown, it smoulders and sends forth so much steam that no Greek vapour-bath could surpass it. The Scythians howl in their joy at the vapour-bath. This serves them instead of bathing, for they never wash their bodies with water.

Reading Herodotus’s description of this ritual, involving a pit and hot stones, I wonder if, perhaps, the early Irish used their fulacht fiadh for a similar purpose?

Many of the customs of the Scythians struck the Greeks as bizarre. For example, Herodotus reports that the Scythians drank their wine neat, that is, undiluted with water, contrary to the custom among the Greeks, who diluted their wine with water. The Scythians had a reputation for drinking to excess and getting high. Like the ancient Irish, feasting was an important part of Scythian funeral ceremonies and helped social bonding between individuals and tribes.

The BP exhibition Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia is on at the British Museum from 14 September 2017 to 14 January 2018. 

For further information see:

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/introducing-the-scythians/

https://blog.britishmuseum.org/what-do-nomads-leave-behind/

http://hebrewnations.com/articles/ov1/ovscyth.html

Ötzi the Iceman

Ötzi the Iceman

Occasionally, a chance discovery brings us literally face to face with our ancient past. Bog bodies, which are usually well preserved, are one example of such finds. Perhaps, the best-known discovery of a mummified body in Europe is ‘Ötzi’ the Iceman.

About 5,300 years ago, Ötzi was shot with an arrow, struck on the head, and left to die near a mountain pass high in the Alps. In 1991, hikers near the Italian-Austrian border discovered his body in a glacier. Ötzi is the oldest mummy in Europe. What can he tell us about our Neolithic ancestors: how they lived, the tools and weapons they used, and the clothing they wore?

Where he came from

The research confirmed that modern Sardinians are Ötzi's closest relatives. However, he most closely resembled prehistoric farmers found in Bulgaria and Sweden. Ötzi was a native of Central Europe and not a first-generation émigré from Sardinia, according to new research.

The new findings support the theory that farmers, and not just the technology of farming, spread during prehistoric times from the Middle East all the way to Finland.

Where he grew up

Ötzi wasn't far from home when he died. Scientists concluded that he didn't live in the Alps as such, but spent most of his life in Isack Valley or the lower Puster Valley, in the northernmost part of what is now Italy. He probably spent the last 10 years of his life in an area south and west of his previous home, not far from where he died.

Contact between people who lived south and north of the Alps at this time was thought to have been limited. However, people who travelled in the Alps had a very deep knowledge of the landscape and its conditions due to their experience with hunting, herding, and exploring natural resources in these areas. It is thought likely that Ötzi traded furs or domestic animals.

His equipment

The Neolithic herdsman carried several pieces of equipment when he died, including numerous wooden tools that were used to make clothing or utensils. Among the equipment he carried was an axe of almost pure copper thought to have been a status symbol, indicating that he ranked high in his pastoralist culture. Its wooden handle and leather straps were still preserved. Ötzi was also carrying a bow and arrow, which he had leaned against a tree before he died.

Copper Axe found with Ötzi's Body

Researchers have now traced the source of the metal in Ötzi’s axe to southern Tuscany. It had been thought that people living around the Alps at that time got their copper locally or from the Balkans.

Another copper axe

Archaeologists have found a copper blade in Switzerland resembling the axe Ötzi was carrying when he died. It was made from copper that also came from Tuscany. The axe was discovered in Zug-Riedmatt, one of the many pile-dwelling villages around the Alps famous for their prehistoric wooden houses built on stilts on lakeshores and other wetlands. This new axe was between 5,300 and 5,100 years old and missing its wooden handle. 

Clothing

Most of Ötzi's clothing was badly disintegrated, but researchers did manage to retrieve parts of his sheep and cow leather shoes, goatskin leggings, bear fur cap, and animal skin loincloth. The iceman also carried a grass mat or cape with him, either to sleep on or shield him from the rain.

Some of the Clothing Worn by Ötzi the Iceman

Ötzi wore garments made from the skins of different animals. His leather overcoat was made from at least four different individual animals from two species of sheep and goat while his lighter coat was made of sheep. His leather shoes were stuffed with grass, with shoelaces made from wild cow or auroch (an extinct species of large wild cattle that inhabited Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It is the ancestor of domestic cattle).  His furry hat was made from brown bear while his quiver was made from a roe deer.

His health

Scientists found that the Iceman had tooth decay, ate an agricultural diet, and had Lyme disease. The oldest red blood cells ever identified have been found in his body. Ötzi suffered from heart disease and joint pain before he died. Analysis of his skeleton revealed he had bad knees and was lactose intolerant.

