The 5,000-Year-Old Yamnaya Copper Club

[@DanDavisHistory]

The report says he was "taller than the average height of men today" however that can't be true if the stated height of 5'9" is also true (I incorrectly said 5'8" in the video) because that is roughly the average height today. Apparently the average Yamnaya male height was about 175.5cm so I guess he was a bit taller than average too. And it says he was "more than" 176cm so that must be a minimum estimate. Whatever his height in life he was still built like a brick outhouse. Watch all the Bronze Age Warfare series here: kzbin.info/aero/PLUyGT3KDxwC8xD2S2Q1IqH_S_ocWwXWHv The Koryos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpOsqJxnfd2gpqc Trepanation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5Sbm6t8jq6JbMk Indra's Cudgel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYqoc6ula794r5Y Thor's Hammer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmKzlaiJZ9SWopo First Berserkers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHa7iXRmo8aLoc0 Army of the Dead: kzbin.info/www/bejne/paKyoWtngLaCaqM

[@logancoolgamer-zn7yu]

He would have towered over the 5'2" Neolithic farmer though.

[@Alarix246]

By the way, I have another story there at Keltymology, not sure now if written in Czech only or also in English, about the coincidence between the Keltic Cernunnos and our mythological character named Krakonoš, after whom still a whole mountain range is called Krkonoše. Your Perkwunnos nails it together with the Slavic god of thunderbolts, Perun. It's right in the middle between Cernunnos and Perun. But Cernunnos I think has to do with Cernus, cornuto. Actually he was the first "Cornuto" 😁 guy, as he lived half a year in the woods and the other with his wife (Rihanna?). And according to some tale she just couldn't wait till he hits the hunting trail again, as she had a relationship with another male (can't remember the name). This tale gave rise to the Italian gleeful "cornuto". I can understand the switch from P to Q (Epona, the horse goddess became Equona), but in case of Perqunnos, there cannot possibly (?) be corn, corner nor horn in the basis of the word, what do you think?

[@hengest9060]

@Devvrat Mishra All Indo- Europeans have the horse and horse mythology in common.... Where as only one had much about elephants. Occam's razor leads to a simple solution. As for the Vedas, they were composed in India at a very early date, but it was still after the Aryans invaded. So elephants would come with the territory. Celts, Germanics and Slavs would've retained knowledge of the Elephant if they had come from India.

[@johnotm]

That's a lot taller than the global average

[@tamerofhorses2200]

@Devvrat Mishra "176.5 cm for men - as defined by the WHO growth reference standards"

[@nonyabeeznuss304]

People don't realize just how difficult and expensive it was to get a hold of metal back then. For them to bury him with a copper weapon that large was a huge honor. This was somebody who was greatly respected and probably a great hero and leader of his people.

[@giantsbane9706]

Cause you were there right!?

[@nippernappertton]

attesting to the scarcity of metal, the north european battle-axe culture had to resort to making the axes from stone, but many of the axes show reproduced even the seam from cast copper counterparts.

[@thefisherking78]

@@giantsbane9706 why are you here if you don't like science? 😜

[@giantsbane9706]

@@thefisherking78 love science bro., not the grossly manipulated version of history weve been spoonfed. 🤙🏼💨💨

[@NSingh1979]

in Sinauli India similar burial grounds were uncovered, buried with copper weapons, had female warriors too, dating to 4500 years old. The DNA had no traces of Steppe however.

[@timot9041]

Vajra, prononunced almost like "vasara" (hammer) in Finnish. It is one of the earliest loan words from PIE in Fenno-Ugrian languages.

[@giansideros]

As a Punjabi speaker, "vajra" doesn't appear to be cognate to anything in modern Punjabi except the word for bang or some kind of loud noise "ਞੱਜ" ie "vahj" Our word for hammer is "hattora", and the word for mace or even a mallet I had to look up and were completely different to "vajra". I can't speak for the other Sanskrit descendants but having a cursory look at a Sanskrit dictionary, it appears that Vajra is specifically the name of Indra's weapon as I couldn't find it listed as it doesn't come anywhere close to the leading definitions for hammer, mace etc I wouldn't be surprised if Vajra is descriptive of the sound it makes hence vaj, like Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead referring to his shotgun as his "Boomstick". Having, perused a Sanskrit dictionary again for "thunder", vajra is another word for thunderbolt among other things, I think it's unlikely to be related to the Finnish word for hammer.

[@ceoofthebaseddepartment4979]

@@giansideros Vajra also means diamond in later Sanskrit it is still used as synonymous for strong objects such in languages including Dravidian languages Vajrakaya (body strong as diamond) for example

[@gautam01m]

@@giansideros the word vasara need not mean thunder as long as it is connected to the thunder-weapon used by Indo European gods. Since Thor is believed to use a hammer for thunder, Finnish speakers adopted it in sense of hammer instead of the actual meaning of the word.

[@MrChandanc9]

@@gautam01m Yes it would mean the weapon that caused thunderbolt

[@oskarsrode2167]

I checked wiktionary for the Latvian word veseris, meaning a heavy hammer. It appears it has come from Estonian or Liv that got it from Proto-Finnic vasar, who in their turn got it from Proto-Indoiranian vájras.

[@dopeyfx1783]

"While Heracles has his wood..." * Proceeds to zoom in on crotch*

[@memyselfandi8544]

Heracles was Nimrod (aka Gilgamesh Osiris and Satan.

[@BelovedOfFreya]

@@memyselfandi8544 bruh no, Heracles was the Sun, Satan was Saturn

[@memyselfandi8544]

@@BelovedOfFreya Not that it matters, but the Sun God is Tammuz. The reincarnated/illegitimate host and son of Nimrod, who might as well be Satan, because according to Ezekiel 28, Satan takes human hosts, in that case the King of the influential city state of Tyre, Hiram Abiff, also the first Freemason, later destroyed by the prophetic word of God. Nimrod before he was slain by Esau, built the Satanic kingdom of Babylon with his coruler Semiramis, of which was the progenitor of the dissemination of the 70 original languages.

[@thefisherking78]

@@memyselfandi8544 you said "rod" 😂

[@benpeters5851]

@@memyselfandi8544 I’ve heard of the whole Esau killing Nimrod story before, but I’ve never been given a source on that story. If you have a source please let me know I am interested in learning about it.

[@garrgravarr]

Brilliant. Came for the Kurgan memes (there can be only one) but stayed for the evocative narration of this revered Yamnaya hero and his people's story - left in the earth. Bloody awesome.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you.

[@xHASSUNAx]

This is incredible! I love reading on Indo-European mythology and gushing over all the similarities knowing full well the people who narrate these stories are related, albeit being thousands of KMs apart. I was reading on Mesopotamian myths and founds stunning similarities between Sumero-Akkadian creation myths and that of the Indo-Europeans, such as the slaying of Ymir and Tiamat, and how Odin and Marduk respectively dismembered the their bodies and created the world from those pieces.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you!

[@Leptospirosi]

The most ancient myth always start from a sky god and dragon: The dragon, or serpent, represent a river, where human settlements mostly were located and the sky god is the weather that influence the river flow and the nature around it. I think it's an universal theme that transcends ethicity

[@RobertStCyr-pe7ic]

The ancient Irish also had mythological spears: the spear of Lugh, the spear of Cuhulain and another which legend says came from their homeland and was given to the Tuah De Dannon by a great God. All of them had magical powers.

[@cd-lo7hq]

Robert You said exactly what I was thinking. Thank you.

[@Raventooth]

Gungnir!

[@markusbuelow7871]

There is a Irish song called gathering of the speers !

[@genghiskhan6809]

RANSA GA SHINDA!!!

[@Tarteh]

The English had one too called William Shakespeare.

[@Tipi_Dan]

In so many tales of Slavic folklore the cudgel is referred to as almost necessarily cut from the aspen. Having lived in aspen country, these references had special resonance. Young aspen trees can have knotty, warty trunks with wavy grain encasing knobs; the grain coarse, fibrous, long moist; flexing and inflexible, rebounding- shock absorbing and shocking. Deadly indestructible. Well cut and sized then perfect, large lump at the striking end--- small knots at the grip to keep one's hand in place. The bark goes cream to buff with shades of bilious green highlighted black. Such a cudgel one would never want to peel, nor could you such a surface--- pustulent, imposing. A deadly dealer.

[@conradnelson5283]

Poetic!

[@Tipi_Dan]

@@conradnelson5283 Thanks! ;-)

[@arctic_haze]

Aspen? Not hazel? In Polish even the word for stick /cane / wand is laska which come from the Slavic word for hazel.

[@Tipi_Dan]

@@arctic_haze Yes, but the Slavic cudgel (at least in the translations I have read) is usually referenced as aspen. This made sense to me as one who travelled extensively in aspen groves in North America. Some of the younger aspen trees of perfect stout-club size are very knotty... very unlikely to break down. But then, my cudgel is made from a Serbian spruce rootball (one died in a California arboretum). When I was reading the tales I thought about how cool it would be to have one of aspen.

[@arctic_haze]

@@Tipi_Dan Aspen is not even an Europe tree with the exception of one species Populus tremula (in Polish osika) which idiomatically is connected to trembling (like in its Latin name), not cudgels. PS. Unless you mean birch.

[@Jiggleton]

Please do not stop pumping out content. Right up my alley.

[@Emcee_Squared]

Such a prominent and well preserved grave. He may have very well been the original Thor/Indra who was later mythologized.

[@DurgeshYadav-ip1zr]

No LOL! It's obvious that you haven't read any of the Vedas. Indra is the quintessential God of the Vedas and not some hero turned god.

[@anurag9666]

​@@DurgeshYadav-ip1zryou missed the point 🤦

[@DurgeshYadav-ip1zr]

@@anurag9666 enlighten.

[@Thorsssssss]

Not really , but cool story

[@Emcee_Squared]

the inspiration will be a lot different then the written story after thousands of years of change@@DurgeshYadav-ip1zr

[@paul6925]

I wonder if it was more common to get hit by lightning out on the steppes and plains. Which might explain why a culture would have a lightning god as its main deity

[@DanDavisHistory]

Yeah for sure.

[@drraoulmclaughlin7423]

Herodotus: "In winter when the rains ought to fall in Scythia, there is scarcely any rain worth mentioning, while in summer it never gives over raining; and thunder, which elsewhere is frequent then, in Scythia is unknown in that part of the year, coming only in summer, when it is very heavy. Thunder in the winter-time is there accounted a prodigy; as also are earthquakes, whether they happen in winter or summer." (Herodotus, Histories, book 4, passage 28).

[@paul6925]

@@drraoulmclaughlin7423 hmm that’s true steppes don’t get a lot of rainfall. Maybe it’s the fact it was rare but spectacular when it happened. Who knows. I was thinking of some of the severe storms and tornados on the prairies here in Canada

[@athopi]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3K4cmqOiJWHrKM

[@paul6925]

@fred McMurray Then why don’t all cultures make a lightning god their main deity? Why did this one in particular made it so central and likely pass it down to later civilizations like the Greeks and Norse.

[@benrokh]

The bronze club being the famed vajra probably has some merit, although every depiction from babylon to greece to india shows something more similar to a short trident. The club of hercules, ogmios and their equivalents seems to be a better match. More importantly, the weapon is unique. There are no other examples anywhere else in the bronze age of this weapon type. So this man wasn't just a member of a club cult, he was almost certainly the basis for those legends.

[@benrokh]

@LowKey Charlie As you say, Mr. LyeSmith. ;)

[@douglasphillips5870]

The description of the vajra resembles a mace. But the weapon found in the burial mound is like a transition from a mace to an ax.

[@somefuckstolemynick]

“The weapon is unique”, among FOUND artifacts. “He was almost certainly the basis for those legends” now that is the greatest single leap to a conclusion based on absolutely no evidence I have ever seen.

