Proto Indo European Folk Tales (Some of the oldest stories in the world)

[@Crecganford]

Is there a particular folktale or fairy tale you want to know the origin of? If so let me know here...

[@Crecganford]

@@MM-mr2xh Hi, and thanks for the feedback, it is appreciated. And yes, I have a few stories that some of the viewers have asked me to comment on, so I'll cover this too in a video I'll release in a the next couple of weeks if all goes well :)

[@TwistedAlphonso1]

All of them

[@MartinMunthe]

Thank you or an amazing channel. I've just started watching and I will watch all of your content. I'm fascinated by the story of "Little Red Riding Hood" since the classic -"Why are your hands so big?" (ans so on) is found in the Norse myths when Thor has to steal back Mjolnir from the giant and disguises as a woman and the giants asks him why his hands are so big (and so on).

[@meg2249]

Any chance the ‘Cinderella’ archetype is ancient? So many cultures have a version of it so I am curious how far back it could go.

[@Crecganford]

@@meg2249 Yes, the Cinderella motif is seen in the Indo-European King culture, I have a video on that if you're interested :)

[@zed7519]

Your lectures are terrific. I majored in History at Uni and seldom find channels which discuss our past without fear of dates; stating that Humans have been creating and communicating in marvelous ways long before us makes the things of Now so much clearer. History is so, so, comforting and the way in which you deliver your talks are just refreshing. Thank you.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@zed7519]

@@Crecganford I am staying tuned-in to your channel Professor and have already shared it with another Historian friend :)

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

@@zed7519 you may find World of Antiquity an interesting channel, too, then. Dr. Miano is really good, at least in my opinion. 🙂

[@broderickelliott8527]

Fascinating. The whole "magical shoe" element of Cinderella goes all the way back to ancient Egypt. But that one has no mention of transforming animals. Amazing how clearly the elements the tale picked up on it's long journey to western Europe can be traced.

[@kindsadism4400]

Dude, you're severely under-subscribed considering the depths of your passion.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you

[@jrpierce79]

Absolutely love this channel!! He needs way more subscribers

[@Crecganford]

Thanks for the feedback, really appreciate it :)

[@jessicaclakley3691]

I agree, wish Ocean’s subscribers would also subscribe here. The overlap between each creator’s content provides rich context for a deeper understanding of these stories

[@carollizc]

I'm my family's storyteller. I love hearing about the origins of the tales I tell, as the more I know about them, the more meaning I can infuse into my telling. So I loved, loved this video. I would like anymore videos about the oldest tales that you care to upload. Thanks!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for watching, I do have a story about the Cosmic Hunt, the oldest story that we can date with accuracy. You may enjoy that :)

[@МаксимЛяшко-и3ъ]

It’s heartwarming to know storytelling is kept alive

[@CarlOttersen]

I really like the deep research you have obviously done, your sticking to the 'science' rather than 'emotion' or 'opinion' and your multi-layered thinking. All rare on KZbin ... have subscribed and watching many of your videos.... thanks!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your kind words, I do try and remain as academic as I can.

[@CoolerGuy121]

Positively love your videos and your Channel, this is absolutely what KZbin is supposed to be for, the spreading of information. Thank you.

[@Crecganford]

And thank you so much for your kind words, and for watching my work.

[@fiktivhistoriker345]

Dear Sir, Thank you for your efforts in exploring one of the oldest cultures. I really would like to hear your opinion about the german fairy tale "Frau Holle". In this tale two sisters encounter a woman by jumping in a well. This woman is in charge of the weather, especially making snow. She asks both girls for help (as did an apple tree and an oven before). The hard working sister then gets rewarded, the lazy one gets punished with tar. Okay, so far it's a story about the value of hard work. But the name "Holle" reminded me of a certain goddess of death, "Hel". Also, the realm of the dead is called "Hölle" or "Hell". And we know that early europeans thought that wells or ponds or other watery spots were a portal to the gods, where they put offerings or sacrifices into. And it reminded me to a greek myth, "The golden fleece". In this story, two kids have to flee from greece to the east on a flying golden ram. The girl named "Helle" falls down and drowns in the water, wich is called the "Hellespont" from then on. Now we have the names Holle, Hel, Hölle/Hell and Helle, and we have water and death. Are these connected? And if so, how old may this connection be? Thanks in advance.

[@charly996]

The link between the story of Frau Holle of the Golden Fleece is intriguing, as I wasn‘t aware of it. It‘s definitely wothndigging deeper here.