His relatives

Scientists sequenced Ötzi's entire genome and compared it with those from hundreds of modern-day Europeans, as well as the genomes of a Stone Age hunter-gatherer found in Sweden, a farmer from Sweden, a 7,000-year-old hunter-gatherer iceman found in Iberia, and an Iron Age man found in Bulgaria. Researchers have established from genetic analysis that Ötzi has living relatives in the region.

Ötzi and his present-day relatives share a common ancestor, who may have lived 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. His mother's family appears to have originated in the Alps and did not spread from there.  Researchers concluded that Ӧtzi's maternal line appears to have died out as the genetic lineage does not exist in modern populations alive today.

Probable cause of death

Scientists estimate that Ötzi was 45 years of age when he met his violent death in the mountains. His last meal included red deer meat with herb bread. The probable cause of his death was an arrow wound to the shoulder that sliced an artery.

The fact that he had an undigested meal in his stomach suggests the Iceman was ambushed, but scientists couldn't agree whether he was bashed over the head or killed by an arrow that nicked an artery in his shoulder. In a 2012 study, scientists analysed the mummy's red blood cells and concluded that Ötzi bled to death after the arrow wound.

Ötzi today

Ötzi's perfectly preserved body is stored in a specially designed cold storage chamber at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Italy at a constant temperature of -6°C (21°F).

For further information see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNohLDrOj0s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZr-uAOJqo4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9yOi24bXfk

It’s all in the Genes

My mother’s people came from somewhere in the Sahara Desert. They were nomads who lived around 16,500 years ago, moving from place to place, carrying all their possessions with them. My DNA test results have helped to throw some light on my ancestors, and perhaps yours, and the journey they made to reach the West of Ireland

Ireland's remote geographical position has meant that the Irish gene-pool has been less susceptible to change, and the same genes have been passed down from parents to children for thousands of years. Research into both British and Irish DNA indicate the people of both islands have much in common genetically. The closest genetic relatives of the Irish in Europe are to be found in the north of Spain in what is now known as the Basque Country. We share this common ancestry with the people of Britain and with the people of Scotland.

The following quote comes from the general preamble to my results.

 “It is important to consider, understand and perhaps deeply appreciate the fact that the very concept of race is man made. We live on one planet. Borders and modern day political countries are purely created by man and do not resemble genetics.

There is no such thing as a French, British or German person, as, in fact, people, from what is today called Germany, and people, from what is today called Syria, are more closely related genetically than two people from Uganda living in adjoining villages.

Genetic blueprints are very much shaped by:

Immigration – Warfare – Migration – Intermarriage – Conquest – Choices

Therefore, our DNA is a unique combination of genetic markers that are found all over the world.

We are all made up of all of us.”

Quote from ‘The story of your ancestry as never told before’

William Murphy
Famine (1997) on the Custom House Quay in Dublin
Photo; Flickr

 

The test looked at three areas of my genetic code: Fatherline (Y-DNA) History, Motherline (mtDNA) History and Family Ancestry (autosomal DNA) and the results are summarised in the table below. The test results provide a genetic code or a ‘genetic signature’ which is then compared with various populations providing a percentage frequency by geographic area. We can then see where people with our code originated and migrated.

Summary of my DNA test results

Fatherline (Y-DNA) History	Motherline (mtDNA) History
Haplogroup: R-M222	Haplogroup: H1
Subclade: R-DF109
A predominantly Irish branch of the R-L21 fatherline.	Haplogroup H is predominantly European, originating around 16,500 years ago.
My fatherline signature belongs to the R-M222 group.	H1 is found as far as Africa, Central Asia, and Siberia
Ireland – 25% Scotland – 10% England – 10% Wales – 5% Norway, Sweden, France, and Orkney Islands – 1% each	Populations from southwest France, Sardinia and the Iberian Peninsula show the highest levels of H1 within Europe Tuareg (Fezzan) – 61% Basque – 27% Portugal – 25% Ireland – 16% United Kingdom – 16%
Ireland – 25% Scotland – 10% England – 10% Wales – 5% Norway, Sweden, France, and Orkney Islands – 1% each

Fatherline (Y-DNA) History

The Y chromosome (YDNA) is passed down from father to son, which is referred to as the ‘fatherline’. It is the sex chromosome that determines you are male. So only sons inherit the Y chromosome from their father.

The haplogroup is a collection of related family lines we are connected to through the Y chromosome (YDNA). Apparently, I share a common ancient ancestor with all the people who share my haplogroup. Haplogroups can be associated with geographic regions, and are also used to trace the ancient migrations of early humans.