[@Nala15-Artist]

Look at the Tollense wood clubs and wood clubs from other cultures, to me, his copper club looks like a copper version of those.

[@dumdumdumdum8804]

@@douglasphillips5870 Vajra is made up of Bones of a sage, more likely it looks like ribs we could never be sure but that is what is written in scriptures.

[@raphlvlogs271]

the defeat of chaos is really important to Indo European cultures.

[@wfcoaker1398]

And Egyptian, and MesoAmerican. Civilization pitted against chaos is a common thing.

[@genghiskhan6809]

In the name of the God Emperor, may they be ever victorious against the tides of heresy!!!

[@joshuastarkloff9602]

FOR SIGMAR!!!

[@chlorine5795]

Chaos is a ladder

[@pierren___]

Appollon gang

[@AryaAkasha]

Oh wow, great to see something we'd created used in this manner ! And thank you for the acknowledgement and link in the vid description. If there's anything else you'd like us to take a look at , don't hesitate to let us know. [-C.A.R.]

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you so much, it's on my to-do list right here to message you with a link to the video and to say thank you for all your writing on this. I'm embarrassed I didn't get around to it yet but I'm also glad you found it and enjoyed it. I appreciate your generosity, I may well ask you for your insights in future. Cheers mate.

[@Grungeuncle]

Dont know why but I immediately thought of Orion Constellation when I see the remains and the ''club''. Also I guess the earliest version of that ''club'' would be Sharur ''The Smasher of Thousands'' from Sumeria. Sharur is the club, God Ninurta slays the serpent with.

[@julesgosnell9791]

I wonder if "nINuRTA" could be cognate with "INDRA" ?

[@cesargonzalez4146]

​@@julesgosnell9791Probably a loanword rather than a cognate, ancient Mesopotamy was surrounded by indoeuropean peoples in the east (Iran-Persia, just across the Zagros mountains) and the northwest (Hitites and other anatholian peoples), sumerian was a completely insular language, with almost no relation with other languages, even to the Semitic languages spoken by the akkadians, chaldeans and assyrians.

[@howardmaryon]

There is an expression, a figure of speech, if you will, in English, that is “ to take up the cudgel” in other words to prepare for a fight or battle. That expression is likely to be very very old.

[@hendrikvanleeuwen9110]

The bronze club reminds me of a Chinese sword breaker, which is essentially an all metal club. I believe they also go back to the bronze age (there are bronze examples, but I don't know when they were made), although perhaps not as old as the time frame here. I don't see how they would be directly related, but it does show that it has functionality as a weapon. Also if that shape was carved in hardwood it could easily pass for a war club from any number of Pacific cultures. (Form following function, I would suggest.)

[@rikospostmodernlife]

The technical term would be bar mace I believe; the italians also had their version of the concept

[@waynemyers2469]

@@rikospostmodernlife Everybody had weapons like this, they varied slightly, especially when it came to the material but whether it was oak or copper or bronze or iron and whether you called it a club or cudgel or a mace or a shillelagh or a sword-breaker one thing was for sure, ultimately, this thing was meant to cave somebodies fuckin' head in...

[@casparcoaster1936]

Attended Maharishi University in Iowa in 1980s, and after every am & pm group meditation practice, we listened to 10 min of English translation of 9th & 10th mandala of Rig Veda read aloud. Agni & Soma are as big a deal as Indra, and don't leave out Mitra, Varuna, & Vayu out of your books & obessions dude! Last line of first chapter of 10th mandala, "Agni, son of strength, bring hither the gods". Red Ochre is about Agni. Or Mars (Mangala). Indra is mainly about Vitra slaying.Cudgel seems better than a sword.

[@gaufrid1956]

A great video! The time of transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age is fascinating.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you, I agree completely.

[@drraoulmclaughlin7423]

Pliny the Elder describes red paint in Roman religious practices: "on festivals it was the custom for the face of the statue of Jupiter himself to be coloured with red cinnabar, as well as the bodies of persons going in a Triumphal procession. It is said that Camillus was so coloured in his triumph . . . and that one of the first duties of the Censors was to place a contract for painting Jupiter with red cinnabar." (Natural History, book 33, passage 36)

[@drraoulmclaughlin7423]

Google Belfast actor Ciarán Hinds as Julius Caesar in Roman Triumph :-)

[@DanDavisHistory]

Yes you're right. I remember reading somewhere about the meaning of it - was it in Dumezil? I'll have to look that up.

[@mnk9073]

The Roman practice originated from the Etruscans just like the triumph itself (among many other things like symbols, titles and dress of various offices) which is insofar interesting as they are not commonly seen as an indo-european people and lack the sky father god while still integrating some aspects of hellenic religion such as Heracles.

[@mnk9073]

@De Alvarado My guess is that they had the advantage of already being firmly established in the region by the time the other italic or italo-celtic people arrived and managed to remain distinct despite all the heavy cross polination. Their relation to the more isolated Rhatians in the alps is fascinating as well.

[@petegriffin8149]

Dan, I wanted to acknowledge your effort to thoroughly research a topic, and deliver coherent in-depth info in my understanding level... thanks mate.👍😃

[@grandmastersreaction1267]

Brilliant stuff mate. Quickly becoming my favorite channel.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Wow thank you.

[@octave2405]

Slavs had god called Perun. Today “ pierun” in Polish means thunder.

[@DanDavisHistory]

They did, there's an image of Perun in the video. He deserves a video all of his own.

[@octave2405]

@@DanDavisHistory Im really happy that I have found your channel. Great work. Sub and like of cause.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you brother 🙏

[@dominikfalkiewicz6991]

Piorun* is thunder ;)

[@kiminem4087]

Perkwunos - PERUNOS - PERUN to this day we call him PERUN GROMOVNIK

[@quietberserker]

"Letting ideas percolate" I like that way of putting it.

[@thefisherking78]

Really looking forward to getting into your fiction, but I'm already having a hell of a lot of fun hearing these factual summaries.

