Quote:Although I don't have the knowledge of Pre-Roman history that you two have, I must say based on the defining arguments here that the Massagetae/Saka had no link to the Dacians, they were another group of Steppe Nomads who were forced to migrate due to a varied set of changing conditions.
Where the Draco comes from? Who knows. It was probably introduced to the Dacii by steppe nomads IMO, but I am certain that it derived from cultures east of the black sea. Possibly Iranians, and if you look at the folklore east of the Aral sea there's some of Chinese influence, so chinese dragon lore could have had a part to play.
There is a common preconception or misconception, heavily enforced and reinforced by some as Scythians but especially and more heavy by Huns and Mongols (and Tatars) that people moved just from Asia to Europe all the time, and every influence come from there here.
But this is simply incorrect.
First moves was from Europe toward Asia, through eurasian stepes. Neolithic societies that include beside agriculture the domestication of animals (including horses) spread in eurasian steppes from the Old European Civilization. A culture that had a proto-writing or writing and urban settlements at least a millenium before Sumer.
Then we have the movement of indo-arians, the ones who reached India and wrote the Rig-Veda, and those who reached Iran. All those comes from Europe, from somewhere around Black Sea, and traveled all the way across eurasian steppes way before others make their way in the opposite direction
Now about the Draco. For me is kinda clear it can't be a windsock.
The reasons are that a windsock is useful just when you are in a static position. When you move on the back of a horse in gallop speed the pennant or flag or windsock will wave in the direction you move, regardless of wind (or it needs to be a extremely strong wind to move it in other direction).
Then, as the windsock of airfields was mentioned, I wonder why I didnt tought earlier about that myself, as I had to do with those before.
Those windsocks show the wind direction and speed (measured by the red/orange and white bands on it), but it shows that in the area were is placed so the parachutists that come to land for example (or a light plane) to know how to position himself related with the direction and speed of wind, so have a soft landing or to reach the point he wants to for a precision landing.
But this will make no sense for a steppe army, because wearing such windsocks in front of an enemy army they will just show to those enemies from which direction the wind is blowing and with what speed (aprox) right in the place were they are, so helping actually the enemy shots who will know how to place their shots.
As such I think that the most logical assumption is that Draco was at origin a religious or mythological symbol, or a totem, and was used by some factions of indo-european tribes who was presumably in conflict to others. Marja Gimbutas talk about a conflict between the cults of Mother Goddesses and the Sky-Father, but probably was a conflict between those and others who used the dragon (and the wolf) as symbols, as both of this animals or symbols are negative and in pretty much any indo-european mythology the Sky-Father fight with a dragon (or a wolf, in Germanic mythology). There are just few people were those symbols are positive, Getae/Dacians, some steppes people and Romans
A "draco" can play the role of rallying point too, or to show where the comand of some type of unit is, were is the direction to follow and such. Armies way after that (up to modern times) used flags or visual signals to transmit orders or informations.