Introduction To The Mixed Cultures: Celtic, Nordic, Slavonic, Mycenean, Latin

(October 6, 2023) When the Indo-European invaders settled down in Europe around 2000 BCE five major mixed cultures emerged from different mixings of the native Druidic with the Indo-European cultures. The purely Druid cultures (Minoan, Etruscan, Phoenician, Israelite) survived temporarily on the periphery. These new mixed cultures were:

  1. Celtic (red) 
  2. Nordic (blue)
  3. Slavonic (yellow)
  4. Mycenean (orange).
  5. Latin (green)

The mixed cultures (except for the Latins) developed along major riverine trading networks. The Celts originated around the Danube/Rhine corridor and the English and Irish channels, The Nordic (Norse/Germans) originated around the Scandinavian coastline and rivers of the Elbe, Oder, and Vistula. The Slavonic people originated along the Dnieper and Don rivers and the Black Sea coastline. The Myceneans (Hellenes/Greeks) originated along the Greek rivers and the Aegean sea. The language of these mixed people were various mixes of Indo-European and Druidic Akkadian although their priestly class (the Druids of classical times) continued to speak and write in Akkadian. 

Video by World of Antiquity. "The oldest composition of South Asia is generally believed to be the Rigveda, one of the four sacred Vedas of Hinduism. In this video, Dr. M considers the evidence for the age of this amazing ancient book and explains how it fits into the history of Indo European languages. "

Earliest Indo-European Language Evidence

(July 7, 2024) A good review of what can reliably be known about early the Indo-European language. Significantly, by the time the earliest parts of the Vedas (the Samhita of the Rig Veda) were composed between 1600 to 1150 BCE the deities were already being personified as indicated by the great amount of praise poetry directed at them. This indicates that the northern Indus Valley region where the Indo-European invaders first settled already had a tradition of empire and centralized government control.

 The oldest part of the Rigveda Samhita consists of ten separate books (mandalas) that contain 1,028 hymns in over 10,600 verses. These hymns are dedicated to various deities, with the most popular being: Agni, the god of fire, Indra, the god of thunder and rain, and Varuna, the god of cosmic order.

Early Roman Historian, Marcus Vero's (116-27 BCE) Deity List Allows Identification of Druid and Indo-European Deities

(February 6, 2024, Updated July 7, 2024) Marcus Varro (116-27 BCE) has an important deity list in his book entitled Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum (Histories of Human and Divine Things). He was born in or near Reate (now Rieti) in Lazio, Italy into a family thought to be of equestrian rank. He ended up owning a large farm in the Reatine plain which was reported to be near Lago di Ripasottile.

Unfortunately, his book did not survive but it was quoted by many including Saint Augustine (354–430 CE) in his De civitate Dei Contra Paganos (City of God Against the Pagans) which was widely distributed after 426 CE. Additionally his quotes have been found in other surviving texts including Pliny (1st c.), Gellius (2nd c.), Censorinus (3rd c.), Servius (4th/5th c.), Nonius (4th/5th c.), Macrobius (5th c.), Priscian (5th/6th c.) etc.. 

His important passage about early Roman deities is quoted by Augustine in "de ciu. Dei, VII, 2." This is the earliest complete list that we have on the main Roman deities:  

The Indo-European additions to the Druid pantheon were the planetary motion powers which modify the motion power class:

(Planets are ordered from fastest to slowest.)

And the elemental powers which modify the life power class:

Thor Was Not An Ancient God


This is one of the earliest Thor's hammers ever discovered and it only dates to between 950 to 1000 CE. It was found in Ysby in southwestern Sweden’s Halland province. The hammer was unearthed at the site of future housing construction. The amulet is 3 centimeters (1.18 inches) long and cast in lead in the stylized shape that represents Thor’s dwarf-crafted hammer Mjölnir. It has a hole in the shaft where a string or a tie of some sort was threaded through so it could be worn as a pendant. One side of the hammer’s head is engraved with an interlacing pattern.
Reported at the History Blog at: https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/date/2022/10/21

 Akkadian Phrases Became Deity Names After the Ending of the Roman Empire And Outside Christian Lands.

(February 6, 2024)  By the time we get to the written records of the Greeks and Romans the cultural lordification process was in full swing everywhere. All sorts of spiritual powers were being personified but they still were all based upon the Ancient Pagan Paradigm. All the Celtic and Nordic/Germanic deity "names" were actually composed of short Akkadian phrases. This practice became especially creative in the bardic courtly tales of the medieval period.

A good example is the Nordic/Germanic god Thor and his hammer. "Thor" is Old Norse Þórr  which is Akkadian DaR meaning "form" with an Indo-European -R word ending. Together they mean "Former" or Form-Maker." 