[@Crecganford]

Of course, I'll take a look into it :) and thanks for watching

[@carollizc]

Frau Holle is often seen as an aspect of the Norse goddess Frigg, and as such lends her name to Holland, the land of Holle. As well as her more beneficent aspect,she has a darker, more frightening one that usually is celebrated at Midwinter. I'd love to see Jon take a look at this, and how it relates to some of those older stories, or indeed, the PIE culture itself.

[@sergeymikhailov9234]

@@charly996 It may be interesting to know that if you put a sheep skin in a gold-bearing stream overnight, by morning the skin will sparkle in the sun because of gold particles entangled in the wool. This is a low-productive way of prospecting gold from the ancient world, but it can still be used today.

[@JM-The_Curious]

The Frau Holle story, as you tell it, reminds me of Persephone in the underworld.

[@starprince6341]

Hello... Sir... I am from India... I have personally found many similarities between folks in India and Europe... These are remnants of Proto-Indo-European cultures. Could you make a video exclusively on parallelism between Indian and European myths? For example.... I'm taking this from Wikipedia..... Scholars internationally have also drawn parallels with various European mythologies. Karna's kawach (breastplate armour) has been compared with that of Achilles's Styx-coated body and with Irish warrior Ferdiad's skin that could not be pierced. He has been compared to the Greek mythological part divine, part human character Achilles on various occasions as they both have divine powers but lack corresponding status.... By the way great video.

[@Crecganford]

Hi yes, I do touch on this in my Greek Epics video showing links between the Mahabharata and Homer. But will work on a video showing other analogs. Thanks for watching and your feedback :)

[@GeorgeWard14]

One thing I have certainly noticed is the great flood myth, with a sort of Noah character, as well as the myth of giants.

[@maxsteinlechner6085]

@@GeorgeWard14 noah is not really a european myth is it, as it originated in the middle east, same as the analogue tales (Gilgamesch)

[@john682]

Slavic and indian has many similarities. Ofc india has indo European similarities they all used to speak Sanskrit which was a indo European language family. I personally found most similarity between description of God indran and thor Both love to drink and fight. Indran origin is so similar to Zeus who is also god of thunder. Veda description of indran are so beautiful.

[@eldariskenderfranke4284]

I doubt that to be be an Indo European thing but rather something spread with Alexander the Great or through the Persian empire

[@justadad6677]

I get as a historian, timing is everything ... to me, as a philosopher, humanist and one that love to hear stories. I could care less about when it happened, and more about the morality and lessons told. Or how entertaining :) this was good.

[@lindsayheyes925]

So... it seems that the folk-tale popular in England and Wales about The Twelfth Priest and the Ghost turns out to be recognisably a christianised version of The Smith and the Demon and one of the oldest tales in the world. Fan-blimmin'-tastic! Thank you so much. You made my day.

[@jasonbatty5168]

May have to make you a list of folktales to double check for me now 😂 great video brother 👍 👌 actually opened my eyes to a subject o thought i knew about . Thank you

[@Crecganford]

Let me know Jas, I do have another video of some almost as old folktales, and their meanings are really interesting which is why they have endured through time.

[@MythVisionPodcast]

I love these videos so much!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for all your support :)

[@meimei8718]

Thank you for sharing these stories.

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for watching them.

[@franksiegle7823]

Fascinating. I'm eager for more on this.

[@Crecganford]

Then come back on Saturday when we try to recreate a very ancient Creation Myth :)

[@malolds]

This channel's gonna get big. Real good content, and your voice is really soothing and comforting. You are great keep up the good work,

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, the channel has grown hugely in the last month, and it is so encouraging hearing comments from people like yourself who are enjoying the content I produce and research.

[@giovanni012]

Amazing series! I would love for it to continue.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, I am pondering how to do this, whether to tell the stories in separate video's to the science behind them? What do you think?

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

There's really only so many ways to say what you offer us is incredibly fascinating, Crecganford! Still, here's a comment for the algorithm! And what do I want to learn? All of it! All the things! 😄

[@DEadJACK4090]

Bro your channel is Fantastic 👏🌄❤️‍🔥. You've built a beaut here.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@christopherseilaff8665]

I have recently discovered your channel, and I am enjoying it. I really wish that I could find books that contain these stories. I love myths and fairytales. I also like to be able to take them down and read them.

[@Crecganford]

There is a book that contains contemporary versions of these which I think is called Folktales in the Indo-European Tradition, by Imperium Press. I can't vouch for how good it is, but it may be what you are looking for.

[@timdecleire1792]

Sorry for commenting this again, but I would soooo sooo soo LOOOOOVEEE to see you make an overview of the Rig Veda !! I find it SO interesting, and along with a general overview, the way in which other myths/stories of different cultures and civilizations overlap with the stores recounted in the Rig Veda. (I do realize this must be a colossal work though, which I am very appreciative of all that you put in !! As being only still a student, I don't quite have the budget to support you financially, but I wish I could ! Keep up the good work !! :P )

[@Crecganford]

One day, and probably a piece at a time, as it is so huge and complex, with many variations of similar myths and motifs.

[@juststardust8103]

Excellent video as usual. Thanks!

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for watching more videos :)

[@craigvoigt5798]

Jonathan: I think your videos are very strong. I'm a Joseph Campbell nut but Joseph did not necessarily validate the dates and veracity of the stories he used in his books with research and data. I enjoy how you use modern validation research techniques. This research helps to more deeply link us to ancient stories. They really are invisible cords forging human past, present and future.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for watching, and your kind words.

[@Tubespoet]

Such good content and delivered so well, always a must listen! The opening illustration did irritate me though, it is very dated, our story telling ancestors were also very good at making clothing and tools!

[@charly996]

The white snake / love of a man and a female animal motif is also known in the Chinese fairy tale canon (usually combined with younger contexts such as Buddhist monks), so it may be even older than the PIE context we are certain of, or it may be a signal of cultural interchange (e.g. the Tocharians come to mind).

[@whysogrim697]

Underrated channel if I've ever seen one

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for those kind words, it's appreciated

[@whysogrim697]

Well strangely enough I had just finished listening to the audio book "The Horse The Wheel The Langue" and stumbled upon your channel information seems solid and well presented also pleasant to hear and English voice as well no offence to the yanks but they do destroy the queen's

[@Crecganford]

@@whysogrim697 That is a great book, and I reference it here many times. If you have any questions please ask away, and I'll do my best to help.

[@Ulric-Wolfshead-Khan]

I love your channel and the topics that you cover, Thank you for sharing your knowledge

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for watching, and taking the time to comment

[@jmarsh5485]

Very enjoyable -looking forward to getting aquainted with the back catalogue and enjoying many more new uploads to come. Thanks

[@shabustinkslol]

Thanks!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much! That is really appreciated, I'm glad you liked it.

[@GwynneM]

Fascinating that aspects of The Smith and The Devil can even be found in modern superhero movies - Doctor Strange features a man trapping an evil entity in order to reach a bargain.

[@Crecganford]

Yes, many old myths can be found in all sorts of places, it is so fascinating

[@irenebaker9904]

Tales of animal helpers were always my favorites. I would also like to hear the origin of the tales where someone or a set of siblings is turned into animals, like The Children of Lir.

[@basogilak4576]

can’t forget about the basque! the basque were some of the oldest people in europe, and they’re still here today. the origins of the basque are still unknown. they reside in northern spain and into a small part of southern france. their language is the only isolate in europe, and was banned many times over history due to the spanish government. maite dut euskara, bizi euskaldunak!

[@Crecganford]

I will talk about the Basques in a separate video, as they require their own time and I want to make the video very good. Thank you.

[@ogunsiron2]

basque are r1b on the fathers side. they're similar to their western euro neighbors except in language. maybe the steppe warriors decided to speak their wives' language.

[@lynnlynn2661]

I learned about the ATU Index in library school because of its importance in research, but I thought it was unique. I would be very interested in hearing about other tools that index story motifs and how they approach this complex task in alternate ways.

[@Crecganford]

Then you should check out the mythology database, where I include others such as a fully translated version of Berezkin's Database for motifs.

[@sirnukesalot24]

I think it'd be great to do a short series where we look at the origin of common RPG subplots and side quests. This became especially interesting to me after learning that the first Final Fantasy game was written and coded by an Iranian immigrant.

[@Crecganford]

Funnily enough my children suggested I make a video on Warcraft Mythology... who knows, one day I may delve into the world of gaming.

[@sirnukesalot24]

The grateful animal theme seems to be something one encounters in every game, possibly more than once.

[@bluemoondiadochi]

looking into ancient tasmanians i heard that their stories mention descriptions of explosion of one volcano. scientific data dated the last eruption to about 30.000 years ago. so that's one candidate for the oldest story... tho 6.000 years is nothing to scoff at, too! back then smelting was difficul af!

[@tombaker674]

A great idea!

[@jonnyhames7013]

Great video, really interesting

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much for watching, and taking the time to leave a comment.

