Marija Gimbutas lectures from the Oriental Institute

 Salvete Omnes,

yet again more links to videos and archive books: 
The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago made available three memorial lectures on and about Marija Gimbutas life and her Kurgan hypothesis in relation to the DNA research. 

three lectures in order presented:

Colin Renfrew -  lecture  2018 

Petra Goedegebuure - lecture 2020  - on the Hittite branch of the Indo-Europeans

Ruth Tringham - lecture 2021

and some books on the archive world library  by Gimbutas, including plenty of books you can borrow:

The Balts (1963)

Bronze Age cultures in Central and Eastern Europe (1965)

The Living Godessess .. 

Civilization of the Goddess - 

Valete

Old Debate from 2012, citing goes on - Mismodeling Indo-European origins - and a discussions about Maria Gimbutas - videos

 Salvete Omnes,

right before Christmas - so this is this rather old video from 2012 - but it goes to the heart of the matter, i.e., debate on the origins of the Indo-Europeans and the politics of the academic world - eg my post about the November 2021AD article of the Tocharians etc.

So in 2012 The Science (and NYT followed with this article) published this article: Mapping the Origins and Expansion of the Indo-European Language Family - 

Two scholars: Martin W. Lewis & Asya Pereltsvaig, in this video they did a very pointed and excellently delivered critique  on the errors and falsities of that Science article at Stanford Univ.. this short lecture is a great voyage into the historic linguistics and the story of Indo-Europeans. 
But in spite of the soundness of their arguments the article from The Science keeps on being cited (as you can see from the PubMed link. 

Regarding the Kurgan theory there are many critics of the Gimbutas, Anthony et al., kurgan hypothesis  - like  this presenter.

Nota bene:  

James Mallory, David Anthony, and Dorcas Brown talking about Maria Gimbutas and her theories being vindicated - from UCLA October 2021. 

from more distant past - dr Anthony's Wheeled vehicles, horses, and Indo-European origins lecture from 2012.

Valete

Kul Oba Scythians

Salvete Omnes,

it has been a while since I visited my 'beloved' Scythia on this blog, hence time to somewhat mend this omission.

Kul Oba or the 'hill of ashes' (in the Kipchal Tatar tongue) was a kurgan that contained a large stone tomb with a corbelled roof located in the Kerch Peninsula of the greater Crimean Peninsula (lately of Russian Federation, but between 1954-91 AD part of the Ukrainian SSR and then between 1991-2014 AD it was an integral part of Ukrainian independent state territory).

 

 It was built sometime in the early IV century BC and perhaps represents pretty much the high art of the rapidly Hellenizating' Scythian aristocracy/nobility.

The following pages and images are taken from Ellis Minns, Scythians and Greeks. chapter Scythic Tombs, Kerch.
 

and on Academia there is article by Nikolaos F. Fedoseev - the Necropolis of Kul Oba and Juz Oba. Denis Zhuraviev's article on the standing Scythian from Kul-Oba (in Russian). Leonid Babenko's article on the famous torque's construction  from Kul Oba.{Russian with English summary]

 The Scythian theme ..  to be continued - :)

Valete

M. I. Artamonov - Sokrovishcha Skifskih Kurganov

Salvete Omnes,

the clock is ticking and perhaps this may next to the last post this 2019:
I watched the entire Netflix' Witcher series - for me it did not get better with each episode, so much money wasted; the hose tack in this production is horrid, mix of nonsense, pretensions and bad saddlery ideas. They should have hired some of the experienced European saddlers, like Joram van Essen et al or our Polish saddler Marcin Ruda ( Ruda Sadlery) to create some pleasing choices.

just a link (kronk site) to the color illustrations from prof. Mikhail Illarionovich Artamonov(Артамо́нов Михаи́л Илларио́нович) titled Сокровища скифских курганов в собрании Государственного Эрмитажа.-published as The splendor of Scythian art;: Treasures from Scythian tombs (1969).
The examples of the Scythian art from the Hermitage, just a few examples from the Kul-Oba kurgan 

Kul-Oba kurgan - a lancer

Kul-Oba kurgan - another lancer

 Scythian archers from the Kul-Oba kurgan
 

 Geremes kurgan - Геремесов курган ( Марьевка (Запорожский район) ),Ukraine - mounted lancer against an archer
 

Merdzhani or Merdzhana (Мерджаны) kurgan - late period - a horseman with a rython


  Elizavétinskaya stanitsa(Елизаветовская станица) kurgans -( Kuban Basin ) and one of my favorite animals - the wild boar detail from the sword scabbard discovered in the the kurgan number 16.


Valete
ps
the animal-style steppe art may be exemplified by the deer adornment for a shield that  comes from the Kostromskaya Stanitsa Kurgan numer 1, Kuban Basin.

Tolstaya Mogila Kurgan - article and films

Salve,
a quick entry today -
I want to share with you several finds from the Internet related to the famous pectoral from on of the Pontic steppe kurgans (barrows) - Tolstaya Mogila Kurgan (or the Tovsta Mohyla Barrow)

Great article on the subject with good images - http://www.wumag.kiev.ua/wumag_old/archiv/1_98/pectoral.htm
 Another take on the Pectoral http://www.wumag.kiev.ua/index2.php?param=pgs20052/32
 An English language book to read related to this amazing piece of art, and the Scythian art in general,  is the work by a scholar named Esther Jacobson - The Art of the Scythians  http://books.google.com/books?id=ciZquFt9IFIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false
 
MET article on the 'Scythian' excavations in Soviet Union, including the 1971 Tolstaya Mogila kurgan excavation.

Ukrainian language article on the Pectoral as the symbol of the  Scythian Mythology/religion http://www.nbuv.gov.ua/portal/Soc_Gum/Nvmdu/Ist/2009_27/02_27.pdf
Films on youtube -
1. Пектораль - in Russian - history of discovery
. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAxZb0W2FrE&feature=player_embedded
2 in Ukrainian. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eACe3EHCICY&feature=player_embedded
3. and short film on the Scythian imagery in gold relief - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCVNuzBB1lU&feature=related