[@Adventurer-Rikth]

Vajra also means spine on Sanskrit. Hence, the story of Indra where he aquirs the spine of the greatest yogi Dadhichi. Hence taking his vajra (spine) that contained huge power due to his constant austarity ... Hence Indra gained the power to send lightning down to earth and at his enemies.

[@bhaveshmalviya5208]

Nope, no. vajra is all in all, a regular thunderbolt, the Thunderbolt weapon wielded by indra, and later (probably) some another kind of destructive maces. The connotation to spine may have arised due to the indra's famous vajra's origin, which is, as you said, the spine of dadhichi as mentioned in the purANa-s.

[@seemanprabhakaran224]

puranas were pulp fiction

[@greaterbharat4175]

​@@seemanprabhakaran224it's not fiction Bone mutation is real thing 😂 , they can even survive bullet without fracturing their bone it's called mutation lrp5 unbreakable bone mutation

[@greaterbharat4175]

​@@seemanprabhakaran224+ bone was used in weapons for all human history It is not uncommon to see mentioned of human bone used as weapons

[@Flying_Spaghetti_Monsterr]

Puranics have no rights to comment on Indra

[@awesomeatronik]

I like this video because Highlander and Hercules is what got me interested in ancient people and their history.

[@julesgosnell9791]

It was clearly a very distinctive weapon in its period, which would probably have served to inspire awe and terror - if polished up nicely - in its foes - particularly if wielded by an impressive and skilled owner. Its uniqueness would also have identified him clearly in a crowd. I'm interested to know where the metal from which it was forged was sourced ? Was it local, or did it travel thousands of miles over some prehistoric trade route.... ? Perhaps, the weapon was so unique that it was picked up and carried into and magnified by mythology, either in the hands of its original owner, or some amalgam of a number of different heroic characters...

[@redtobertshateshandles]

I still think this " blunt edged sword " was symbolic. Highly polished, it shines just like Gold. It belongs to the King.

[@ArtAntiDe]

Maybe interesting for some, who want to dive into another rabbit hole: There is an ancient sports/fitness/training tradition in the regions of Persia to India that makes heavy use (what pun...) of Clubs that look similar in shape to the examples in this video. They are conical and wooden, though. It's called "Pahlevani" in persian as far as I know and the clubs are called meel/mil, karlakattai, mudgar, jori and the training location is called Zoorkhaneh. There is a special training swinging them around the body which is meant to train for sword + shield fight as far as I know. I don't know much about it, but I name dropped it so anyone interested can look it up :)

[@arctic_haze]

Mudgar? I wonder if it is related to Polish maczuga and English mace.

[@NSingh1979]

in Sinauli India similar burial grounds were uncovered, buried with copper weapons, had female warriors too, dating to 4500 years old. The DNA had no traces of Steppe however.

[@Ravi9A]

As should be obvious

[@tathagatasinha2939]

If you are talking about traces of R1a1 (the "most" popular "Steppe" gene probably), then it's not unsurprising cause females do NOT carry that. It's transmitted from male to males.

[@ideals7457]

@@tathagatasinha2939 both males and females doesn't had R1A1.

[@michaeljosephjackson2364]

​@tathagatasinha2939 u are right Females preferred r1a1 haplogroup

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

I read a book about 20 years ago about an ancient Achilles type warrior who be cause of a head wound suffered from amnesia. He is fighting with a foreign army as a mercenary, but when he wakes up every morning he can't remember anything of the previous day. Names, places, what happened to him are all relearned, only to be forgotten again the next morning. It was a great book, I wish I could remember the title of it.

[@disappointinglaser-fight3463]

That sounds like Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe.

[@Ravi9A]

@@disappointinglaser-fight3463 is that correct?

[@jackcommonman1381]

read it years ago as latro of the mist or something like that

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

​@@Ravi9AYes, it goes by 3 different titles. Latro of the Mist, Soldier of the Mist, Soldier of Arete'.

[@T_bone]

I really appreciate this content. It's like getting in the deep end of the historical pool. If you could somewhat reference modern geographic countries in your map flashes and that way, it can help start making connections to our modern idea of the world and this amazing history.

[@damdampapa]

at 1:48, I saw what you did there. Well done!! Humour über Alles!

[@dgoss1337]

I just found you and I'm fascinated. You're a historical fiction author that also nails history while being a great storyteller AND you have great narrator's voice. I'm going to see if you have any self narrated audiobooks...

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you. Professional voice actors narrate my audiobooks.

[@celestebredin6213]

Great content . Want to get your books on audible please

[@athenassigil5820]

Everything in this video is what I've thought for years...but you put it together so perfectly! Awesome stuff!

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you.

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

Interestingly, in the Odyssey there's a passage in my Mandelbaum translation about Heracles wielding a solid bronze club. Wishing you all the luck in the world for that book. I would love to read it someday, once I get out of this plague-ridden hellhole. I've been working on my own stories as well but I could not quite get the Bronze Age feel right, much to my disappointment. Ended up in a different direction.

[@kapilchhabria1727]

Dan I recently discovered your Vampire series and finished Vampire Crusaders over a weekend. It was tantalizing to say the least and felt a lot like a series that needs a Cinemax series! Absolutely guilty pleasure!

[@vanrensburgsgesicht]

I didn't know about that Yamnaya bronze club. Fascinating!

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thanks, it's a remarkable artefact isn't it. I wonder who decided to put it in there with him.

[@ted_splitter]

Cricket bat, I reckon.

[@DadJeff-jo7pm]

Kudos for using the Boris Vallego artworks. I knew exactly what they were when they popped into the screen.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Loved heroic fantasy art since I was a kid - probably since we got the board game HeroQuest in 1989 which had that amazing box art by Les Edwards.

[@xibalbalon8668]

All this reminds me quite a bit of the Mayan rain god Chaac, who also wielded a axe, marked with the glyph for shining on it, and cuts rain-carrying cloud serpents, if I remember correctly. In the Dresden Codex, there also appears a figure of a dog(who'd probably transformed into the Aztec sun-guard psychopomp Xolotl) holding a coming from the sky, probably darting, representing lightning strike. Which also reminds me of the Japanese lightning-wolf Raiju.

