09-08-2011, 01:20 AM
I have been a member here for a little while but have only posted once or twice?
I find this discussion very interesting. However there are a few things that I think that are worth mentioning in no particular order of importance.
One of the things that I think that is important is to not underestimate the influence of steppe cultures on the whole Eurasian continent. It all depends on how far back you are willing to go. I mean really far back. I mean 1400BC in not that far back and 600BC is almost yesterday.
With that being said, I think that some of this, our current discussion about the origin of the spatha and who started what, might all be forever tentative because of the inevitability of new discoveries and the demon of sample size.
Something else that I feel that is of "suma importancia" is to not hold to an "evolutionary type" chronology of artifacts too high in regard. Things come in "milieus", rises and falls, forgettings and relearnings, and several out right surprises that throw the comfortable 19th century Victorian progression of things that we have been trained in since 1st grade on its head. And no I am not some fringe type of thinker. But what was on the fringes a few years ago is now almost center anyway...
I will have to find it but I remember reading a text recently that was talking of iron production find well before the first Bronze Age.
To all of you I commend you for having the guts to talk about the things that are talked about on this forum. It is all very exciting.
I do hope that none of this comes across as condescending in any way. I am honored to be among you all.
I find this discussion very interesting. However there are a few things that I think that are worth mentioning in no particular order of importance.
One of the things that I think that is important is to not underestimate the influence of steppe cultures on the whole Eurasian continent. It all depends on how far back you are willing to go. I mean really far back. I mean 1400BC in not that far back and 600BC is almost yesterday.
With that being said, I think that some of this, our current discussion about the origin of the spatha and who started what, might all be forever tentative because of the inevitability of new discoveries and the demon of sample size.
Something else that I feel that is of "suma importancia" is to not hold to an "evolutionary type" chronology of artifacts too high in regard. Things come in "milieus", rises and falls, forgettings and relearnings, and several out right surprises that throw the comfortable 19th century Victorian progression of things that we have been trained in since 1st grade on its head. And no I am not some fringe type of thinker. But what was on the fringes a few years ago is now almost center anyway...
I will have to find it but I remember reading a text recently that was talking of iron production find well before the first Bronze Age.
To all of you I commend you for having the guts to talk about the things that are talked about on this forum. It is all very exciting.
I do hope that none of this comes across as condescending in any way. I am honored to be among you all.
