Salve Alanus (sorry I don't know some Scythian salute
)
And yes, I enjoy too some good argues and the ones with you and not just. And I know some of my views can be more controversial, lets say, and sometime may stir up some argues. But well, thats how I can learn too some stuffs, from the professional or more knowledgeable amateurs here (as I am an amateur myself).
Regarding the dragon (and I am sorry I dont have the time to go too long now)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuyanka
<<In Hittite mythology, Illuyanka was a serpentine dragon slain by Tarhunt (dIM), the Hittite incarnation of the Hurrian god of sky and storm.>>
Hittites were an Indo-European people even if they were located in Asia Minor (today Turkey) and they were there long before 300 BC.
Now about the Indo-Europeans homeland or place of formation. First and to calm down some people, I don't want in any way to make a direct connection with any modern nation or such. All modern European nations are a mix of different Indo-European (and sometimes other) branches and no one can say that is the pure and direct descendant of proto-Indo-Europeans or whatever.
As for their origin place, I know that theory, started again with Marja Gimbutas, but there are few other theories, and the most newer ones I think, point to the formation of Indo-Europeans from the Cucuteni-Tripolye
Here is one of them
http://www.academia.edu/2944128/Indo-Eur...ion_Cycles
And a resume of the longer article
http://reteaualiterara.ning.com/profiles...n-homeland
And some lingvistic map
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/indoeuropean.html
And as I said symbols as zvastica or yin and yang (Chinese name) had appeared first (at least as archeology know until now) in same Old European Civilization (that occupied teritories of today Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia/former Yugoslavia, large parts of Greece, Turkey, as well Ukraine).
As any prehistoric civilization, it was formed around some big river, Danube in this case (see as well Sumer on Tiger and Euphratus, Egypt on Nile, Indian one along Gange, Chinese on the Yangtze etc). They were first to start the metal age (or one of first in the world who independently developed that), had towns bigger then what was at that time in Sumer or Egypt, they had spread the agriculture and domestication of animals in Europe and probably colonized areas around them when their population was growing up (thats how Yamna culture appeared, an offshot of Cucuteni adapted to life in the stepes).
My opinion (if I will ever write a book about this you will see more details there
so probably never, just joking now) is that due to a significant climate change (that had lead to the accelerated formation of Sahara desert as well, possibly that Piora Oscillation) that Old European civilization suffered a huge backdown. It was followed by a fall of agriculture (and so an increase of nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle based on herding and animal rising that worked better in that enviroment) and an incresing internal fight for resources.
Some hints to that appear in Iranic zoroastrian writings, or old Avestan writings how are they called, with a wizard Malkus if I remember correct the name, who had bring a sort of ice age followed by a deluge.
That had lead as well to some shift in spiritual and religious views, in an almost post-apocaliptic like world for them (and people back then were surely way more religious or involved in spiritual life then modern people today)
At least two camps were formed, one keeping more the old beliefs and one having now new ones and demonizing the enemies. This internal conflict will lead to that split in various groups that fight and eventually break up and migrate all over around in Europe and Asia, forming the known Indo-European groups.
Thats why I said that such groups had bring with them their weapons and tactics too, when they had reach new teritories in Asia.
Razvan A.