[@fairdaest]

Freaking love your videos. The story idea you shared was my favorite . Like hey you guys try and make it work

[@drraoulmclaughlin7423]

Brilliant - I really enjoyed this! Many ancient statues/images of Zeus and Jupiter show 'short' thunderbolts.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you very much, I appreciate it. You're right, I didn't think of that. I'm not familiar with the art history of the period, it would be interesting to see how that motif developed. Was it always like that, I wonder.

[@Jorge-cf6xk]

captivating......... thank you. I wanted to find info on the maps and the language connections..... Thank you for finally showing me Indra as someone who was awesome. Subscribed

[@garychynne1377]

great show. monsters where often characteristics of nature. man fights man but the biggest threats we've met are natural. like floods, comets, volcanoes, droughts etc so the myth gives a symbolic body weather man or beast. superstition creates monsters. i'm learning a lot. thank yew dan.

[@cenzoredworld]

Seen this vid before, but keep coming back to your content due to the quality of narrating. Very interesting topics not covered much by other channels as well. I'm not much into fiction, but may just purchase a few of your stories. Keep doing what your doing, its working

[@DanDavisHistory]

Much appreciated.

[@DanishGSM]

Great video and info. Thanks so much.

[@an1rb]

East-facing dead, red ochre on the head, red ochre on the feet of females - these are still common among Hindus (red ochre indicates non-widowhood).

[@waynemyers2469]

I feel compelled to point out a vague resemblance to Neanderthal burials as well...

[@taybak8446]

Great stuff. Looking forward to your battle axe culture video.

[@julesgosnell9791]

This weapon makes perfect sense as an intermediate step between a wooden club - now rendered using the latest technology: copper - and the yet to evolve sword - reached by simply sharpening the edges and pointing the end of this "Vajra" - perhaps awaiting the advent of bronze before this step became practical. This would date the snapshotting of the Indra mythology within the Chalcolithic period of wherever this occurred.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

We often tend to overlook how important wood was for toolmaking. An axe without wood is just a weird knife. And if all you have is a knife, better use it to sharpen your sticks, than to fix it to one and lose it. The pointy stick might've been the first purpose-made weapon. Use it as spear, use it as arrow. Have a thick branch as club (and swords are just fancy clubs with an edge). Carve a bowl, carve a spoon. Spike your meat onto it so it doesn't fall into the fire. Make a shield, heck, make a wooden sword. Place pieces of volcanic glass onto it.

[@juancolladocanas4989]

It's absolutely breathtaking!!

[@nmvhr]

Very cool, I’ve read an academia paper on this before hand regarding this very link. Many still worship Indra (mostly in India) to this day :)

[@DanDavisHistory]

Yeah the paper I based this video on is linked in the description. Indra worship continued to change and develop over the centuries and with the rise of other gods Indra is not much worshipped in Hinduism today, as far as I know.

[@nmvhr]

@@DanDavisHistory Yeah, many of the other gods displaced Indra but some of the brahmins still worship Vedic gods.

[@sun27g]

@@DanDavisHistory yes..today Vedic hymns praise Rig Vedic Gods called Devas (Indra, Agni, Vayu, Marut, Varuna, Twashta) mainly through Yagnas (sacrificial fire) …the first salutation goes to or invokes Agni (fire) as He is the main medium of invoking all the other Rig Vedic Gods…but, modern day worship is mainly restricted to these these Deities, Shiva, Vishnu, Hanuman, Ganesha, Goddess (Durga, Saraswathi, Lakshmi), Krishna, sometimes Nagas (serpent god). All temples in India will have only these superior Gods as their main deities and not Rigvedic Gods…

[@sun27g]

*Rama also

[@sun27g]

@@descendedofrigvedicclans2216 excuse me !! if you have info that could add to the discussion, come forward to make a statement/point...

[@zabaleta66]

Just discovered you.......outstanding, thank you!!

[@keeperoftruth5951]

Amazing content. Never been much of fantasy type of person but history like this I can get into

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you very much.

[@ariomannosyemo9090]

Your stuff just keeps getting better and better

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you, I appreciate that.

[@slainegwalchmai]

Love it, Dan. Fascinating.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it, General.

[@haroldgodwinson7241]

If anyone is familiar with Weston price and his book about nutrition, you might notice that in the book there are pictures of people who eat modern foods based on grains (sugar) and don’t grow as strong (especially the bones and skull) as the children who eat a predominantly natural diet which consists primarily of animal based foods such as meat/dairy/seafood. The reason I’m saying this is because the difference between the people on different diets could be quite similar to the difference between yamnaya (primarily ate meat/dairy) and the Neolithic farmers (ate a lot of grains) who had weaker teeth and bodies.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

That is also where the misconception comes from that people were smaller than nowadays. Paleolithic hunter-gatherers were just as tall as we are today, often even taller. With neolithic farming came a diet and lifestyle that caused people to be shorter, and stayed that way until the rich, post-industrial diet. And kings and leaders often were larger than their contemporaries, which is quite obvious, as they would have the most nutritious diet.

[@vladimirskala]

Perun, Perkunas...there's still remote villages in the eastern Europe where grannies will summon the old gods whenever in need of a hefty curse word.

[@fionapaterson-wiebe3108]

The bull’s horn shaped ornaments are probably actually practical weaving tools, known as a lucette. They are used for crafting cord.

[@antinoofromgreece6560]

I appreciated the video. Recover some Indo Values would be marvelous, I have been studying more about some Ancient Indo european religions and their similarities, how they assimilated the non Indo european gods into their pantheon. Lightning deities worshipped as the highest makes sense d due to their ancient geography on the grasslands, some elements were more noticed, for instance the rain and the sky more noticed in the opened fields. The Greeks attributed some non Indo european features to the highest deities.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you.

[@human8454]

Param Vir Chakra or bravery award of india was designed based on Lord Indra’s weapon Vajra.