[@brahemoment6632]

Love the video. If you keep your microphone on (turn off voice activated recording) I think your production would be significantly improved. I also really appreciate your citations

[@Crecganford]

Thankyou, and yes, I think my noise gate setting is too high, but will aim to fix :)

[@geoffreyharris5931]

The white snake story is like the Irish/celtic/welsh story in which the boy sticks his thumb in the wizard's cauldron of brewing goop/soup/broth/stew and sucks/bites on it and thereby develops the power to communicate with (to understand and perhaps also to talk to) animals. There is some connection with salmon there too.

[@themasterexploder]

the salmon of knowledge?

[@Laurelin70]

@@themasterexploder Also in the story of Siegfried, he's cooking Fafnir's heart and touch it to know if it's cooked, he scorches himself and he put his finger in his mouth, and in doing so he understands the birds' language.

[@honved1]

Superb

[@Crecganford]

Thank you :)

[@bossman5370]

I immediately imagined the smith and the devil story to be about how early humans thought to make bronze.

[@Crecganford]

Yes, it took most archaeologists by surprise when they actually discovered evidence of this to match the age. And it probably helps enforce such an important story about such important technological progress.

[@reetodd9103]

Excellent video

[@Crecganford]

Thank you!

[@d.ag.b1135]

I love these videos! Does anyone happen to know the name of the song this gentleman uses as his credit/outro track?

[@Crecganford]

Thank you. It is called Training Time, and was licensed from artlist.io

[@d.ag.b1135]

@@Crecganford Thank you for the quick response!

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

Subscribed!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you!

[@NorvelCooksey]

Thanks Brother. Skal

[@oivinf]

I see many parallels to Norwegian fairy tales, which surprised me, but probably shouldn't have. I assumed Norwegian fairy tales were new, say, from the late middle ages. Why? Because the country is so small and has a relatively speaking short recorded history. I mean, we have a few "helleristninger" (petroglyphs) mostly from the bronze age, but some allegedly up to 11.000 years old - among them possibly the oldest depiction of a boat ever found. But aside from that we know little until the vikings appear in foreign literature in the 8th c. And after that Norway's golden age in the high middle ages was cut short by the plague which killed up to 3/4ths of the population. Very typically the Norwegian fairy tales feature a character called Askeladden (Ash lad). He's clever and a trickster - the "Jack" (& the beanstalk) or "David" (& Goliath) figure. He often appears with his two older brothers, both of whom often fail a task that Askeladden completes successfully because of his wit and kindness to others. He also outwits a troll on multiple occasions - most famously perhaps he kills a poor troll that had literally done nothing wrong by tricking it into an eating contest

[@Hypatiaization]

I enjoy your videos so much 💗

[@Crecganford]

Thank you :)

[@recreatingadam980]

subscribed! (mythvision fan)

[@friedeseimitdiroxmox4669]

Humans are storytellers. This is definetely true.

[@Crecganford]

I totally agree!

[@greenninja3187]

In Ireland, we have a version that sounds like the first story, will o the wisp

[@Crecganford]

I must have a read of that then, thank you

[@babylonsburning1]

Perhaps the Jack and the Beanstalk tale reflects on the early farmers overcoming the herder, hunter folk and claiming the treasure of the future development of history?

[@Crecganford]

There maybe an element of that within it, it certainly could be plausible.

[@Tubespoet]

If, of course, that narrative of human history is at all accurate or real. If you read Wengrow and Graeber's book, the Dawn of Everything they present a well researched and evidenced argument that a transition from a foraging to an agricultural lifestyle was not nearly as clear or uniform as we think. Even as a child in the mid 20th century foraging for food was a regular part of my family life - in England!

[@JonathanDavisKookaburra]

Do a video on the different story indexes.

[@Crecganford]

I have created a mythology database to cover this as there are thousands.

[@fiktivhistoriker345]

I just happened to find a video by "fortress of lugh": "indoeuropean conquest in myth". Just don't know how to set a link.

[@Crecganford]

I'll have a look, I'm aware of the channel, as I'm always interested to hear alternative interpretations of academic study. Thanks :)

[@joeblow1748]

Its almoust eary that children always want to hear the same story over and over. Its like they are programed to remember..

[@kariannecrysler640]

The blacksmith storyline, do all versions refer to a soul? Irving Finkle translated cuneiform tablets that refer to spirit’s, so if the story refer to souls that pushes the date back. 😊

[@aethiopia5679]

This video reminds me of one documentary. i saw long a year ago about this scholar group lead by a director collecting fairy tales or folklore in northern Europe and reconstruct it with actors. I was looking for it for long time now but couldn’t find it , I think it was in some Nordic language it was impossible to find it for me. do you know the documentary , who the guy is or the link to the video … anything is welcome. All is because I saw same pattern story and chants in some other tribe far away and I wonder if they share same essence. thank you.