R-M222 is a branch of the larger R-L21 fatherline, which is itself a branch of the much larger R1b fatherline which was carried by waves of Indo-European expansions, and which is very common throughout Western Europe. R-L21 is associated with the northern Atlantic shores of Europe today, especially in parts of Britain and Brittany. The R-M222 branch of this fatherline is most frequently found in Ireland.

Subclade R-DF109 is a predominantly Irish branch of the R-L21 fatherline and examples of its distribution in modern society include: Ireland (25%), Scotland (10%), England (10%) and Wales (5%).

Motherline (mtDNA) History

Haplogroup: H1

Haplogroup H is predominantly European, originating around 16,500 years ago. Apparently, my motherline signature belongs to the H1 group. It has been suggested that the carriers of haplogroup H were involved in the recolonisation of Europe from the Ice Age refuge locations. Examples of the distribution of H1 in present-day society are: Tuareg (61%), (The Tuareg people inhabit the Sahara Desert, in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Algeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.), Basque (27%), Portugal (25%), Ireland (16%) and United Kingdom (16%).

Family Ancestry (autosomal DNA)

Family ancestry (autosomal DNA) – looks at ancestry over approximately 5-6 generations

Great Britain and Ireland 95.8% Europe (North and West) 2.6% Europe (South) 1.7%

Great Britain and Ireland – 95.8% Southwest Scotland and Northern Ireland – 36.6% Ireland – 20.9% East Anglia – 13.4% Europe (North and West) – 2.6% Scandinavia – 2.6% Europe (South) – 1.7% Basque – 1.7%

Family ancestry (autosomal DNA)

Autosomal DNA is passed down from all our ancestors and the combination makes up our genetic code. A typical code provides the genetic history going back approximately 10 generations. This gives a percentage estimate against the population groups that my genetic code is compared against. For example: Great Britain and Ireland (95.8%), Southwest Scotland and Northern Ireland (36.6%) and Ireland (20.9%).

Great Britain and Ireland: Ireland

Ireland was unaffected by the Romans and Anglo Saxons who invaded and settled in neighbouring Britain but did feel the undesired impact of the Vikings from Scandinavia. The genetic influence of the Viking invasion may be much smaller than the considerable cultural influences that resulted from the settlements and raids of the Vikings from 795 AD.

Researchers can still detect the DNA of Nomadic Stone Age people that first settled Britain at the end of the last ice age – the same signature that can be found in western Germany, north western France, and Belgium today. The population of Wales is thought to be the most closely related to the earliest, most ancient settlers who migrated over after the last ice age. Not only is Wales genetically unique but North Wales is even genetically different from the south.

Modern Humans - Migration

Scientists believe that Modern humans (Homo sapiens) first appeared around 200,000 years ago in what is now known as Africa. However, a re-evaluation of early human remains and artefacts from Morocco has suggested that the advent of Homo sapiens may have to be put back by 100,000 years. Archaeologists and palaeontologists believe that the oldest of the fossils comes from 300,000 to 350,000 years ago.

Current scientific understanding shows us that no modern humans ventured outside Africa before c.120,000 years ago. The first large scale migration out of Africa happened around 65,000 years ago. Humans reached India, Australia, and New Guinea 50,000 years ago. This was followed by a wave of migration into the Middle East and then into Europe c. 45,000 years ago. Finally, migration into the Americas took place within the last 15,000 years.

Migration Map
Wikipedia

             The direct maternal and paternal lines of all individuals living today come together in single groups of people from around 200,000 years ago.

Genetic diversity out of Africa

 Two individuals from neighbouring villages in Uganda can have greater genetic difference than two individuals living in the areas now known as Europe, India, or Asia. This shows how genetic diversity is very limited in modern human beings outside of Africa.

Our changing genes

Every movement of human beings has produced different challenges. The environment and the way that humans lived meant that the genetic code of different branches of human beings mutated. Within a population group those individuals with a certain mutation may have greater survival rates than those without. Those without the mutation would die at a faster rate and therefore the mutated gene spreads.

Researchers tell us that the reason many Africans are naturally resistant to malaria is because 33,000 years ago the genetic structure of the African population group changed (mutated). Because Europeans had already migrated out of Africa, they did not carry this mutation and therefore many are not resistant to malaria.

DNA is a powerful tool which is increasing understanding of our ancient ancestors, where they came from, how they lived, and the journeys they made over many thousands of years. My mother was born and died in the same house in Co. Roscommon, and the Sahara Desert was a distant place. She did, however, recall carrying farmyard manure on her back as a child to fertilise the land - like her ancient ancestors who carried their possession across the desert sands.

For further information you may wish to view the following YouTube videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJdT6QcSbQ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUwmA3Q0_OE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTY9K1Q_Sbg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhOYxbsifkI