#between 1100 and 1700 bce

[bauliya]

I refuse to believe so many of you don’t know twinkle twinkle little star which dates back to the 19th century. happy birthday was first sung in 1912. jingle bells was 1850. most of your countries’ national anthems predate 1950. come on people. song doesn’t just mean billboard top 100.

please do look it up if you dont know the date bc there may be at least an approximate answer and otherwise the last option will completely dominate and this poll will be boring.

and dont be like 'but i cant sing'... just answer the earliest tune you know well enough that you COULD sing it

periods of western classical music provided only for reference

[whencyclopedia]

The Native Peoples of North America (also known as American Indians, Native Americans, Indigenous Americans, and First Americans) are the original inhabitants of North America believed to have migrated into the region between 40,000-14,000 years ago, developing into separate nations with distinct and sophisticated cultures. These autonomous nations spread from Alaska, through Canada, and the lower United States. The earliest periods of migration, settlement, and development are defined by archaeological evidence (spearheads, tools, monumental structures) from sites throughout North America and are most often referred to by the following terms: Paleoindian-Clovis Culture – c. 40,000 to c. 14,000 BCE Dalton-Folsom Culture – c. 8500-7900 BCE Archaic Period – c. 8000-1000 BCE Woodland Period – c. 500 BCE to c. 1100 CE Mississippian Culture – c. 1100-1540 CE During the Archaic Period, some Native populations moved from a hunter-gatherer paradigm to a more sedentary social model as evidenced by sites such as Watson Brake (c. 3500 BCE), Poverty Point (c. 1700-1100 BCE), and others of varying size, developed throughout the region during the Woodland and Mississippian Culture eras. The cultures that developed in and around these sites were distinct from one another but shared a worldview that included belief in a higher power and disembodied spirits, the value of community over individual needs, reciprocity in interaction with the environment and each other, the importance of ritual and tradition, the practice of warfare and slavery, and conservation of resources. Women were highly respected in the communities and frequently served as leaders or advisers in government. These separate communities developed into what are sometimes called 'tribes' (but more often referred to now as 'nations') at some point prior to c. 980 to c. 1030 CE when the first European settlement was established in North America by Leif Erikson at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. By the time of the beginning of European colonization of the Americas in the 15th century CE, they were highly developed political and social entities associated with a specific region and a certain territory within that region. Although European expansion across Canada and the United States eventually deprived the indigenous peoples of their ancient lands, the nations still exist today and the image of the 'vanished Indian' is as much of a myth as the 'noble savage' or similar tropes developed by European and American scholars during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

[attemptsonherlifepdf]

bondage and binaries: autonomy recontextualised as a narrative device in science fiction

increasingly popular in mainstream media, science fiction has deep roots in both ancient storytelling and the gothic. the genre covers an expanse of themes that remain socially relevant throughout the entirety of its career; autonomy, transgression, transformation, and corruption. these themes originate from the gothic, the heart of many modern genres. science fiction repurposes gothic themes in fantastical, dystopian and extra-terrestrial contexts and serves as both a well-received source of entertainment and a mode of social commentary. consistent through various eras of sci-fi is the theme of autonomy. much like the gothic, sci-fi stories reflect the social fears prevalent at the time of writing: the fear of a loss of autonomy has always remained an anxiety of western audiences. this fear presents itself in various contexts throughout time. for instance, western societies have dreaded losing autonomy to religious figures abusing their authority (1790s), eastern european immigrants (1890s), and the corruption of the state and technology (1990s). matthew gregory lewis’ ‘the monk’, bram stoker’s ‘dracula’ and the wachowski sisters’ ‘the matrix’ address all these, respective to their time period. bondage has it’s place as a narrative device when it comes to depictions of autonomy as many authors use restraints as a tool to create a sense of helplessness against threat, or to symbolise social or interpersonal constraints. the core difference, of course, between restrains and bondage is that bondage exists in a sexual context and provides gratification for one or both of the parties involved. another key trope of the gothic, and by extension science fiction, is the involvement of taboo, perverse or otherwise transgressive behaviours. the atypical, ‘transgressive’ nature of bdsm gives it’s use in media that relevance, fulfilling two notions of the genre at once. additionally, both styles, at least in their earlier stages, utilise what is referred to as ‘dark romanticism’. this involves taking the stylised language of romantic literature, characterised by purple prose, decadent architecture, etc, and recontextualising it in darker, more morbid settings. the contrast between this lyrical writing and the macabre, violent, alien or taboo content that it is used to describe creates an uneasy, disjointed feeling for audiences. the dynamic between language and content weaves uncanniness into the structure of both genres, which defines them and distinguishes them from other forms of storytelling. for this reason the nature of bondage is integral to the discomfort that sci-fi relies on.

to understand the significance of this writing style and how it characterises science fiction, we need to first understand the chronology of the genre and what impacted its development over time. while sci-fi as we know it today is largely influenced by the gothic, we see fantastical elements in some of the earliest works of fiction, such as the epic of gilgamesh (around 2000 bce) and the indian poem ramayana (5th-4th century bce). ramayana tells of vimana, which are mythological flying palaces or machines that have the ability to travel underwater, into outer space, and to use advanced weaponry to decimate cities. these early references to technology, often used as narrative devices, are a common theme among ancient works of literature. similar examples include the rigveda collection of sanskrit hymns from approximately 1700-1100 bce; the first book contains a depiction of ‘mechanical birds’ that are ‘jumping into space speedily with a craft using fire and water…containing twelve pillars, one wheel, three machines, three hundred pivots and sixty instruments.’ descriptions of technological inventions like this can be found both in early literature, and in later works such as mediaeval stories. it was just prior to the era known as the ‘enlightenment’, which is credited to have begun in 1685, that science fiction started to morph into the form that we see today. 16th century european works such as thomas moore’s ‘utopia’ (1516) and ‘the faust legend’ served as early prototypes of science fiction tropes. moore’s work was the basis for the utopia motif used in sci-fi, similar to how the ‘faust legend’ exemplified the emerging ‘mad scientist’ trope. when the enlightenment era began in europe, it signalled a dramatic shift in thinking, from blind religious faith to knowledge obtained by ‘means of reason and evidence of the senses.’ this was largely influenced by the separation of the church and state, and sparked a wave of speculative fiction concerning the sciences, including: jonathan swift’s ‘gulliver’s travels’ (1726), exploring alien cultures and unusual applications of science, and margaret cavendish’s ‘the description of a new world, called the blazing-world’ (1666), describing a noblewoman’s discovery of an alternate world in the arctic. however, mary shelly’s 1818 ‘frankenstein’ is widely regarded as a major turning point for modern science fiction. shelly’s gothic horror text is the moment where sci-fi and the gothic converge and began to share core elements before developing in their own separate directions again.

shelly’s use of science, and of technology beyond the scope of scientists in her time period as a conceit to drive the narrative is a hallmark of science fiction as we engage with it in the twenty-first century. she develops upon the notion of a ‘crazed scientist’, using the contrast between technology and religion as an extended rhetorical device to alienate frankenstein’s monster. brian aldiss, in ‘billion year spree’ makes the case that ‘frankenstein’ represents ‘the first seminal work to which the label [science fiction] can be logically attached.’ he goes on to argue that science fiction in general derives from the gothic horror novel. the usage of science as a narrative device is one among multiple tropes and elements that shelly imparted to sci-fi with her work. in having an ‘alien’ character fulfil the role of antagonist, shelly comments on the human condition from a new perspective. as put by kelley hurley, ‘through depicting the abhuman, the gothic reaffirms and reconstructs human identity.’ frankenstein’s monster, referred to often as ‘the creature’ is born into bondage; a popularised image from the novel, and several film adaptations, is that of the creature strapped to a board surrounded by rudimentary scientific equipment. from his first introduction to the world, he has no autonomy. these restraints strip him of humanity and reduce him to an experiment. they are not only physical and have practical use, but are symbolic over his general lack of control over the creation of his body, this perverse ‘otherness’ and the public’s decision to outcast him. frankenstein’s monster is an alien in every sense of the word, and it is the subjugation he is born under that characterises him as such. shelly’s work emerged just prior to the fin de siecle (turn of the century), where western science experienced rapid development, which in turn increased the volume of speculative fiction being produced. after ‘frankenstein’, the gothic and science fiction generally parted ways again, but sci-fi now had a host of characterising traits lended to it by shelly’s novel. the general recipe for modern science fiction is a combination of fantasy literature, gothic horror, and advances in western science, allowing us to pinpoint the fin de siecle as a catalyst for the development of the genre. as the era continued, more proto-science fiction was published; most notably was ‘journey to the centre of the earth’ (1864), by jules verne. the tale combines adventure, romance, current technology and predictions of future technology. lyon sprague de camp, an author active in the ‘golden age’ (1940/50s) of science fiction, refers to verne as ‘the world's first full-time science fiction novelist.’