[@Nygaard2]

...and in related news, it turns out that "Bohnanza" is much older than chess, having been financed by primitive storytellers/bean merchants as yet another way to promote their goods...

[@WestfaliaStuff]

As someone with Iranian heritage I was always baffled on how the themes of stories that I've heard as a child in Germany resemble the ones told in Iran. Even the language has strange similarities that can barely be explained with coincidence.

[@ogunsiron2]

it's not at all a coincidence. both cultures are indo-european

[@michaelcooper5677]

Your video was entertaining and interesting. To be honest, I would have preferred more exposure to the actual stories. It seemed to me that you spent a great deal of time describing why you and the others you mentioned believe that these are the oldest tales in what I will refer to as western culture ( as opposed to Asian, African, N and S. American pre-European, Oceanic, Indonesian etal cultures ) . Given what we have learned so far about migration of the humanoid species it seems logical to assume that there would be a high degree of coherence in the tales that survive from early times. So while I understand that it would surpass the time most people would spend watching a video, for me it would have been much more intriguing to find what, if any, common threads run through all cultures (or at least those on my admittedly incomplete listing above). It has been my experience that a great many people understand, read, study and teach others based on an unstated set of assumptions that they make. There are good reasons for this and many of them are what bind a particular culture together. However, we need to remember they are assumptions and sometimes our assumptions are wrong or incomplete or typically , based on incomplete and insufficient data. This is particularly true in reference to history I think. Written material may reflect the best thinking at the time or may reflect the predominant assumptions of the time in which written or it may be a result of what survived and wasn't lost or intentionally destroyed by those who had a different view. In the case of "folk tales" (a term I applaud you using rather than fairy tale which for some has a reputation for fantastical and therefore to ignored). Many come from an oral tradition and of course the written versions always has differences from oral versions. Oral versions change over time and oral presentation from a single presenter changes from one telling to another and is somewhat dependent on audience response as well as the emotional state and level of imagination, and tendency to elaborate of the presenter as well as any level of inebriation/intoxication 😄 Sorry, I digress. Oral traditions are , despite their variation, important especially when there is little else to rely on. But it is also a assumption to assert that the story remained unchanged for more than a generation or two. Likewise we are very reliant on supposition in linguistics. I am not saying that the suppositions are incorrect only that I do not believe we have the data to say whether they are absolutely true. While I recognize the amount of work being done in the past and currently it is not "end game" material and likely never will be. Given the foregoing, I would have preferred to hear/see the stories and what you believed were the common threads among them and how they may or may not coincide with stories from other cultures. We, in the western culture have certain ideas about some very fundamental concepts (sanctity of life, importance of "blood relations", and more) which may or may not be shared by other cultures. It seems to me that our folk tales can be shared worldwide for perhaps the first time in human history by a single generation. That seems to me to be a very worthwhile goal.

[@Crecganford]

My qualifications are in Indo-European culture, and so going outside this requires lots more work for me. And although I have produced such work (such as my dragon, flood, and creation videos) these are less common on my channel. I am pondering creating a story based channel, where I read the stories, as there seems to be some demand for this.

[@nubianus]

6:03 this map seems to be good and logical

[@haydnrogan6789]

Just a note, in aboriginal Australian culture the closer you get to the northern and western part of the country the more their stories involve water.. some even telling stories about their ancestors being seafarers. Not very much of this has been studied, but I believe these stories to be from a time nearly 70000 years ago , which aligns when these people may have had naval knowledge

[@Crecganford]

My next video, in a week or so, will discuss the origin of the flood myth. That might interest you?

[@haydnrogan6789]

@@Crecganford so far all of your content is highly interesting! Thankyou

[@haydnrogan6789]

@@Crecganford I really enjoyed this video !

[@silverdragon710]

So if these aren't the oldest stories which ones are besides the Cosmic Hunt? Would love to see a video on that!

[@Crecganford]

I made a video about the Australian stories, that may be what you are looking for :)

[@gabpizzamcaroni2521]

this is really cool

[@trystanfranziskus]

the modern version of the storry at 15:00 is ''would you still love me if i was a worm''

[@Crecganford]

I've never heard of that story, I shall look it up, thank you

[@trystanfranziskus]

@@Crecganford nono it's just a common phrase girls tend to say to their partner at the moment and it reminded me of that lol

[@heathermcdougall8023]

Rumpelstiltskin - "you must give me your first baby". As a young child I was terrified of this story as I intuitively knew he was going to eat it/ kill it. Is this an ancient story, about the rare practise of child sacrifice?

