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.
Conan was Cimmerian. They ate Scythians for lunch.
Isn't a Mongoloid a derogotory term for one with Down's Syndrome? Would the correct term just be Mongol?
Nope. Mongolians have 'mongoloid' features. The old-time name for Down Syndrome was 'mongoloidism.'
The definition of 'mongoloid' in anthropology is:
"Of or being a major human racial classification traditionally distinguished by physical characteristics such as yellowish-brown skin pigmentation, straight black hair, dark eyes with pronounced epicanthic folds, and prominent cheekbones and including peoples indigenous to central and eastern Asia."
Short horse. Mongolian horses are very unique, and also quite small. Check out the riders vs the size of the horses in this pic, keeping in mind that these riders are generally around five feet in height. (Mongolian Horses)
Best line in Highlander:
Hooker; "Hi! I'm Candy!"
Kurgan; [sinister chuckle] "Of course you are"
Better preserved, though.
Scythians were probably one of the earliest Indo-European speakers. I am not surprised that some found their way to Asia. I wonder if the Tocharians are an off-shoot of Scythians.
You may have it backwards, read through the thread that is linked in post #6.
Some anthropologists believe the Europeans migrated from western China to Europe, not the other way around.
Professor Stephen Oppenheimer says that his DNA studies show that 50% of Europeans can trace their DNA back to one man in the North Indus valley and made their way to Europe through the Middle East.
The other 50% can trace their DNA back to a son of the same man who made their way to Europe a thousand years later through Russia.
49 posts and not one mention of Bill Clinton's attraction to old mummies.
Bookmark for later perusal.
The link shows the horses average 128 centimeters which is about 4.2 feet in height.
Here's a thought! The reason the Mogols were so victorius in battle is that their opponents looked at them, made an estimate of their distance based on 'normal' sized horses and men, and shot their arrows at them while thinking they were much further away than they were because of the error in the distance calculations. :-)
Scythian Chief
???
I guessed before reading any posts that someone would mention Clinton and Mummies before post #25.
"The Emperor Wu-ti held his Wu-sun horses in high esteem, until his spies informed him that they were not true Heavenly Horses. These belonged only to the King of Ferghana who kept them closely guarded in his capital. Their whiskers reached their knees and their tails swept the ground. They had a “double-spine like a tiger.” Their hooves were “like a thick wrist.” When the sun was high they sweat blood. They could travel 1000 li a day (about 300 miles)."
That fits my mental image, thanks.
'double spine like a tiger'
Wonder if that reference is to the horse dubbed the 'bayo coyote' in the Spanish southwest. It is a dun with a black stripe down the back along the spine. I've heard one theoyr that it is a genetic throwback to strains of horses from prehistoric times.
* A "double spine" (fleshy back), which is softer and more comfortable, as well as prettier.
The Chinese read Xenophon? :-)
By the way, that's a good catch. Very few people know that Xenophon, the author of The March to the Sea, was perhaps better known and more widely read in the ancient world for his treatise on horses and horsemanship.
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