understanding the outlined framework that modern science fiction operates under, we have space to explore the relationship between bondage and sci-fi in detail. in ‘aesthetic violence and women in film’, joseph h kupfer describes violence as having three framings: ‘symbolic, structural and as a narrative essential.’ as previously discussed, violence is an integral factor in the structure of science fiction, starkly contrasting the writing style to create unease. as a narrative device, restraints are often used in conjunction with rising conflict, to create adversity for characters that drives the plot onwards; this is how it functions as a ‘narrative essential.’ the final facet of the relevance of violence is symbolic. typically, women, queer men and ethnic minorities in fiction experience violence on a symbolic level; their identities are seen as purely political, and thus they face adversity against an themselves as an idea rather than as individual people. both the gothic and science fiction rely on the use of the ‘Other’, usually referring to uncanny or supernatural creatures, and often minority characters are ‘Othered’ to code them as a threat to audiences. in this instance, physical restraints are often representative of social, interpersonal or systemic barriers against a character, and by extension, against the minority that they belong to. to exemplify this, we can turn once again to shelly’s ‘frankenstein.’ while frankenstein’s monster is not immediately recognisable as a minority, lennard j davis has insisted the ‘creature’ is disabled or at least treated as such: ‘hideous appearance...inarticulate, some- what mentally slow, and walks with a kind of physical impairment.’ this interpretation of the character leans more towards the social model of disability, rather than defining disability as an impairment of the body or mind, making his argument somewhat controversial. frankenstein’s monster is not functionally hindered, but he is characterised by his disfigurement and unconventional appearance, which davis refers to as ‘a disruption in the visual, auditory, or perceptual field as it relates to the power of the gaze.’ his estrangement from society reinforces his animosity towards people; bound by the physical limitations of his disability, he develops into a ‘monstrosity’ as a result of his ableist environment. this reading sees ableism through the lens of bondage, as a social restraint or barrier that alienates the creature. he is born into physical restraints, strapped to an operating table, and is followed by metaphysical constraints that bar him from social function and acceptance. in his initial creation, what defines our understanding of the use of bondage is the power dynamic; victor is the dominant authority, controlling the movements of the creature, while the creature himself is subordinate to him, with no birthright to autonomy. his inability to control what victor inflicts upon him is illustrated by his restraints, and becomes an extended metaphor for his alienation and lack of autonomy throughout the novel. shelly’s work serves as a commentary, intentional or not, on the estrangement and ‘othering’ of disabled peoples and the impacts this has on their wellbeing and understanding of themselves. additionally, the novel functions almost as a warning tale surrounding the concept of abusing the development of science, and ‘playing god’ as victor does.

adjacent to science fiction is the genre of magical realism. it utilises the fantasy aspects of sci-fi and combines them with a realistic worldview to blur the lines between magic and reality. angela carter’s ‘the erl king’ (1979) is a prime example of using fantasy to illustrate social and systemic bondage in similar ways to sci-fi. carter uses imagery of caged birds to create a visceral picture of female entrapment. interestingly, the metaphor of caged birds can be likened to that of emerging feminism. in mary wollenstonecraft’s ‘a vindication of the rights of women’(1792), she argues that women of the eighteenth century were ‘confined in their cages like the feathered race.’ similarly, carter refers to ‘larks stacked in their pretty cages you’ve lured.’ rather than reinforce the idea that femininity is inherently trapping, carter uses this concept to create an almost tangible illustration of the narrator breaking the cycle of this ingrained imagery. in freeing the erl king’s victims and usupring his position of sexual power, the narrator subverts traditional tropes of female submission and prevents violence against women rather than indulging in it. this is evidence of carter’s signature feminist twist: she writes from the perspective of second-wave feminism. the use of ‘caged bird’ imagery as an allegory for violent and sexist systems is reminiscent of the usage of restraints in science fiction and indicates its relevance across similar genres. sexism and female entrapment are forms of social bondage in ‘the erl king’ the same way ableism is in frankenstein. genre differences aside, carter’s work is an example of how bondage as a narrative device has developed throughout literature. while in more traditional texts, it is used to trap and villainise ‘Othered’ characters, or to demonstrate an antagonist is a threat to audiences autonomy, more modern texts take the approach of reclamation. not only does carter subvert the roles of bondage to allow minorities to shift the power dynamic, she holds up a mirror to society and allows them to witness the abuse of power that she is dismantling. this subverted approach to bondage as a narrative device began to emerge in western literature in the 1970s. second wave feminism and the beginning of what is known as the ‘post civil rights movement’ era in the united states shifted the dynamics of western society in a way that we see reflected in media. as more legislation was put into place in both the united states and united kingdom to protect the rights of more marginalised groups, media produced at the time began to reflect these sentiments. while this does not apply to all movies and literature, many authors began depicting the state as the topic of fear, rather than villainising minorities.

a core example of dystopian fiction that comes to mind is margaret atwood’s ‘the handmaid’s tale’ (1985). themes of subjugation, autonomy and reproductive rights run through the novel. atwood stated that the novel is speculative fiction, rather than science fiction, as she ‘didn't put in anything that we haven't already done, we're not already doing, we're seriously trying to do, coupled with trends that are already in progress... so all of those things are real, and therefore the amount of pure invention is close to nil.’ while this distinction has massive significance in terms of the social commentary atwood is offering, her work still operates, in part, under the writing structure of science fiction. the year of the book’s release, reviewers commented on ‘the distinctively modern sense of [a] nightmare come true, the initial paralyzed powerlessness of the victim unable to act.’ atwood depicts the social bondage enforced upon women by the theonomic, totalitarian state by building an environment full of physical limitations; women are treated as commodities and are stripped of the right to chose clothing, sexual partners, pregnancy, and so on. these are all forced upon them in very particular ways, to the sexual benefit of both men domestically and men in authority. ‘the handmaid’s tale’ combines two core aspects when it comes to control. the fear of religious figures abusing their authority, which has deep roots in both traditional gothic literature and true historical events, and the fear of a surveillance state, often utilised in modern science fiction.

the 2017 television adaptation of ‘the handmaid’s tale’ uses forms of physical bondage as a clear symbol of control: red or leather ‘masks’ are worn by handmaidens as ritualistic punishment for ‘disobedience’ or ‘independent thought’, covering their mouths, and handmaidens are often forced to wear veils. this use of bondage is multi-dimensional; it prevents women from seeing and being seen, from speaking and being heard. it removes the humanity of the individual and solidifies their objectification.

similarly, a well-loved trilogy in modern sci-fi, the wachowski sisters’ ‘the matrix’ (1999) truly leans into socially relevant anxieties surrounding the corruption of the state. the movie itself was  ‘born out of anger at capitalism and the corporate structure and forms of oppression’, according to lilly wachowski. the film’s core message is one of reclamation and rebellion against a controlling state; aside from the anti-capitalist rhetoric driving the plot, many of the constraints shown represent social barriers preventing the population from experiencing reality or affirming their own identities. twenty three years from it’s release, ‘the matrix’ is more widely understood now as an allegory for the sisters’ experiences as transgender women in an unaccepting society. there are various uses of bondage and unbalanced power dynamics built into the plot, largely where the ‘agents’ of the state hold authority and dominance whereas the ‘rebels’ and general population are the subordinates being controlled. an example of this is a scene where the protagonist, neo, refuses to cooperate with these agents. in retaliation, they fuse his lips together, removing his ability to speak for himself and creating a terrifying, mangled version of his original face. neo is then pinned down as a ‘tracking bug’, shown to be a robotic centipede, is implanted in his torso. the agents, the dominant force, take his display of autonomy as a threat, and immediately respond with physical restraints in an effort to control it, or at the very least discourage it with scare tactics. this sentiment is echoed in other media, such as the aforementioned masks in ‘the handmaid’s tale.’ forms of gags are often utilised as the ability to speak opinions, call for help, express oneself holds an incredible volume of inherent social value, and having that ability supressed or blocked creates a far more tangible image of the loss of autonomy that resonates strongly with audiences.