[@Crecganford]

I’ve never looked at it like that…that is very interesting. Thank you, thank you for watching and commenting. It is appreciated.

[@earlwajenberg]

I have no expert credentials in this, but I think Rumplestiltskin was an example of a fairy stealing a child. There are plenty of stories about this, usually about leaving a changeling in place of the child so the parents don't realize the theft. Rumplestiltskin takes a different route. But "fairies steal children" is an old and widespread theme. If the story says *why* they steal children, it's generally because they have so few children of their own, or so few healthy ones. So on that theory Rumplestiltskin would take the baby to make it into a fairy/goblin/whatsit like himself. This is the motive for Jareth the Goblin King (played by David Bowie with cute little fangs) in the movie "Labyrinth": he steals the heroine's baby brother with the intent of turning him into a goblin.

[@heathermcdougall8023]

@@earlwajenberg A changeling wasn't on the agenda. Her first baby was on the agenda and she had to hand it over. For what exactly? I was terrified as I had a very active imagination and even very young assumed it was to0 kill or to kill and eat. This was a deal that saved her life, and it's a life for a life. The thing about a great story is, that there's no 1 perfect interpretation. We bring ourselves to a story.

[@danielgonzalez-pf5el]

Can I get a source for the thumbnail pic?

[@kyesickhead7008]

06:57 Memes Jack! The DNA of the soul....

[@luciabaschirotto429]

Was the concept of selling the soul to a demon part of the proto-indo-european version of the Smith and the Devil? Did the Jack's beanstalk and the ogre's sky castle exist in the erliest version? I would love to know more about ancient folktales. I'm especially interested in the changeling motif: it became famous in medieval times, but it's present in so many indoeuropean cultures (celtic, norse, slavic, italian, spanish, even persian and indian) that i'm really curious to know if it's possible that proto-indo-europeans had child substitution in their mythology

[@Crecganford]

The tales as we know them are quite different to as they were told, although it is the motifs within them that allows us to recognize them. You only need to look at Jacob Grimm's original versions of the fairy tales to see how different they were. I am trying to arrange a professional story teller to tell some of these, and so watch this space.

[@catayloprince4772]

😁 To ancient people, specially the transition from stone to bronze age, the dude who figured out metallurgy is something of a magician. Like one would ask how did he figure out that bringing together fire, earth, and some rocks will make a new material? The wily old Smith will likely answered that the idea came to him in a dream after eating some weird mushrooms laying around.😆

[@junhaozhang6915]

Why are your audio so weird and laggy. It really hurts to try keep attention. The audio jumps, cuts and disappears often. It’s highly distracting

[@Crecganford]

It was back then, when I was a new KZbinr... I hope you find it a lot better in my newer videos.

[@federicofederico3277]

Por favor, en español, doblado o traducido. Gracias

[@HistoryandReviews]

Came here from MythVision

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your support

[@nizzebroid]

Tales about tales

[@ichigoapanchal9935]

I was expecting panchtantra to show up on the video 😢

[@sash4all]

Around Ukraine were maybe the oldest known high cultures and civilizations, but they found human evidences which were dated back for more than 30000 years, nearly the same time the Elasmotherium was maybe still living there. I just want to know, if the unicorn stories and this creature are connected, cause first domesticated horses are also out of this region. I think that could be really possible, if they would have connected old stories about giant unicorns with their domesticated horses... especially to take the fear of some people from domeszicated horses, cause humans were hunting way bigger horselike giants after all, thousands of years ago ^^ I love thinking about stuff like that ^^

[@jytte-hilden]

Where is Little Red Riding Hood on the scale? It has variants in Zulu and Khoisan, starring an evil Elephant. Original story, or borrowed from European settlers?

[@Crecganford]

Great question. Now Little Red Riding Hood may seem similar to other tales on other continents, but the ATU (the story index we use to classify tales) specifically separates the European and Asia/African tales as these later ones are often called "Wolf and the Kids" tales. But to answer your question, I know the earliest recorded version of LRR is around 1,000 years old, but I'm not sure if we have data to show if it is any older, which it probably is. And back then the wolf was probably a werewolf just to add a twist :) I hope that helps

[@timdecleire1792]

Just out of curiosity, can you trace back your own personal lineage and find out who your ancestors were ? And if you already have this, would you be interested in double-checking through doing DNA tests to really know the truth of your ancestry? Could be interesting haha. It might influence your interests in various cultures and myths though haha

[@Crecganford]

It doesn't bother me, to me, my ancestry is the culmination of every human before me, all their rich cultures have made me and the society I am in, what it is.