[@zaciroth]

Will be sharing this on my blog pages "Hammer and Vajra" "Will of Gaut" and "Temple of the Immovable". Thank you very much for this video it is a summary of many of the things I have been writing for years now.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Awesome, thank you!

[@ivymike2691]

I saw a picture of this awhile back and keep meaning to cast my own.

[@antonyslack1]

I've always found the Proto indo European religion and the Norse faith as very profound. Personally I think they had something universal and amazing. Thanks for another great video x

[@fringer6]

Arya Akasha recommended you, and I'm glad he did. Great channel!

[@DanDavisHistory]

That's amazing, thank you.

[@adylevene4318]

Excellent vid, informative and entertaining, looking forward to stone axe vid. The weapon in the grave looked like it had the same design and profile though obviously smaller than some Polynesian,Maori war clubs the 4 sided profile and flared end or am I just imaging it.

[@nobunaga240]

Is it possible that metal clubs became symbols of leadership or kingship for peoples, eventually leading to the royal sceptre? The way the skeleton cradles the club is the same as a medieval king holding a sceptre

[@DanDavisHistory]

Yes it is possible.

[@agnelomascarenhas8990]

Indra is a later creation or absorption from somewhere in the Bactriana Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) after 2200-2000BC. Some traits of a PIE figure are shared by Indra.

[@KaiserOfAryas]

What's the basis of this theory?

[@agnelomascarenhas8990]

@Kaiser Analysis shows a shared Indic and Iranian vocabulary which is not Indo-European. It was picked up in Central Asia/BMAC. This site is south of Sintashta thought to Indo-Iranian in culture. From BMAC, the Eastern Iranians and Vedic people went different ways. The new terminology has words for Agriculture, Urban civilization etc. There is nothing similar to the name Indra in IE, although the idea of storm God preexisted. Unfortunately, I can't recall the reference.

[@XyzXyz-ir2gr]

​​​​@@agnelomascarenhas8990 its actually more complex coz i dont think such powerful deity like indra can be adopted he makes up ¼the hymns like litrally the most revered god (like why just most powerful deity name get displaced not others even minor deitys name are preserved even dyays pitr name is preserved even perjanya is preserved agni mitra vayu none are re created ). And even the word for milk (a very important product for indo european) in sanskrit is not related to others. Bmac has no textual proofs or language residuals to confirm this. It's just a guess in vague terms. Indra is even mentioned in hitties as innara. More arhaelogical proof are needed to solved many mysteries in indo european.

[@Thorsssssss]

what a joke, indra is probably the oldest. not the later, since clearly rigveda predates all books

[@greaterbharat4175]

​@@agnelomascarenhas8990hell no 😂 Indra's elephant is airavat was found to devtas in iravati. Atharvaveda mentioned this elephant native to Kashmir Ramayan mentioned this elephant was taken to Lanka as guardian elephant This elephant were 4 tusk elephant extinct 11000 year ago

[@Hun_Uinaq]

In Lithuania, even to this very day, there are those who practice an ancient pagan religion whose name is Romuva or Rumova. There are quite a few gods as one would expect in such a religion. There is a God of thunder. His name is Perkunas. The Slavs further to the east and south some of whom inhabit the region this mound is found in even today once worshiped the thunder God whose name was Perun. As a linguistic enthusiast, this is fascinating to me because these two branches of Indo-European, the Baltic and the Slavic, are the most conservative. Lithuanian in particular happens to be the most conservative Indo-European language still spoken.

[@seanbissett-powell5916]

Fascinating video ! Has the weapon been subjected to any investigation (X-Ray or CRT scans or whatever - I'm not sure what they'd use) which might show evidence of stress fractures, re-fashioning or painting/plating ? One of the huge advantages of copper and bronze weapons is that they can be beaten back into shape after battle, with the hammering work-hardening it further, where iron weapons just break. Testing might help to indicate whether it was an actual weapon or a symbolic item used like a sceptre. Of course, it's always possible that it could have started as a weapon and then morphed into a symbol once the warrior had established his reputation. Carrying it in the crook of his arm (as it was found in the grave) would show his power and imply the consequences of defying him without the need to actually bop anyone on the head with the thing. It's also interesting to note that unlike most of the bronze weapons from later periods found in Northern Europe, it hasn't been ceremonially broken. My understanding is that it's thought doing that would put it beyond human use and consign it to the gods. So not breaking a weapon suggests that the belief system hadn't developed in that way yet, or that this was very much a human's weapon (whether intended for an afterlife or not).

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you. I can't find where the artefact is now, presumably in a museum collection in Russia. It will be worth contacting the archeologists to find out, I should do that. I'm sure they would like to do further investigation but you need specific funding for these things. Perhaps we can crowd fund it one day. I also think he could have carried it like this in life, it's the same way we carry a rifle or shotgun.

[@MagnusItland]

Another lunch break well spent with your video! I just got Thunderer, wonder if I should read it before or after your upcoming video on the Battle Axe.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you! Read it before, I don't know how long it will be before I release that video, I have to do more research, it's throwing up a lot of surprises that I have to confirm.

[@temmy9]

This looks very similar to the Khanda, the holy sword of the Indian warrior castes

[@katzarkul]

@@descendedofrigvedicclans2216 Just because you fell for populist propaganda doesn't mean that you will go spread your heretical nonsense everywhere while having zero knowledge of the Purans. Varnashram (caste system) is the Supreme law of the Lord, as is explained in the Bhagavad Gita itself. The degradation of varnashram marks the end of the civilized world, and the beginning of the Kalyug. The British had always tried to abolish the caste system because they wanted to destroy 'Brahminical patriarchy'. Stop watching 'conspiracy' videos made by democratic nationalists with Sub-Saharan levels of intellect, and go read an actual religious book for once.

[@HistoryBro]

Nice. Very nice... Scrolling text now!.... Lovely stuff.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Cheers Bro! 🙏

[@blanketparty5259]

Im actually living in Samara Russia right now. It was cool seeing you bring it up in this vid, I had no idea about these things lol

[@DanDavisHistory]

Awesome. Yeah the Samara Valley Project has produced an enormous amount of excellent research across a wide time period, they've done some amazing work.