a popular image from ‘the matrix’ comes from the infamous ‘red or blue pill’ scene, where neo is exposed to the physical system used to keep the population in a simulated reality while their ‘bioelectric power’ is harvested by machines. gasping for air in a pod filled with liquid not dissimilar to that of the womb, neo is shown to be one of millions of humans being held in pods and kept alive via medical tubes. this is a particularly visceral method of depicting the world’s population as enslaved; humans are stripped of the ability to experience the ‘real world’ and are not even able or permitted to breathe on their own. the way humans are tied into their ‘pods’ that feed their consciousness into the matrix is an example of sci-fi utilising forms of restraint to represent vulnerability and abuse of power. while this is not, by definition, bondage as it does not include sexual arousal it does exemplify why restraints are a vital narrative device. in the context of the wachowski sister’s film, the constrains represent systemic barriers preventing the population from experiencing reality and affirming their own identities. even in instances like this where restraints are used against a protagonist who does not find pleasure in the experience, the perpetrator, such as the agents in the matrix, tend to react with pleasure and almost delight at having someone captive, and the arousal is on their end of the experience as the dominant figure in this interaction. modern sci-fi often has plots rooted in a protagonist or group of protagonists’ journey to dismantle corrupt systems, systems which are reflected as binding or restricting population’s bodies, choices and autonomy. the agents of these systems take pleasure in enacting this restriction as it is a method of maintaining their power and control. consequently, protagonists reclaiming control serves as a natural way for the tables to turn on oppressors and for the narrative to reach its’ hope-filled conclusion.

the aesthetics of bdsm have their place in modern science fiction, but specifically in the matrix. western gothic and alternative fashion appear to be culturally associated with bdsm accessories, namely chokers, harnesses, garters, and so on. kym barrett, the costume designer for the matrix, has stated ‘[the costumes are] reflecting back more obviously to what’s really going on in the world, so maybe subconsciously people are connecting to it.’ the cast sports ensembles comprised of latex, leather, harnesses and accessories; while their clothes must serve a practical purpose and be appropriate attire for action, this also comes across as a co-opting of bondage gear as an act of reclaimation. barrett goes on to explain, ‘when they go into the matrix, they create their persona, which is how they see themselves.’ the depth of these characters centres around their reactions to their oppression, and co-opting symbols of this oppression helps to reinforce their fight against it.

other iconic fashion uses of bondage such as vivienne westwood’s alternative lines of clothing follow a similar vein, described as ‘clothing and imagery that appear dirty, ripped, scarred, shocking, spectacular, cruel, traumatised, sick, or alienating.’ this description matches western societal perspectives on bdsm, specifically the practice of bondage. uses of bondage in the mainstream are often a tool in shock fashion, largely influenced by both the gothic and by punk. punk subculture in particular is built upon shock culture, and utilises bondage alongside the themes of anarchy and anti-capitalism to promote a deeply political message. again, bondage gear and physical restraints are co-opted to form an anti-establishment narrative that jeers in the face of social restraints. despite music and fashion not being the same as literature, we can still see bondage being used as a narrative device. westwood’s sado-masochistic inspired clothing saw the addition of a punk line, named seditionaries, in 1976 after the designer met with the sex pistols. as previously discussed, what defines the gothic genre is the uncanny relationship dynamic between two binaries: romantic language and horror content. this translates to the worlds of both fashion and music, where gothic or alternative content relies on the uneasy contrast between the glamour of fashion or the melodic sound of a song and the shocking, counter-culturalist ‘traumatised’ method of presentation, be it the bdsm influence in the design of a garment or the macabre lyrics. this places bondage at the forefront of alternative media and reinforces its’ relevance as a narrative device.

the history of science fiction narratives is peppered with taboos, bent social conventions and abuses of power. the genre’s framework is inherently a development of gothic framework, recontextualised in a fantasy setting. we rely upon science fiction as a means of coping with capitalism; it is therapeutic to see an unlikely hero burst into the office of a space warlord, a corrupt government, a rogue machine, and blow the fucking place up. in order to experience this catharsis, we have to be able to visualise the constraints that they are dismantling, and to see the perverse nature of them in the first place. bondage traps the core sentiment of a narrative in manacles and allows it to violently break free and confront audiences head-on. it asks the audience, do you feel restrained? do the systems restraining you take pleasure in holding you in place? do you see how unjust it is to be controlled? and as our protagonist triggers an exodus of people ripping off the duct tape, loosening the rope, and unlocking the manacles, our narrative device turns to the audience again and asks, do you see how just it is to be free?

i.k.b

[a-gnosis]

Why do some of your characters (Aphrodite, Hecate, and Dionysos when he was getting married) have patterns of red dots on their cheeks? What culture/tradition is that from historically, and why is it worn by only those particular characters?

And why was Dionysos’s face painted bright white when he was getting married (like the world’s most beautiful clown, lol)? I really love it, especially since it reminds me of a mask which is fitting for the god of theatre.

I have taken those red dotted rosettes from this Mycenaean sculpture (the Mycenaean civilization flourished in Greece between c. 1700 and 1100 BCE. They were the first people to speak the Greek language).

We don’t know if this female figure was a priestess, a goddess or maybe a sphinx. And we don’t know if the dotted rosettes on her face had some significance or if they were only decoration. I just thought that they looked nice and mysterious, and so were quite fitting for goddesses like Hekate (goddess of witchcraft) and Aphrodite (whose origin is quite mysterious in my telling).

As for Dionysos' white-colored face, it was inspired by this reconstruction of a Mycenaean noble woman. I thought it looked so incredibly cool (I'm drawn to things that are cute/beautiful but also a bit strange). Like you say, it reminds of a mask, which made it very fitting for Dionysos.

[hlahlahlahlahly]

No (podcast hosts), there is no chance that The Sea Peoples who might have caused the Late Bronze Age Collapse, or might have been convenient refugee scapegoats or anything in-between, were Vikings.

Late Bronze Age 1200-900 BCE

Viking Era 800-1100 CE

You can quibble on the exact years, because of course history isn't actually neatly divided into eras, but the 1700 year gap it's a bit much

[oneofbeing]