[@timurhyat]

Do Tell The Stories, Please.

[@Crecganford]

I would love to get a professional story teller to do these, and I have a plan to make it happen! Thank you for watching.

[@CourtneySchwartz]

“PIE culture” is most delicious when it yields blueberry.

[@tecumsehcristero]

I subbed after watching this even though your accent is a little difficult to understand.

[@Crecganford]

I have subtitles/captions if that helps, and happy to put them in any language if you have a preference :)

[@tecumsehcristero]

@@Crecganford No, I like your accent. It's much better than the annoying bland Californian accent. I'd really struggle with some words with a regional accent than listen to someone with a Californian accent

[@AbhiN_1289]

I would likee the indian equivalent to these Indo European tales.

[@Crecganford]

I am slowly working my way through the Indian Tales and associated academic papers. So I hope I can do this one day in the future. Thanks for watching :)

[@thevoyager3903]

Very cool topic! Btw, the ‘out of Africa’ theory has been scientifically and anthropology disproven

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, as for "Out of Africa", my understanding is that it depends when you start measuring from, and what you are measuring. But the core principal based on where a majority of the DNA comes from still supports it based on 70k years ago.

[@thevoyager3903]

The theory im referring to actually refutes that one, if youre interested, look into the presence of rh- blood types and conspiracies such as the Piltdown Man. Thought i do accept that one cant know the truth for sure, logically it holds more water in mine and many other’s opinions.

[@venkateshu8715]

Is there any connection with Hinduism or Hindu stories

[@Crecganford]

Yes, there is a link with some of them and I am slowly pulling material together to make a few videos about the Indic cultures.

[@venkateshu8715]

@@Crecganford thank you sir

[@RM-yf2lu]

Proto indo Europeans were a population or a proposed theoretical language?

[@Crecganford]

PIE is a hypothetical language, but we often refer to people who we think spoke PIE, as Proto Indo-Europeans, but these people covered multiple cultures and beliefs.

[@dianetheone4059]

*****

[@yordantodorov7105]

Wow! We have the story fir the prince that have to get married for a girl that is not born and the sun gives the prince 3 apples and when he cuts an apple a unbelievably beautiful girl appears but he have to give her a bread to keep her whit him. After that a black woman comes and kills the girl and pretends to be her. But from the bines of the girl grows a tree. The tree tell the prince what happened and then the black woman is banished. The tree gives an aple and from it the girl is reborn. So she becames unborn and reborn.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for sharing that, it is appreciated.

[@yordantodorov7105]

@@Crecganford I think that if you get familiar with bulgarian folklore ant fairytales you will find a treasure! You should make a video about it!

[@thomasdoubting]

Look! (said Cro-Magnon to Neandertal) I am so strong that I can squeeze water from a stone...😉

[@lordvonmanor6915]

Here's something learned many years ago as a child back in Germany that is very simple to remember. Proto-Indo-Europeans literally means Ancient-Nword-Europeans. Nword, Indo, Indus, Indiërs,...are all the same words. Story telling was a big part of the culture because that was the best way to teach children history. Story and History are also the same words.

[@junior4900]

"Nword"? I don't understand, could you please explain?

[@Crecganford]

No it doesn't PIE is a language not a type of people, and Indo refers to the geographic area we know as India... where this is thought otherwise it is usually by people with an agenda.

[@lordvonmanor6915]

@@Crecganford That's the definition of Proto Indo in every damn Germanic dictionary. If you don't like it then file a Federal Lawsuit against every European country in every Indo-language you can think of. Indo, Pagan, Heide, Aboriginal, and Nword are all the same damn words. Hence the reason why pale Europeans used to be called Weiße-Mohren or Witte Mose, Soudame, Hvide Maurer, Albino Negroes in every damn Indo Dictionary!!! Warm regards.

[@lordvonmanor6915]

@@junior4900 Nword, Aboriginal, Originie, Mother, Indiër, Wild, Mor, Morian, Multiracial, Blacks, Indien, Pagan, Heide ... Are all the same damn words in different Indo Languages. It means whites and Blacks are one in the same people. Non mixed whites are new humans declared after 1794 and between 1823. They were created in Amerika and not Europe. white negroes who stopped mixing due to Segregation.

[@randomusername5242]

@@lordvonmanor6915 Sounds like you've drank up some baloney.

[@alexisleon23]

Sorry for my remark mate but I prefer GREEK myths. They are full of symbolism.