[@blanketparty5259]

@@DanDavisHistory i would love to go to this mound if its possible.

[@DanDavisHistory]

They did the field work between 1995 and 2002 and published a detailed report on the sites. I'm not sure of the exact location and whether it's on public or private land. You might be able to track down the sites in their report though.

[@blanketparty5259]

@@DanDavisHistory oh that would be great ! where can I find the exact report ?

[@DanDavisHistory]

There is a link to it on Amazon in the video description. There are maps in it showing some sites but I don't know if they will be of practical use for finding the places on the ground. It's also expensive. You could try finding the email addresses and emailing the archeologists and asking them directly where to go. They are David Anthony, Dorcas Brown, , Aleksandr A. Khokhlov, Pavel F. Kuznetsov, Oleg D. Mochalov.

[@TheEvertw]

It is always tempting to speculate that this man inspired the myths... But of course, in books, you are free to do exactly that!

[@killthecensors58]

This is truly fascinating.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you.

[@memyselfandi8544]

Because mythology isn’t a myth. It’s the true history of Satanic nephilim.

[@killthecensors58]

@@memyselfandi8544 lol. You're crossing so many myths by now.

[@WestfaliaStuff]

I really like this channel.

[@kalosthanatos4486]

So glad I found this channel, thank you so much for all your work!

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you for watching, I appreciate it.

[@tamerofhorses2200]

Your channel is one of the best on YT, I would argue probably better than STJ as well.

[@DanDavisHistory]

That's crazy talk, man, STJ is a pro. But I appreciate the sentiment enormously, thank you.

[@amatrasen6086]

Hey, Indian Here...A bit more I want to add about Indra's Vajra... Though Indra has been reduced to a lower form of deity in modern day Hindu faith.. But we still use the word "Vajra-pat"("Vajra"- Weapons name "Pat"- To use ) for describing "lightning and thunder" in many Indo-Aryan languages..Like: Hindi, Bengali etc.. A word used 4000 years ago is still in daily use..Great Video BTW..

[@DanDavisHistory]

Hello, thank you very much.

[@paulapprich776]

Whatever became of DyausPitru?

[@amatrasen6086]

@@paulapprich776 "Dyaus Pitr"(Sky father) is a Indo- European god. But we find that even in the earliest of Hindu books(RigVeda), praise to Indra is more than Dyaus Pitr..So, you may find that modern day Hindus don't even know him. But Dyaus Pitr's wife and daughter's are quite popular even now. "Prithvi Maa" (Earth mother), Dyaus Pitr's wife is still ritualised and worshipped."Usha", Dyaus Pitr's daughter, is referred as the word for morning in languages like hindi and Bangla. The modern pantheon of Hindu gods still share a massive link with other indo-european counter parts, but most significant gods like Shiva("Part of Trinity of Hindu Gods"), the destroyer of Reality, is a induction from Indus valley beliefs. By the 4th vedas(Atharvaveda)-1000-800 BCE- the rituals of Indo-Aryans were superseded by the more diverse and vast rituals of the Indus valley people.And some beliefs and practices of modern hindus can be directly linked to them more easily than the original Indo-Europeans.

[@nrg8763]

Exactly, in Assamese too Bajrapaat means lightning. ( Assamese tends to pronounce the Vs aa Bs)

[@HCrugger]

Thanks for the thought-provoking exposé. I did cringe at the steaming mug atop the book pages, but I'm finicky about books.

[@phoboskittym8500]

The rig Veda is far older than 1700bc that is western historians mapping their orthodox view of history over indian history... All of the Vedas stem from oral traditions, the rig veda itself says its a fragment of older vedas lost durring the great flood of Indian tradition .

[@pranays]

There is no great flood in Indian tradition until after the Muslim invasions There is a story of Dorka slowly sinking over hundreds of years and a drying of a river.

[@VijayKumarIITSrExecutive]

I understand why you feel this way. Its great that you have a different perspective, which is essential for discovering the truth. I would request you to present evidence for your claims and not get personal. I would also suggest to go through the full series to understand how historians like David Anthony and others mentioned in the description section of the video have done extensive research using scientific methods such as DNA testing, carbon dating and linguistic analysis. There is no politics going on here - this channel is for true history lovers.

[@sivaratnamasabaratnam8946]

@@VijayKumarIITSrExecutive I agree some Indian nationalist give their Crab views but the same goes to those Western historians who can't digest many flaws from their side,they have been biased against other civilization be it Hindu,Muslims or Chinese,since many westernised Indians had flattered them in the maximum level,till other Asians,Middle Easterners or Africans hate us!

[@chubbymoth5810]

Very cool connection. For a bronze or copper weapon, this may be a very useful shape as well though. That none other have been found also doesn't say all that much, much has been looted or just lost in the landscape erosion. Maybe not found yet, the area is after all sparsely populated. But the similarity with the description certainly is striking. He may not seem tall to us these days, but may have been a head size taller than most of his contemporaries. He also managed to grow quite old for a warrior and clearly an important person.

[@DanDavisHistory]

He was about average height for his people, it seems. I agree that there were likely more such weapons in existence. Burying a man with all of his material objects was not standard practice for the Yamnaya so we wouldn't expect to see many like this. Something motivated these people to do this for him though so perhaps he was especially known for it, perhaps he had a famed proficiency with it and his people particularly wanted him to retain it.

[@iBlagg8]

Imagine two armies facing off. At the head of one this man holds his club aloft. Rotating the sun glints into the enemies eyes mind soul.

[@conradnelson5283]

Great video did not know anything about Indra and now I do.

[@optimus456azmuth3]

In Veda, there is a line about Indra which mention " We pray this great leader of our ancient place." So Indra is the leader of ancinent place of Vedic people( Indo Aryan people), which archelogist have pointed as Sintashta culture which is also related to Yamnaya.