Dear  Wengy and as many as Western authors, let us STICK to HARE not Rabbit (the change for convinence) since in the World of Animal Kingdom these are two different animals.. ''The double visions of the Hindus a rabbit in the moon, or the duck who is also a rabbit..'' Vedic period Upanayanam ceremony was performed between the ages of 5 and 24. Students were enrolled for learning under ONE teacher for  ALL subjects.  The dispute of 2 visioins of 'hindu's .. Let me split this TWO visions into FEW subjects. One subject is leading to another and so on. Here subject are between Universe & Animal Kingdom and if you bring these two together then it will  lead to Biology, our own physical structure, then to how to attain Brahman (Supreme Cosmic Spirit ) the ultimate intellectual (knowing the truth about yourself) awareness. Students remain 19 years of education with ONE master how these topics were developed is really amazing and it is just a WOW moment of Learning and Knowing under Saptarishi teahers like Vyasa (Krishna), Vashista and Visvamitra  all those 7 Sages, their lineage. How a curriculum can be developed during vedic periodwith every relevant skills available to human beings. Rig Veda according to me  has to go back to Paleolithic age. not c. 1700–1100 BC or c. 1500 and 1200 BC. reason for this statement is Rig Veda do reflect Glacial period, its impact on humans and hymns and praising nature as gods then requesting their blessing to avoid poverty, killings etc (one vision of a hidden truth). These poems do speak about the climate change and necessary changes needed to be done to protect earth and its living beings.. this I call it as Orbital forcing which is about earth's axis and shape of the orbit.. these poems reveals about one of the shape that is human being, and what that SHAPE brings destructive effects on earth by their actions. ''Variations in the Earth's eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession comprise the three dominant cycles, collectively known as the Milankovitch Cycles for Milutin Milankovitch'' Rig Veda Hymns are praying for better life for humans, animals, etc etc as if they have gone through this tough time in their life in the process explaining about Milankovitch Cycles. please go through the picture representation here http://www.indiana.edu/~geol105/images/gaia_chapter_4/milankovitch.htm I looked at Writing Systems. Writing was Invented in he 4th millennium BC (4000~3000 BC) which started recording history ie beginning of the Bronze Age. The Indus script (also known as the Harappan script) time periods  between 3500 and 1900 BCE. 1st millennium BCE. Brahmin Script abugida  thrived in the Indian subcontinent Languages Middle Indo-Aryan (Prakrit) languages, Dravidian languages (Tamil et al.), Saka, Tocharian Time period  3rd century BCE to 5th century CE. The so-called Indus script is a symbol system used during the 3rd millennium BCE in the Indus Valley Civilization, a Bronze Age civilisation (3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1600 BCE) That means before the Bronze age it was 'SOUND RECORDING' Scripts were RECORDED from the memory to memory (Mnemonic) and passed it on to the students by the invented (teachers) then their lineage, generation after generation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic it is interesting to learn about this technique as this method was used much before the writing. Dear Harvard Wengy this is the reason for SD people using The double visions of HARE in the moon along with a animal kingdom picuture of it so that it is easy to RECOLLECT the subject which student needed to remember LIFE LONG.. ''Early written symbols were based on pictographs (pictures which resemble what they signify) and ideograms (symbols which represent ideas)'' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictogram Why it is for Life Long and AFTER.. here is the answer.. ANIMAL KINGDOM 1) Hares and Rabbits are two different animals. Their difference lies in their HEARTS :) since Hares has larger heart than Rabbits. Advantages of Large heart is pumping blood and this increases their power to run faster. Speed of their travelling is recorded as fast as 45 mph. 2) Rabbits built homes, where as Hares build FORMS in the grass or ground which can BLOCK out the WIND.! 3) Hares can adapt to changing environment. Hares' coats change colour in Summer and Spring. Summer they can be dark brown and rudy in winter brown colour softened to grey or can transform into white. Rabbits cannot change their colour. It is also quoted in http://www.druidicdawn.org/node/1490 that 'hares usually have black markings in their fur somewhere'. Means over all 4 types of colour shades..! 4) Hares do not mate for life demonstrating an unselective approach & no attachment forming out of mating. 5) Related to Climate change Hares moves together around Spring Equinox. ''Hares are known to move together en masse, is around the Spring Equinox. Around this time, it's as if some signal has been given in the natural world and the hares go crazy!'' http://www.druidicdawn.org/node/1490   ASTRONOMY How do we get the seasons? The tilt of the Earth's AXIS is the most important reason why seasons occur. We have hot summers and cold winters because of the tilt of the Earth's axis. The tilt of the Earth means the Earth will lean towards the Sun (Summer) or lean away from the Sun (Winter) 6 months later. (google) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox An equinox is the moment in which the plane of Earth's equator passes through the center of the Sun, which occurs twice each year, around 20 March and 23 September. On an equinox, day and night are of approximately equal duration all over the planet. They are not exactly equal, however, due to the angular size of the sun and atmospheric refraction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_refraction Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other electromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of height.[1] This refraction is due to the velocity of light through air decreasing (the index of refraction increases) with increased density. Atmospheric refraction near the ground produces mirages and can make distant objects appear to shimmer or ripple, elevated or lowered, stretched or shortened with no mirage involved. The term also applies to the refraction of sound. Atmospheric refraction is considered in measuring the position of both astronomical and terrestrial objects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refraction_(sound) Refraction, in acoustics, comparable to the refraction of electromagnetic radiation, is the bending of sound propagation trajectories (rays) in inhomogeneous elastic media (gases, liquids, and solids) in which the wave velocity is a function of spatial coordinates. Bending of acoustic rays in layered inhomogeneous media occurs towards a layer with a smaller sound velocity. This effect is responsible for guided propagation of sound waves over long distances in the ocean and in the atmosphere. On the equinoxes the Sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal – but not quite. metaphorical stance, the Equinoxes are a time of balance, between night and day, as well as masculine and feminine. The male and female hares boxing simply perpetuates this idea of balance at the Spring Equinox. The March equinox marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from south to north and vice versa in September. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Vernal (Spring) Equinox marks the first day of astronomical spring. What is equinox phenomenon? An equinox is the moment in which the plane of Earth's equator passes through the center of the Sun, which occurs twice each year, around 20 March and 23 September. On an equinox, day and night are of approximately equal duration all over the planet. What does it mean by Equinox? the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth and occurring about March 21 (vernal equinox or spring equinox) and September 22 (autumnal equinox) What happens during the equinox? Far from being an arbitrary indicator of the changing seasons, March 20 (March 21 in some years) is significant for astronomical reasons. On March 20, 2017, at precisely 6:29 A.M. EDT, the Sun will cross directly over the Earth's equator. This moment is known as the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. What is the cause for a solstice? During the December Solstice the Sun's rays shine on the Tropic of Capricorn. As the Earth moves around its orbit, it reaches two points during the year where the tilt of its axis causes it to be straight relative to the Sun. These days are known as equinoxes. What is the autumnal equinox? Equinoxes are opposite on either side of the equator, so the autumnal (fall) equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is the spring (vernal) equinox in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. Equinoxes and solstices happen twice a year. Equinoxes and solstices mark the start of astronomical seasons. What is the spring solstice? Northern Spring – Southern Fall. ... Equinoxes and solstices are opposite on either side of the equator, and the March equinox is also known as the "spring (vernal) equinox" in the Northern Hemisphere and as the "autumnal (fall) equinox" in the Southern Hemisphere. How do we get the seasons? The tilt of the Earth's AXIS is the most important reason why seasons occur. We have hot summers and cold winters because of the tilt of the Earth's axis. The tilt of the Earth means the Earth will lean towards the Sun (Summer) or lean away from the Sun (Winter) 6 months later. Equinoxes and solstices happen twice a year. Not Entirely Equal Day & Night The March equinox marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from south to http://www.sacred-texts.com/astro/ml/ml08.htm "To the common people in India the spots look like a hare, i.e. Chandras, the god of the moon, carries a hare (sasa), hence the moon is called Sasin or Sasanka, hare mark or spot." 75 "Max Müller also writes, "As a curious coincidence it may be mentioned that in Sanskrit the moon is called Sasanka, i.e. 'having the marks of a hare,' the black marks in the moon being taken for the likeness of the hare." http://www.druidicdawn.org/node/1490 Hares are quite different from rabbits, Anatomically speaking, hares possess a significantly larger heart than rabbits. In hares, the heart can weigh from 1 to 1.8% of their total body weight, whereas with rabbits, the heart only weighs about 0.3% of their total body weight. When you think about it, this larger heart gives hares a greater advantage when it comes to pumping blood, which of course increases their powers of running at such speed and endurance enviable in the animal kingdom. Hares have been clocked at travelling as fast as 45 mph. Another difference between hares is that unlike rabbits, they don't build their homes in burrows, but instead build forms, little nests in the grass or ground that help block out the wind. Independence is a strong quality of the hare. In summer and in spring, hares' coats change colour like many other animals, as a way of adapting to their changing environment. In the summer, they can be quite dark brown and ruddy, but in the winter, the brown gets softened with grey, and some in further northern climates actually transform into white. One distinction about hares that doesn't apply to rabbits is that hares usually have black markings in their fur somewhere. Hares generally live alone or with a mate, but hares do not mate for life. According to our moral standards, hares are as promiscuous as it gets because they will mate with whoever takes their fancy, and there is no attachment formed because of it. hares are known to move together en masse, is around the Spring Equinox. Around this time, it's as if some signal has been given in the natural world and the hares go crazy! Now let us look at the double vision of Hindus a rabbit in the moon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_Revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_script https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abugida https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmi_script https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-writing#Indian_Bronze_Age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandu_Rajar_Dhibi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_period https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_forcing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milankovitch_cycles http://www.indiana.edu/~geol105/images/gaia_chapter_4/milankovitch.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare http://www.druidicdawn.org/node/1490

[signorformica]

Kali (from the Sanskrit kāla: darkness), Hindu goddess first mentioned in Ṛgveda, one of the four sacred canonical texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas, written between 1700-1100 BCE ~ ca.1885 Bibliothèque Infernale on FB

[reddogstarsystem1111]

The Gayatri Mantra is from one of the oldest existing texts in an Indo-European language, the Rig Veda, which was composed somewhere between 1700 BCE and 1100 BCE. It is a highly revered mantra associated with the rites of passage ceremonies for Hindus. In the twentieth century the same yogis who were bringing yoga to the west, began to teach the Gayatri mantra more broadly.

Gayatri is a vedic metre in which the verse is composed.

The first line of what we chant as the Gayatri mantra, Om bhur buvah svaha, is not in the Rig Veda mantra but is a later addition.

The Rig Veda is essentially a collection of hymns to Vedic deities and the deity of the Gayatri is Savitr. Savitr is sometimes regarded as Surya, the Sun, and sometimes as separate, but nevertheless shares many of the qualities: brilliance, life-giving, beneficence and protection.

As the Gayatri became popular in modern times we find some broader interpretations. So let's have a look at it. First, all the words together and then a word by word translation.

Om Bhur Bhuvah Svaha

Tat Savitur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Diimahi

Diyoyonah Prachodayatt.

Om, or Aum, is regarded as the primal sound of the Universe and points to the Oneness of all.

Bhur – embodiment of vital spiritual energy, earth

Bhuvah – destroyer of suffering

Suvaha (svaha) – embodiment of happiness

Tat – that, in this way

Savitur – Savitri, spiritual sun, the One Light, all pervading Consciousness

Varenyam – worthy of worship, venerable, adorable, worthy of being sought

Bhargo – radiance. Effulgence, splendour, light which bestows understanding, destroyer of sins

Devasya – Divine, of the Deity

Dimahi – we meditate upon; or, may we meditate on, reflect on, be devoted to; or, may imbibe

Dhiyo – prayer, intellect, noble thoughts, intuition, understanding of Reality (buddhis)

Yo – who; he who; the one who

Nah – our; of us

Prachodayaat – may he energize, direct, inspire, guide, unfold; or, he who energizes, directs, inspires, guides unfolds

Putting all of this together, there are still many translations and interpretations.