[@Ewr42]

15:20 so.... shrek? In Pussy in boots the plot is about jack and the beanstalk too, mostly The whole DreamWorks universe is based on folklore and fairy tales, so I really wouldn't be surprised if they actually have reconstructed these old stories in a version more faithful to the originals for some reason, but if they did it by accident that'd be even more impressive. But honestly tho, the story made me imagine Fiona and Shrek, is the correlation just in my head or is Shrek really based on a similar folk story?

[@andreysleepdeep]

Our western mentality does have roots in verbal nordic stories but most of our values and creation myths come directly from ancient Egypt. Look at the ancient Egyptian words like pyramid, paper, the two most important words. Our way of dealing with death is still the design of ancient Egyptian bureaucracy. We still waste precious real estate and resources to bury our dead flesh, a senseless ancient tradition we are compelled to continue. We still build enormous structures to satiate the ego of our leaders. All of this is based on the lies told by the priests. Even though we all know death is permanent we are still living the ancient Egyptian delusion that by though technology and religion we can cheat death.

[@Laurelin70]

You know that ritual burials are usually one of the signs of homination, according to anthropoologists, do you?

[@andreysleepdeep]

@@Laurelin70 Yes but what ancient Egypt invented was the bureaucracy of ritual burial. This is very wasteful, imagine if we used these resources on the living, we would be much better off.

[@TheShorterboy]

the tribes in sub Saharan africa were genocided by the bantu so it's going to be hard for them to tell you anything

[@thomasvieth578]

Some story reminded me of the real Cinderella, not that stupid Disney version

[@Crecganford]

I do talk about Cinderella in a video I've produced on the Kings, as the story is about mutilation to fit in, and the effect of that. Or that is how some have seen it.

[@fabian3946]

Would the tales of the Brothers Grimm have Indo-European origin?

[@liquidoxygen819]

I don't know if the story has to be European or Indo-European in origin, but if we're allowed to ask about stories from other cultures, I'd be particularly interested in the origin of this: /watch?v=P-F516eyWJY The reason I'm so curious about it is because the stars have been with us literally for our entire existence and I think every culture has ancient stories about constellations, as you have talked about yourself on this channel. The Pleiades are eminently recognizable and it makes sense that a story about them would persist for so long. Maybe this tale is related to others about the Pleiades; maybe it's a holdover from something in the Ancient North Eurasian past that was lost in Europe. It's one of my favorite folk tales though.

[@Crecganford]

I know a couple of stories from the North American culture. Let me look into it, and thanks for watching :)

[@bettybunbun9664]

Were there even smiths and kings in Europe 6,000 years ago? I thought Europe entered the Bronze Age 5,000 years ago, and that 6,000 year old Europeans were mostly hunter gatherer tribes and farming communities.

[@ogunsiron2]

there were probably farmer kings and hunter gatherer chieftains who were like kings. smiths i'm not sure but smith = craftsman in general, not just metal craftsman

[@markh995]

Proto-Indo Europeans consist of several waves of people migrating into Europe, but as I understand it, aren't quite there yet.

[@greaterbharat4175]

It's not completely European myth European myth start with conflict with old gods and younger gods ( Titens and younger gods ) Giant and aesirs Old European fought tough socio religious battle with arriving indo Europeans in Europe Story of smith is rather proto indo European

[@bertg74]

More to the point how do we trust what we know?

[@Crecganford]

By reading the research that is referenced in the video's description

[@bertg74]

@@Crecganford that's what I was questioning? The source of information!

[@judgemoses9015]

Do you know if there's any similar research into African myth? I bet you can find older stories there...

[@Crecganford]

The difficulty with African mythology is proving its age, yes the stories maybe old, but could we tell the difference between a 200 year old myth and a 2,000 year old myth. And so whilst the mythology is fascinating, its age is almost always unknown.

[@lastmannotstanding3741]

one of the oldest story i heard is OoOOooGAaah BoOoGaAH LoOoOGaAH LOohGaAh my credit to the flintstone

[@markgriffin1621]

ProIndoEuropean’s very existence is speculative. It’s actually a collection of about eighteen hundred words that are theorized to have been part of a now extinct language. The one that probably was the original single source of all today’s Indo-European languages. However not a single piece of actual PIE remains. Certainly nothing as complex as a story.

[@Crecganford]

Yes, there is speculation as there is for anything that has no recorded history and I do cover the issues with the language on my video about PIE, but this is also different to the issues with a story, where phylogentics and the use of motifs provide far stronger evidence of age and source.