His hammer is called  Mjöllnir which is Akkadian M.IL.N plus Indo-European -R. This means "Fertility-Fluids.High-Powers.Revealer" or the "Revealer of the high-power's fertility-fluids." As a revealing or manifestation power the hammer is responsible for manifesting forms on earth, that is, by giving the object its final visible shape.  Consequently Thor and his hammer represent the life power class of the Ancient Pagan Paradigm with Thor himself mostly representing the sun/storm god Hu. Consequently, Thor is not an Aesir motion power god despite what some later Norse sources say. This mistake came about because of his storm and thunder correspondence made some people assume he was an air/motion power. Thor only begins to appear as a deity after 950 BCE   

More on Thor here: https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/thor/

"Europe" is the trade along the Rhine and Danube river valleys. "Asia" is the trade from the Levant into Mesopotamia.
The land of "Libya" as opposed to Europe and Asia is all the land touched by trade along the northern Mediterranean coast heading out into the Atlantic. This includes the Carthaginian lands of the western coast of Africa.
(Image from: https://aamazzeas.blogspot.com/2020/02/greek-trade-in-mediterranean-sea-map.html)

Trade Routes Defined Land Divisions

(February 6, 2024) Ancient people divided land differently from today basing their division upon trade routes instead of land masses. The word "Europe" in ancient Greek texts refers to the Celtic and Phoenician trade routes along the Rhine-Danube-Anatolia-Phoenicia axis. In contrast "Libya" is the trade route along the Mediterranean coast from Anatolia to Britain. The Levant and Mesopotamia were "Asia."

The word "Libu" in Akkadian has an unknown meaning suggesting it is some sort of a geographic reference. The closest word to it is "li'bu" meaning disease or "place of disease."

In Homer's Odyssey it's definition is also uncertain. In this qualtiy edition by A.T. Murry (1919) it is translated as "lotus eaters" or "lotus" instead of "Libya." The location the Cyclops is vague in Homer but the later poet Euripides (c. 480 – c. 406 BC) locates the land of the Cyclops on the island of Sicily near Mount Etna which would be out of the way for any normal travel between Troy and Greece.


Book 23 - [310] He began by telling how at the first he overcame the Cicones, and then came to the rich land of the Lotus-eaters, and all that the Cyclops wrought, and how he made him pay the price for his mighty comrades, whom the Cyclops had eaten, and had shown no pity. Then how he came to Aeolus, who received him with a ready heart, [315] (http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:23.310-23.343)
Book 9 - [90] two men I chose, sending with them a third as a herald. So they went straightway and mingled with the Lotus-eaters, and the Lotus-eaters did not plan death for my comrades, but gave them of the lotus to taste. And whosoever of them ate of the honey-sweet fruit of the lotus, [95] had no longer any wish to bring back word or to return, but there they were fain to abide among the Lotus-eaters, feeding on the lotus, and forgetful of their homeward way. These men, therefore, I brought back perforce to the ships, weeping, and dragged them beneath the benches and bound them fast in the hollow ships; [100] and I bade the rest of my trusty comrades to embark with speed on the swift ships, lest perchance anyone should eat of the lotus and forget his homeward way. So they went on board straightway and sat down upon the benches, and sitting well in order smote the grey sea with their oars. [105]

Reference


Homer. The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919.

Horse use their front feet to get  what they want

Cows rely on their humans to break ice for them although they can break ice by accidentally walking on it.

Indo-European Culture Was Based On Horses 

(July 8, 2023) The importance of horses to the Indo-Europeans would be reflected in their ritual centers and later European (Druid and Indo-European) ritual centers where decentralized tribalism remained the main form of social organization instead of centralized empires around the Mediterranean.

The reason the steppe people of Eurasia were  involved with the horse was because horses could survive their winters. They had the behavior of using their hooves to break through thin layers of snow and ice to get at the vegetation. Cattle don't do this. Bison can survive deep snows but not ice because they use their heads to push aside the snow which is why they have such big heads and necks. Bison can survive in regions with deeper snowfall than horses.

Consequently, their primary use of horses was for food and milk. Only later were they adapted for transport and warfare because they turned out to be faster than cattle. Yet the Druid cattle were found to be more productive in terms of milk and meat production. 

The Indo-Europeans also seem to been the first to use crop rotation in order to keep the same plots of land fertile. This also manured their fields since one of the rotations was pasturing.  In contrast, Druid culture was based upon slash and burn agriculture. This made the Indo-European farming much more productive than found in Druid Culture.  

The Sintashta material tradition (2200–1900 BCE) developed after the initial Indo-European expansion from the Yamnaya. From Wikimedia Commons at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:From_Corded_Ware_to_Sintashta.jpg

But Horse Culture May Have Developed Just After Indo-European Invasion

(June 6, 2024) A recent report on horse domestication indicates the Indo-Europeans were already settled in Europe before they had the modern variety of horse usable for farm work and riding instead of just for food and milk. This new horse variety emerged in the Sintashta material tradition around 2,200 BCE and spread throughout Europe within 300 years.  

References

 CHRISTINA LARSON - AP Reporter (June 6, 2024) Scientists have traced the origin of the modern horse to a lineage that emerged 4,200 years ago. Online at: https://apnews.com/article/ancient-horse-dna-russia-bronze-age-f2c8493df540a64ea9f16b78d862ad49?user_email=f71c445412053ecfc2c28438a63b2d8e3bde4675e678bb81a2f8f2aa43735ad0&utm_medium=Afternoon_Wire&utm_source=Sailthru_AP&utm_campaign=AfternoonWire_June6_2024&utm_term=Afternoon%20Wire

Original Scientific Article: Librado, P., Tressières, G., Chauvey, L. et al. Widespread horse-based mobility arose around 2,200 BCE in Eurasia. Nature (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07597-5