Here is a literal translation by Christopher Wallis:

Om. Earth. Atmosphere. Heaven.

May we focus our Awareness

on the alluring radiance of the rising (or setting) sun

the Vivifier; may it inspire our thoughts and meditations.

One of our favourites is given by Donna Farhi:

Everything on earth, in between and above

Is arising from one effulgent source.

If my thoughts, words and deeds reflected this complete understanding of unity,

I would be the peace I am seeking in this moment.

Or the playful interpretation of Richard Miller:

Everything is light, this is light , that is light, we are all light, light light light....

So what does it sound like?

There is a particular way of chanting the Vedas called vedic chanting and in that system there is a specified way to chant the mantra. You can learn more about vedic chanting in the Wikepedia article here.

But since some of the mantras "got out of the box" so to speak there have been many versions of it, some more traditional, some more tuneful. Here is one:

he meaning of the Gayatri mantra is as follows: “We contemplate the glory of the light that illuminates the three worlds: dense, subtle and causal. I am that life-giving power, love, radiant enlightenment, and the divine grace of universal intelligence.

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः । तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्यः धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ।। Gayatri Mantra Words in English oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ suvaḥ tat savitur vareṇyaṃ bhargo devasya dhīmahi dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt Gayatri Mantra Meaning in Hindi & English Word by Word meaning of Gayatri Mahamantra: ॐ (oṃ) = OM is a sacred sound and a spiritual symbol in Indian religions भूर (bhūr) = प्राण प्रदाण करने वाला Who gives life. भुवः (bhuvaḥ) = दुख़ों का नाश करने वाला Destroyer of sorrows. स्वः (suvaḥ) = सुख़ प्रदाण करने वाला who gives happiness. तत (tat) = वह that. सवितुर (savitur) = सूर्य की भांति उज्जवल Bright like the sun. वरेण्यं (vareṇyaṃ) = सबसे उत्तम The Best. भर्गो (bhargo) = कर्मों का उद्धार करने वाला The Savior. देवस्य (devasya) = प्रभु Lord. धीमहि (dhīmahi) = ध्यान (आत्म चिंतन के योग्य) Worthy of self reflection. धियो (dhiyo) = बुद्धि wisdom. यो (yo) = जो Who नः (naḥ) = हमारी Ourselves प्रचोदयात् (prachodayāt) = हमें शक्ति दें Give us strength. Gayatri Mantra Benefits Gayatri Mantra has special recognition in Hindi religion. Chanting of Gayatri Mantra brings happiness in a person’s life and a person gets fame, wealth and a healthy body. It has also been proved by many kinds of research that the chanting of Gayatri Mantra also has many benefits such as mental peace, glow on the face, attainment of happiness, the betterment of senses, anger is reduced, intelligence increases and it is a batter way to do meditation.

Read more: https://www.hinditracks.in/gayatri-mantra-hindi

[reeiiedu]

Rigveda - Indian assortment of Vedic Sanskrit hymns

The Rigveda is an old Indian assortment of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is one of the four sacred sanctioned texts (śruti) of Hinduism known as the Vedas.

The earliest one is the Rigveda (3500 years back). It has over a thousand hymns ("Suktas"). The Vedas are religious writings of Hinduism. Rishis framed the psalms, and students remembered them. The Rigveda has been written in old (Vedic) Sanskrit.

The Vedas were recorded significantly later. Students remembered the hymns and offered it to various ages by holding and not composing.

The Manuscript of Rigveda

Rigveda has prayers for cows, kids, and horses to various gods and goddesses. The Agni (divine force of fire), Indra( a warrior god) and soma (a special plant). Riches were distributed among the leaders, priests, and others, according to the Rigveda. There were 'Yajnas' performed. Most men partook in wars.

The Rigveda distributes individuals in two groups based on their work: the 'brahmins' and the 'rajas.' Individuals or the network have been referred to as 'Jana' or 'vish.' The composers of hymns called themselves 'Aryas' and their oppositions as 'Dasas'/'Dasyus.'

Stone boulders are known as Megaliths.

They were used to check entombment sites. Stone circles were set on the surface to discover entombment sites so that individuals could come back to the same spot. This training was used in the Deccan and Kashmir. A couple of stone monuments are on a superficial level, and some are underground.

The dead were covered with various pots, which are called Black and Red Ware.

Individuals were covered alongside a couple of articles. The articles picked most probably depend on the status of the dead person.

Families were commonly covered together.

In Inamgaon, individuals were covered with their heads towards the north. Vessels containing food and water were set close to them.

The Rigveda is the oldest known Vedic Sanskrit text. Its initial layers are one of the oldest surviving books in any Indo-European language. The sounds and texts of Rigveda have been orally transmitted since the second thousand years BCE. The Philological and linguistic proof indicates that most of the Rigveda Samhita were composed in the northwestern district (Punjab) of the Indian subcontinent, most likely between c. 1500 and 1200 BCE, albeit a more extensive estimate of c. 1700–1100 BCE has also been given.

The content is layered, consisting of the Samhita, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads. The Rigveda Samhita is the center content and is an assortment of 10 books (maṇḍalas) with 1,028 hymns (sūktas) in around 10,600 verses (called ṛc, eponymous of the name Rigveda). In the eight books – Books 2 through 9 – that were composed the earliest, the hymns predominantly discuss cosmology and praise deities. The more youthful to some degree also manage philosophical or speculative questions, virtues such as dāna (noble cause) in society, questions about the root of the universe and the idea of the divine, and other metaphysical issues hymns.

Some of its verses keep on being presented during Hindu rites of passage celebrations (such as weddings) and prayers, making it presumably the world's oldest religious content in use.

[history-monster]

𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟲 of @hellaloadofhistory #30daychallenge - favourite civilisation. ⁣ ⁣ I would have to go for the Minoans who settled the Greek island of Crete between 3000 - 1100 BCE. Because they were isolated, their society flourished interrupted for thousands of years. ⁣ ⁣ Arguably the first European civilisation, they first settled on Crete in 3000 BCE and were later influenced by the neighbouring Greek and Egyptian civilisations with whom they frequently traded with. Minoan culture originally had no centralised government and a flexible ruling system with large, grand palaces acting as the key areas of administration. ⁣ ⁣ Tombs known as ‘tholos’ were the key architectural feature of the Minoans and this, along with their paved road system, running water and pottery was incorporated by the later Greek and Roman civilisations. By 2000 BCE, kings had assumed control of the island as wine, olive oil, wool and cloth exports flourished. This signalled the beginning of a bureaucratic system and social hierarchy on the island, with nobles and peasants making up an early feudal system. Women also played a large role in society, serving as administrators and priestesses, and had the same rights as men. It was this unity that made the Minoans such a remarkable people.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ The Minoans had a strong maritime presence that helped them import large sums of copper, silver and gold. In around 1700 BCE, the Minoan culture was shaken by an earthquake that destroyed many of their settlements. They managed to recover from this natural disaster, but now had company on the Mediterranean; Greeks and Mycenaeans began to threaten trade interests, especially as the Minoans had now expanded to other Greek islands such as Thera, Rhodos, Melos and Kythira. Their luck got even worse when in 1375 BCE, the island’s largest city, Knossos, was devastated. Historians argue whether this was the work of an invasion force or a volcanic eruption, but either way, this crippled the Minoan people, who were dispatched by an oncoming invasion force in 1100 BCE. The people of Crete now answered to Athens and were absorbed into the Greek Empire. ⁣ ⁣ Adapted from www.historyanswers.co.uk (at Crete Greece) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCGDhB7HUmm/?igshid=16bm5ovnuhg51

[95jezzica]

.

Figured it'd be easier to answer like this; hope that's okay.

Early history obviously depends a lot on how far back you go, and I will not be able to go too deeply into the history of +3 countries in one post, but generally speaking it's said that the first real settlements in Scandinavia started around 13'000 years ago when the ice age(s) ended and more people moved up from the south through Denmark and then spread out in Norway and Sweden. People also started to move in from the north about 10'000 ago, and though countries as a concept hasn't existed for very long in general, the lands within the modern borders of Scandinavia have pretty much always been populated since then.

It's worth mentioning that Scandinavian time eras are slightly shifted from rest of Europe. As an example the Swedish bronze age/era took place 1700 - 500 BCE, which is then divided into the two sub-categories Older Bronze Era (1700-1100 BCE) and Younger Bronze Era (1100-550 BCE).

In a similar manner Swedish iron age took place between 550 BCE - 1050 CE, which is then divided into the five sub-categories Pre-Roman iron age (550 BCE - 1 CE), Roman Iron Age (1 CE - 375 CE), People Migration Time (375-550), Vendel Time (550 - 700), Viking Time (700 - 1050).

