Posted on 08/25/2006 12:14:30 PM PDT by blam
Archaeologists find 2,500-year-old mummy in Mongolia, tattoos and all
Thu Aug 24, 2:18 PM ET
AFP/DDP/GAI-HO Photo: This undated picture released by the German Archaeological Institute (GAI) shows a mummified body from...
BERLIN (AFP) - An international group of archaeologists has unearthed a well-preserved, 2,500-year-old mummy frozen in the snowcapped mountains of Mongolia complete with blond hair, tattoos and a felt hat.
The president of the German Archaeological Institute, Hermann Parzinger, hailed the "fabulous find" at a press conference to present the 28-member team's discovery in Berlin.
The Scythian warrior was found in June at a height of 2,600 meters (8,500 feet) in the Altay Mountains in an intact burial mound or kurgan.
Parzinger said the tomb was practically untouched when the team discovered it.
"We just had to sweep away some dust and could begin," he said.
Researchers said the most striking feature about the man was his light blond hair, which Parzinger acknowledged may have yellowed after his death.
The man, who was apparently well-off, was cloaked in a beaver-skin coat with sable trim and sheep's wool lining that was in remarkably good condition, and still intact skin on his upper body revealed tattoos.
Two horses with elaborately decorated saddles and bridles, weapons and wooden, clay and animal horn vessels were placed in the tomb alongside the corpse to accompany the warrior into the next life.
The recovered items are currently in storage in Ulan Bator. Parzinger said even the contents of the horses' stomachs would be examined to offer insights into the region's vegetation two centuries before Christ.
Parzinger said that until now remains of the Scythians, who were Iranian nomadic peoples, had only been found on the Russian side of the Altays. He said the new find showed that their territory was much broader than first thought.
He said the ice had helped preserve the mummy and his belongings and noted that global warming also posed a threat to such archaeological finds. He said that if the trend continues, in 20 to 30 years there would be no more ice kurgans.
Of course, this article neglects to point out that, at one time, the temperature was warm enough that this person did not die covered in ice, and that the ice covered him over time.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Mongoloid race
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mongolism was formerly employed to describe people with Down syndrome. For the song by Devo, see Mongoloid (song).
The term Mongoloid race or Mongoloid sometimes referred to as "Sinoid" or "Mongolid", is most used in discussions of human prehistory, historical definitions of race and in the forensic analysis of human remains.
The suffix "-oid" indicates a similarity, not necessarily exact, to something else. Mongoloid, therefore, does not necessarily equate to earlier terms such as "Mongolian" or "Asiatic" — whatever the parameters for their definitions may be — and much less does it equate to the Mongolian nationality.
Racial classification, and even the existence of race, is controversial. The -oid racial terms are now often controversial in both technical and non-technical contexts and are likely to give offense no matter how they are used.
Heretic! Apostate! Realist! What's up with you, anyway?
Scythians...prototype Hells Angles on horseback. Even the Romans thought twice about messing with them.
Conan, perhaps?
Either that is one short horse, or one tall girl!
That explains it. He was one *cold* bastard.
:)
Nothing like the Shelmikedmu though.
bump
Maybe someday these guys will stop being surprised to find blonds in that part of the world??
Why did you cut the photo to do away with her pointy hat and broom?
vaudine
Are we sure it's not Kid Rock?
Are we sure it's not Kid Rock?
naaa. he's too busy having pamela injected with silicone.
actually, looks a little like willie nelson.
or one of the pilots of the Area 51 crash site.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.