[@xiominanda2956]

Indra is the name of a position according to sanatan dharma now called as Hinduism. He's king of middle level gods who managed earth eg: gods like agni/fire, varuna/water etc. Basically they responsible for all air, water, fire, space, earth related things happen within our body and on our earth. For eg: Agni means fire, literally fire is also him, the acid that burns food we eat as also called jatharagni means liver fire. With time that position is replaced, but we always call them with same. Like there are many indras came and go. But its name of a position like Prime minister. Ao we only call that position and not remember thier names personally. Like 1st indra, 5th indra. But these indras stay in position for millions of years we just call them indra but we know whether its 4th indra or 8th. Similarly in a country's history we say 10th president made this change but those people who lived in that particular time will only say President isnt it? They know its 10th president but they still say president. Indra is that. Hes king of gods who looks after earth.

[@KaiserOfAryas]

Which mandala and sukta?

[@xiominanda2956]

@@KaiserOfAryas it's TRUE. Vedic people did prayed a lot to indra. After that people shifted to trimoorrhis and other gods and indra varuna etc are prayed during havana and home. Because its mandatory and brahmins pray to indra during Sandhya vandana. It's a normal thing I think. With time.

[@GyanTvAmit]

vedic place means saptasindhu which located in india so nice try

[@old.chatterhand2000]

Very great Stream! This is a wonderful channel, so am I forced to learn englisch. Ther is nothing comparable in Germany

[@lilliancolon2140]

I'm from Puerto Rico and Yemaya is known as the Goddess of water.

[@uknowkarel]

I do get a Conan the Barbarian vibe from the style of your hero in Gods of Bronze. The action writing is really fun to read!

[@DanDavisHistory]

High praise indeed, thank you so much.

[@tanyas8596]

Some say the vajra is also a plasma weapon. Thank you for covering this!

[@douglasbrannon6525]

Some of the weapons portrayed in ancient sculptures and writings etc of gods show an energy device , not a simple club or cudgel. A war hammer was the favorite weapon of an english king, because of the percussive affect against armor. It had shock value.

[@dbmail545]

Are you familiar with Harpending's hypothesis that the Indo-Europeans were the first dairymen? 10x the calories that are available from pasturing and slaughter are available from the milk produced on the same pasture IF adult lactose tolerance (ALT) is widespread in the population. Most of the peoples that speak Indo-European languages today also show a high percentage of individuals with ALT.

[@DanDavisHistory]

I believe the first lactase persistence is seen in a Yamnaya sample but it wasn't very common amongst them still and only became ubiquitous later, perhaps amongst the Corded Ware who then spread it across Eurasia.

[@anonperson3972]

I thought they were making butter and cheese? Then lactase persistence occured later. I wonder if they drank cow blood too, a bit like modern maasai...

[@tomcads1604]

@@DanDavisHistory the dating of the wide spread appearance of the lactase persistence alleles puts them somewhere around 2500 and 2000BC, so you're bang on when you say that it probably first appeared in notable frequency in the corded ware people

[@sigmahacker1]

We have always been the Gigachads and we will continue to remain so. Jai Maa Kali 💪💪

[@SigmaChadlite]

Yes Mlecchas be having (💩🇸🇦 🇮🇱 🇦🇿🇰🇿🇹🇷🇨🇳🇯🇵🇰🇷🇲🇲🇳🇬💩) May indra/zeus/thor blesses you🪓

[@greaterbharat4175]

​​@@SigmaChadliteaccording to rigveda Indra destroyed dyaus and his worshipping was banned in Vedic times Indra was only worshipped by endryas ( worshipper of Indra ) those who are chandravanshi Hindus ( but they adopted Krishna worshiping) because Krishna was the one became head of endryas and spread vaishnav worshiping over Indra

[@SigmaChadlite]

@@greaterbharat4175 Cope Puranjeet I don't go by mythology Just by prominence Indra has most 250 hymns While Shiva and Vishnu both names aren't even mentioned in rig veda instead they derive to Hari and Rudra dietites of rig ved with humongous amount of human made puranic fairyland and dravido tribal influence Just accept the fact that aryans considered indra as most prominent God and worshipped him and move on with it. Don't put over some irrelevant conspiracy theory type of B.S Go by history not any kind of vaishnavite and shaivite propaganda Dyaus is only a father figure representing sky ☁ just like prithvi depicts earth🌎 Indra separation from dyaus is also celebrated in rig veda maybe because dyaus raped his daughter- Jamison and Brereton (2014) his

[@Thekoryosmenstribepodcast]

I have a high amount of yamnaya DNA. I am 5'10, and I have a barrel chest. Able to lift Very heavy, never broke a bone, and was told by my doctor í have very dense bones. I have brown eyes, brown hair, fáir skin, and I could drink a gallon of milk a day and not flinch. I also have a voracious appetite for meat. I eat red meat daily. Its crazy how similar i am to my ancestors. Thanks for this info.

[@barkershill]

What did the doc say about your IQ though?

[@rabinderkoul1577]

1700 BC he says. Saraswati river dries in 3000 BC while in Rigveda it is mighty river running from mountains to sea. But some how in 1700 BC they had knowledge of Saraswati which had vanished 1500 years ago.

[@josephmalenab7866]

thanks again perkonos is a favoret god in mythology mine cheers

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you.

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

I love me the electric univers ideas on this.

[@lordofnecromancy6302]

This video was well done thank you. Maybe one day I'll try to recreate this weapon. I don't have any bludgeoning weapons yet.

[@DanDavisHistory]

Thank you. Do you make weapons? That's awesome, it would be amazing to see this recreated one day.

[@khoatran-pc6tb]

do you think that Hercules might also have some element of the Aurignacian culture's lion-man, seeing how he was so often depicted with a lion skin garment and the story of the Nemean lion?

[@DanDavisHistory]

Interesting thought. It was a really long time ago though wasn't it.

[@levongevorgyan6789]

I think it's more likely that he was inspired by Sandas, a Hittite god that, while he didn't wear a lion pelt, rode atop a winged lion and was depicted atop a pyre, similar to how Heracles was burnt on a pyre.

[@earlyburg]

Use the flat on your friends, and the edge on your enemies. Perfect.