It's a big generalisation, but basically the Norwegian Vikings went west/west-south (Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Vinland - etc), the Danish Vikings further south, south west (France, Italy & more) and/or terrorised England, while Sweden mostly went east and south-east (Finland, the Baltics, Ukraine - etc). Keep in mind this is a generalisation though, and that the modern borders didn't exist back then. For a good while it was much more common with smaller settlements, villages and towns.

Norway didn't become a more united sovereign state until 1035 CE, Sweden didn't become more stable until around 1100-1200s CE, and Denmark... I'm not entirely sure what date I'd count Denmark from, but I reckon Knud the Great (1016 CE of England, 1018 CE of Denmark, 1028 CE of Norway) at the very least would have been a big step towards it.

Again though, it depends on where you'd count from - Denmark could just as well be counted from Valdemar Sejr (King 1202-1241) and/or Valdemar Atterdag (King 1340 CE-1375), and neither Norway nor Sweden are set in stone either.

However, as you can see year 400 CE would have been too early for the Viking raids to have properly started, so I'll need to do a little more research into which raids you might refer to.

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It might not be as early as you intended, but I think it's worth mentioning that Norway and Sweden were in an union under King Magnus (King of Sweden 1319-1364 & King of Norway 1319-1355) and then also his son Håkan Magnusson (King 1355-1380 in Norway, King 1362-1364 in Sweden) . They were co-regents of Norway and Sweden since the Norwegian national council were dissatisfied with King Magnus and instead wanted his son as King.

Albert of Mecklenburg took the Swedish throne 1364-1389, but it wasn't many years left until Margareta Valdemarsdotter became Queen of Denmark (1387)-Norway (1387)-Sweden (1389) and thus created the (more) famous Kalmar Union.

I know Hetalia hasn't touched a lot on hws!Norway's and Sweden's personal relationship (yet), but for better or worse I honestly think it's likely Norway and Sweden have known each other the longest out of the Nordics considering their vast amount of history and BIG shared border between them. Because Iceland was part of Norway at the time this would also mean Iceland likely grew up his early years with mainly Norway and Sweden. Granted, hws!Finland has mentioned in a chapter (World Stars, ch112) that he didn't really get to know Iceland until the 1700s, but that kind of makes sense for Finland since he's so far away even if he was part of Sweden at the time.

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This was a pretty broad question/request, so I apologize if this wasn't the kind of information that you were looking for, but I'll gladly answer any further questions you might have to the best of my ability! 😄 👍

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Is okay if I start asking you about your Hetalia historic headcanons or facts?

Lately I've been thinking a lot about mines (Prussia Prussia Prussia) but I always struggle when writing because I don't know much about the other nations situations 👀💦

[oneinuniverse]

Civilizations Out of Nowhere

Graham Hancock, in his famous work “The Fingerprints of The Gods” argues that certain civilizations around the globe showed these signs of unusual intelligence in their architecture, science and writing systems. Intelligent human civilization extends much farther than we originally believed. The following is a presentation of some of the strange aspects of humanity that have been long forgotten, while remembering that our ancestors left us artifacts in the form of incredible structures and monuments that we are meant to decode and decipher. If the human story is a work in progress, let these monuments serve as important points to consider in the revision of this story. The monuments left behind by our ancestors would have had to coincide with their level of development given the time period; which calls for a revision of the human timeline. These historical anomalies raise questions about our collective history, and indicate how much remains to be discovered.

Human prehistory marks a time before records were kept, a time when, for several thousands of years, Cro-Magnons roamed across the planet, possibly forming small groups and living in primitive societies. The context of this strange condition changed again, approximately 15,000 years ago. When we compare the crudeness and primitive nature of Cro-Magnon side by side with the achievement of humans in the last 15,000 years, the gulf between the two widens considerably. We maintain the belief that human advancement and achievement follows a linear path upwards; each new civilization being more advanced and intelligent than the last. Just as we see jumps in advancement from one species to another.

From Neanderthal to Cro-Magnon, we see entire civilizations emerge out of nowhere with advancements in the sciences that have only recently been discovered. Several ancient civilizations across the world show an advanced level of astronomy and mathematics. As the Babylonian empire began to emerge 2500 years ago, one of their chief astronomers, Kidinnu, was able to map the annual movement of the sun and the moon that remained unchallenged until 1857, when astronomer Peter Andreas Hansen charted the arc of these celestial bodies to an error margin of only nine seconds.

A Babylonian almanac, mentioning future positions of the planets (British Museum)

During the Shang Dynasty of China, spanning between 1700-1100 B.C, a solar calendar known as the Ssu-Ten contained months that carried a precise length of 29.53055106 days, meaning leap years were taken into consideration and accounted for. An even earlier Chinese text, known as the Huang Ti-Ping King Su documented the Earth as a body which floated in space. Similarly, Greek scholars Permenides and Empedocles were quoted separately, stating “the moon illuminates the nights with borrowed light”. Over the last 10,000 years or so, modern humans were in possession of knowledge that suggests extraordinary intelligence [i]. What pushed early human societies over the edge, leading them to acquire such incredible knowledge at such an early stage? From the examples noted above, this was not an isolated incident, causing only one part of the globe to develop these skills. This level of “pre-advancement” was widespread, slowly changing the context of human history.

Two oracle bones from the Shang Dynasty in China (c. 1800 - 1200 BCE). Evidence from the Shang oracle bone inscriptions shows that at least by the 14th century BC the Shang Chinese had established the solar year at 365¼ days and lunation at 29½ days. ( CalendarsThroughTheAges)

Sumer is recognized as the cradle of man’s modern origins; the world’s first advanced civilization. Out of this region sprung an incredibly advanced high culture at approximately 3800 B.C. Located in the southern region of what is present day Iraq, the Sumerian civilization literally “exploded” with cultural firsts and incredible human achievements. Sumer was also known as Shinar, and was situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This region came to be called Mesopotamia, from the Greek word meso meaning ‘middle’, and potamia meaning ‘rivers’. The two rivers would be instrumental in allowing this early civilization to flourish, making commerce and trade possible.

A great city of Sumer ( thecultureconcept.com)

Mesopotamia was situated within the Fertile Crescent, where the geography, climate and presence of water encouraged the growth of agriculture. The Sumerian civilization was preceded by an earlier culture known as the Ubaid. The Ubaid were of an unknown origin, most likely comprised of the scattered tribes surrounding the two great rivers. Culture branched out into several disciplines with surprising levels of advancement. Astrology, botany, zoology, mathematics, and law would make up some of Sumer’s greatest achievements. Medicine and pharmacology were widely practiced. The first houses made out of bricks were found in this region. Sumer even had a working system of mythology, and a fully developed history of its own culture [ii]. At a time when hunter-gatherer societies were prevalent across the globe, the Sumerians were developing advanced legal codes and calculating astronomy at an intermediate level. One of the world’s first written forms sprung out of this region.

Sumerian civilization recorded their knowledge in a language known as cuneiform, consisting of narrow triangular shaped lines arranged in various patterns. The Sumerian alphabet contained pictograms – symbols that conveyed ideas and concepts in a way similar to oriental languages. This differed from phonetic values that are strung together to form words, like English. Writings were engraved on wet clay tablets which were baked and preserved. Over 500,000 of these clay tablets have been discovered, highlighting the breadth of knowledge this civilization possessed and the lengths to which they attempted to preserve it.

One of thousands of cuneiform tablets found in Iraq ( Wikipedia)

Sumerian civilization also developed unique landmark structures called ziggurats. These were pyramid shaped structures, hundreds of feet high; this method would predate the Gutenberg printing press by 2500 years. This high culture spanned a total of three separate dynasties, with the last one beginning at approximately 2100 B.C. This civilization brought forth two of the world’s first cities; Uruk, followed by Eridu. Both cities would act as blueprints for the new concept of the city, which would act as concentrations of skilled trades and arts. In these cities, craftsmen, writers, doctors, mathematicians and lawyers would for the first time in history, be able to exchange their services. The smaller city states of Sumer eventually underwent unification, becoming part of the Babylonian civilization that would span across the entire Mesopotamian region.

3D reconstruction of the Ziggarut of Ur ( Wikipedia)

Aside from agriculture, medicine and commerce, the Babylonians had an impressive understanding of astronomy. Their knowledge of the stars and celestial bodies were compiled into clay tablets, which would indicate the movement of constellations and the behavior of the sun in relation to the moon. Important events such as equinoxes and eclipses were also accounted for. A collection of Babylonian scientists compiled their knowledge of the movement of the stars, their movements and constellations into a work known as the MUL.APIN, meaning “the plough”, which was the name given to the document’s first constellation. The origin of the document dates back to 1370 B.C.

An equally impressive document named the Enuma Anu Enlil is a number of astrological tables that not only accounted for eclipses and celestial events, but was also used as a system of prophecy. Though their methods may have involved some elements of superstition, their methods of calculation were far from primitive. Babylonian astronomy and mathematics utilized a unique system of calculation based on multiples of the number 60 known as the sexagesimal system. Babylonian scientists were able to calculate measurements as precise as one sixtieth of one degree, otherwise known as one arc minute [iii].

The Babylonian civilization is distinct in that it set two very distinct precedents in our collective human history. Firstly, it set the standard for what constitutes a modern civilization, and its pursuit of astronomy would mark the first known instance that humans would actively observe and collect data on phenomena outside of their immediate physical surroundings. In essence, this was a coming of age for our species. But there is a broader question at hand. What are the prerequisites for civilization? Do they simply appear out of nowhere, the way that the Cambrian Explosion produced new lifeforms? Also, what does early civilization tell us about our relationship to other humans and our relationship to ourselves?

The above article is an extract from “ The Human Anomaly ”, and has been republished with permission. For more information, click here.

RBP

Featured image: Artist’s reconstruction of the Sumerian city of Ur. ( Kings Academy )

By Tashi Javed

References:

[i] Steiger, Brad. Worlds Before Our Own.pg,134. London: W.H. Allen, 1980. Print.

[ii] Sitchin, Zecharia, Divine Encounters, 7

Source: https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-opinion/civilizations-out-nowhere-002248

[ascendingmatrix]

FROM THE ANCIENT GREEK PLEIADES TO THE HINDU MATRIKAS: MOTHER GODDESSES, MUSIC AND THE SACRED NUMBER 7

Posted by stevew | Dec 28, 2017 | 2017, Ancient World, Archaeology, History, Astrology & Astronomy, Numerology, Divination, Daily Blog

FROM THE ANCIENT GREEK PLEIADES TO THE HINDU MATRIKAS: MOTHER GODDESSES, MUSIC AND THE SACRED NUMBER 7

25 DECEMBER, 2017

Martini Fisher

In Brihat-Samhita, Indian astronomer Varahamihira (505–587 CE) says that “Mothers are to be made with cognizance of gods corresponding to their names” leading to the birth of Matrikas (“Divine Mothers”) who are then associated with some of the major gods of the Hindu pantheon as their shaktis (energies). The Matrikas are Brahmani (from the creator god Brahma), Vaishnavi (from the preserver-god Vishnu), Maheshvari (of Shiva), Indrani (of Indra, the king of the gods), Kaumari (of Skanda, Shiva’s son as well as the god of war), Varahi (of Varaha, the avatar of Vishnu in the form of a boar) and Chamunda (of Devi).

The Matrikas have existed from as early as the Indus Valley civilization (3300–1700 BCE). The Rigveda (c. 1700–1100 BCE) merely refers to them as a group of seven mothers who control the preparation of soma (the drink of the gods). However, by the fifth century CE, the Matrikas were already incorporated in Hinduism as Tantric deities. The Saptamatrikas (“The Seven Divine Mothers”) were especially connected with Skanda and later associated with the sect of Shiva. In the Western Ganga Dynasty (350–1000 CE) kings of Karnataka built many Hindu temples with carvings of the Saptamatrikas as well as memorials containing sculptural details of the seven mothers. The evidence of sculptures of the Matrikas is further shown in the Gurjara-Patiharas (eighth – tenth century CE) and Chandella period (eighth – twelfth century CE). Also between the sixth and the twelfth centuries CE, the Chalukya dynasty claimed to have been nursed by the Saptamatrikas themselves.

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The idea of the seven mothers is not exclusive to the Matrikas. The Matrikas display many similarities with the ancient Greek Pleiades and ancient Korea’s Magos, including their depictions as mothers and the number seven, which is associated with many divine groups in ancient mythology.

THE MATRIKAS, THE KRITTIKAS AND THE PLEIADES

The Pleiades are among the first stars mentioned in ancient literature, appearing in Chinese annals from c. 2350 BCE. The earliest European references of the star cluster are Hesiod’s Work and Days as well as in Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad. According to Greek mythology, the Pleiades were daughters of Atlas, the titan commanded by Zeus to hold up the earth, and the oceanid nymph Pleione, protectress of sailors. The Pleiades were seven sisters – Maia, Alcyone, Asterope, Celaeno, Taygete, Electra, and Merope.

Like the Matrikas who are associated with the most prominent Hindu gods, the Pleiades are also associated with the most prominent male Olympian gods. The sisters’ affairs with the gods resulted in the birth of their children. Zeus fathered Hermes, brothers Dardanus and Iasion, as well as Lacedaemon through Maia, Electra and Taygete respectively. Poseidon fathered Hyrieus, Hyperenor and Aethusa through Alcyone, as well as Lycus and Nycteus through Celaeno. Sterope mothered Oenomaus through Ares, and Merope, the youngest of the sisters, married Sissyphus and became mortal. She bore him several sons before she faded away – providing the background story to the fact that one of the seven Pleiades stars does not shine as brightly as the others.

The Pleiades, an open cluster consisting of approximately 3,000 stars at a distance of 400 light-years (120 parsecs) from Earth in the constellation of Taurus. It is also known as “The Seven Sisters”, or the astronomical designations NGC 1432/35 and M45. (Public Domain)

The story Krittikas, the Hindu equivalent of the Pleiades, started with separations. In the Hindu mythology, the stars of the Big Dipper were the seven sages who were happily married to seven sisters named Krittikas until one day, the god of fire, Agni, fell in love with the seven Krittikas. Respecting the sages, Agni tried to forget his love by wandering through a forest where he met Svaha, the star Zeta Tauri, who fell in love with Agni. Knowing Agni’s infatuation towards the Krittikas, Svaha disguised herself as six of the seven sisters in order to seduce him.

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Martini Fisher is a Mythographer and author of many books, including Time Maps: Evolution of Languages and Writings

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Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt - A Brief History

The Old Kingdom Kingdom - As per the Palette of Namur, an old cut stone tablet, Upper and Lower Egypt were first bound together around 3100 BCE when the pioneer of Upper Egypt, Menes, vanquished his adversaries and conveyed an incorporated government to the numerous little groups along the Nile. Menes established the first of eight traditions that would control old Egypt for around a thousand years, a period that is known as the Old Kingdom. The primary confirmation for their being a concentrated government amid this time of Egypt's history is the presence of pyramids in the district. To fabricate these substantial structures would have taken a gigantic measure of labor, perhaps into the several thousands. The arrangement of sustenance, water and different basics like lodging for such a workforce would require an enormous measure of arranging so it demonstrates the pioneers of the Old Kingdom had the assets and energy to control extensive quantities of individuals.

Kingdom The First Intermediate Period   Around 2100 BCE, the Old Kingdom went into decay and for two hundred years, Egypt was without brought together control. Why the First Intermediate Period happened is obscure, yet it is estimated that a catastrophic event made it imposable for the assessments of the laborers to be conveyed to the Pharaohs. Another hypothesis is that assessments would have been so high keeping in mind the end goal to pay for terrific activities, for example, the pyramids, it could have created revolt among the honorable classes which prompted a conclusion to focal expert and a conclusion to the primary awesome old Egyptian kingdom.

Kingdom The Middle Kingdom   Taking after the First Intermediate Period in old Egypt was the Middle Kingdom, which endured between 2000 - 1700 BCE. The Egyptian government was brought together by another line of Pharaohs with their capital arranged in Thebes. The kingdom extended as far south as Ethiopia and ended up plainly rich from assets mined and quarried.   As opposed to raising pyramids as their antecedents did, for the Pharaohs of the Middle Period of old Egypt, divine beings were much more imperative and an extensive number of sanctuaries were assembled. This recommends a more "just" way to deal with love in which every social class were permitted to take an interest.   Open works were developed, for example, a water system extend in the Fayum Depression west of the Nile close Cairo and a dam was implicit request to control the waters of Lake Moeris. Extraordinary landmarks were additionally raised, a standout amongst the most popular being the Obelisk at Mataria.

Kingdom The Second Intermediate Period   The Second Intermediate Period of Egypt's history again observed a conclusion to brought together Egyptian government and kept going from 1786 - 1560 BCE. It was realized at first by revolting nobles however another component was the presence of a race of trespassers of obscure roots called the Hyksos. The old Egyptians alluded to them as 'the ocean individuals', recommending they originated from the north and as indicated by essential chronicled sources, they utilized stallions and chariots to go through the sweet and bronze weapons that were already obscure to the Egyptian individuals.   A few antiquarians trust the Pharaoh who designated the scriptural Joseph as his vizier was of the Hyksos race and in spite of the fact that their mastery was generally fleeting (1700 - 1555 BCE), landmarks and scarabs from that time are as yet present on the Egyptian scene. In the long run, opposing the Hyksos turned out to be such a need, to the point that it prompt the third time of a unified Egyptian government, that wound up plainly known as the New Kingdom.

Kingdom The New Kingdom   The New Kingdom kept going between 1560 - 1087 BCE and was begun by a Pharaoh named Ahmose, who at last vanquished the Hyksos intruders. It was a time of development in old Egypt and the domain incorporated all grounds between the Nile and the Euphrates and extended the whole length of the Valley of the Nile.   With development came extraordinary flourishing for the old Egyptians and incredible building ventures were embraced, for example, those at Thebes, the religious focus and once in a while legislative hall of the period. Another declaration to the abundance of the time is the rich tombs of lords and private people, the most celebrated of which is that of Tutankhamen, whose embalmed remains were covered with broad arrangements and fortunes.   The last solid Pharaoh in Egypt was Ramses III of the nineteenth tradition (1182 - 1151 BCE) whose successors needed to manage a degenerate organization and a progression of outside intruders. By 1100 BCE, the manage of the Pharaohs was at an end for ever and Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, French and British trespassers all progressively held Egypt under outside control until 1952 CE. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AncientOfEgypt You may also like this

gods of Ancient Egyptian

Ancient Egyptian Jewelry

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[goore-whore]

Ok! So! Dionysus is actually the most recent name of the god, being recorded in use during the time of Ancient Greece as we know it (~1700 BCE), and Mycenaean Greece. This happened after a period of time called the Dark Ages, which was a point in time between Mycenaean Greece (1600-1100 BCE) and Ancient Greece. Mycenaean Greece is basically Ancient Greece (sq.), and the common writing was Linear B (syllabic script), a predecessor to the modern Greek alphabet which was derived from Phoenician. This is important because the majority of the Hellenistic Pantheon originates with Mycenaean Greece and Linear B (Dionysus’ name being written Di-Wo-Nu-So). 

Because of the Dark Ages, where basically nothing was written down until Greece got its collective sh*t together, there’s a large disconnect between the pantheon we’re all familiar with and Mycenaean Greece’s pantheon (for example, Poseidon was the head god and worshiped as a god of earthquakes more than a god of the sea). The Mycenaean religion focused more on chthonic gods (like Poseidon), or gods with some connection to the underworld. Dionysus falls into this category due to a particular branch of his origin story where, after he’s born for realsies, Zeus gives him to Persephone and Hades to raise (and there is no Mycenaean equivalent to Hades, fun fact). By the time everyone got all Hellenized, chthonic gods got nerfed into the background and everyone was adjusting ok to this. Except our little alcoholic babe Dionysus. The suspected reason for this is that his worship predates Hellenistic Greece (duh) and it got suppressed for a few centuries deliberately before undergoing modification of some kind and he got let back in. 

The reason we think this is because, well, Ancient Greece was trash at promoting equality for it’s citizens. Anyway, the point here is, his transition happened well after the others got with the program. And to understand *that* I’m going on a wee tangent about his cult, for which I’ll need to talk about him before he got Hellenized.

Dionysus is the name currently associated with the Hellenized version we all know and love. Previous to that, he was Orphic Dionysus (child of Zeus x Persephone) and was characterized by his ability to enter/leave the underworld at will. HIS cult focused more on the death and rebirth aspect of his backstory myths, and Orphic v. Current Dionysus have notably different backstories (duh) and one point we see this at is Orphic being continuously equated with Zagreus, a child of Hades and Persephone.

Basically, Orphic is slotted to be the next king of the gods and taking Zeus’ please. Hera says ‘f*ck this noise’ and has him ritualistically shredded and eaten by titans. Athena saves his heart and has it put into Semele so he gets born a second time, and gets along with doing god stuff. This predates his origin as a child of Zeus and Semele, as well as Ancient Greece as a whole (possibly) since his Mycenaean origin also involves dying and being reborn early on. As a standalone entity, his Zagreus epithet was an extremely important chthonic god and by appending his name to Dionysus the underworld connections are inherited there.

Going back as far as we can (and I mean ALL the way), the Mycenaean inscriptions that we have confirm that his death/rebirth and status a a son of Zeus were original instead of added on by the Orphic cult. He also has some themes of being abandoned by humanity and raised by nature, which plays into his animalistic associations. 

So Dionysus enters Ancient Greece as a god of death/rebirth and has strong underworld connections, which later appeal to the Orphic cult because duh and because of that his characterization becomes the basic definition of funkalicious since they put lots of focus on something that otherwise wouldn’t matter much. The alternative birth myth gives some idea where the characterization started, but does very little else in saying why the Hellenistic pantheon didn’t want him for a couple centuries or where the wine came from (bev-mo probably). 

BUT his cult can give us some tips for the rest of his character. Unfortunately the Orphic cult was a mystery cult so the rituals and stuff were secrets to everyone except them, but the basics have been nailed down kinda. Starting off, it predated Ancient Greece by a bunch (and maybe Mycenaean Greece) and likely started as a cult for wine rather than Dionysus; worshiping intoxication and all the liberation that comes with it, because wine predates Mycenaean Greece and Dionysus by extension. Because of this, the Dionysian aspect is basically secondary. It’s most likely that the cult originated when wine itself did (6000 BCE), meaning it’s old as balls. Going with the assumption this is true, it probably started in the Zagros mountains (Zagros? Zagreus? Hmmm), which is very east of Greece. 

Anyway if this true then the cult followed trade routes with wine and ending up in Egypt, Minoan Crete, and then Mycenaean Greece where it stole Dionysus for itself and became a Dionysian cult there. This affects his characterization with the myth that he invented wine. We don’t actually know much though because we’re basically playing golf in the dark with how much is actually put down on record. So by the time the Dark Ages are done, the Orphic cult was firmly set on the Dionysian mysteries; a ritual focused on getting high off your ass. The idea was that, by getting intoxicated, they were directly linking themselves to and being possessed by Dionysus and theoretically being allowed to his god powers and the primordial mind that his madness unlocks. 

There’s also a bunch of symbolism linking him and wine. Point is; cathartic drunkenness and insanity/ritual dismemberment (yay). Mostly they dismembered bull because yay symbolism but sometimes also people. Obviously the Dionysian cult attracted a bunch of marginalized folks like women, slaves, and non-citizens because they got to briefly dump society’s expectations and do crazy sh*t and it was absolutely loathed my the society  whose expectations they were. So there was a few centuries of Greek governments trying to get rid of them and them not being gotten rid of.

So instead the Greek government tried to control it a wee bit, which slowly gave us our chill party dude Dionysus that we have now. A notable exclusion is that he and Hestia are the only ones of the main 12 not mentioned anywhere in 800 BCE, and he was officially in Athens between 561 and 527 BCE (because of the tyrant Pisistrautus) along with the Dionysia.

And now my favorite part, Euripides and the Bacchae. The Bacchae was performed in 405 BCE for the Dionysia Festival, and shows us our Bacchus boy in the middle from being Mr. Scary to being uninhibited party man. He comes back from globe-trotting with some Maenads to take revenge on a king that outlawed his worship. This one is from Zeus/Semele, and the people of Thebes don’t believe his divine origins so he makes them see pretty colors and then they’re his followers. After lots of natural disasters and some plagues of madness, Bacchus starts warping the king’s mind and slowly let’s him see through the mortal disguise. The king sees he has horns, a holdover from him being scary that didn’t get Hellenized.

Anyway the king gets dismembered by the Maenads and they all lived happily ever after kind of. This midtransition Dionysus shows him with a mortal mother, no mentioned death/rebirth, a major temper, no regard for society, Maenads, madness powers, and horns. This shows us that by 400 BCE he was already an Olympian even if he wasn’t a party guy yet.

The century after Euripides, something happened to Greece known as Alexander the Great, who conquered a bunch of stuff and expanded the Ancient Greek world and making way for luxury for future kings in the Hellenistic world. Said kings focused on these two things only; power and parties. Post 300s BCE, Dionysus’ popularity exploded as the ruling class decided to embrace the drunk-party vibe along with the conqueror undertones from a few centuries ago. Some acted like they were Dionysus, but like, human.

So there we have it! The transformation is complete.

Tell me about greek gods please?

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Do you have a specific one you want hear about?

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#ibpsexam #preparation #handwritten #so #railway #IBPS  #Score

Q. Which of the following Vedas provides information about the civilisation of the Early Vedic Age? (1) Rig-veda (2) Yajur-veda (3) Atharva-veda (4) Sama-veda Ans. (1) Exp. The Vedic period (or Vedic age} was a period in history during which the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed. The time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rig Veda, the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700 and 1100 BCE, also referred to as the early Vedic period. It is an important source of information on the Vedic religion and their Gods as well as presents a detailed account of the life of the people at that time.