The Rise and Fall of Archaeology with Stone Age Herbalist

 

 Stone Age Herbalist is a dissident archaeologist, twitter personality and substack blogger. In this Jive Talk he describes the ancient origins of archaeology as a discipline, how it rose to a more rigorous practice in the modern era and then degenerated into modern woke archaeology. We discuss gay cavemen, transgender vikings, the migrations and invasions of Anglo-Saxons, Beaker folk, Yamnaya and others and finally end with a chat about anthropology in general.

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JIVE TALK: Nordic Origins with Sturla Ellingvåg

Anglo-Saxon DNA proves the INVASION IS REAL!

'The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool' by Joscha Gretzinger and colleagues (2022) has answered some of the much debated and controversial questions concerning the Anglo-Saxon invasion of England which began in the 5th century AD. The study finds that as much as 75% of the ancestry of skeletons from England in the cemeteries from that time comes from Germanic migrants from Germany and Denmark. In this video I break down and summarise the findings.

 

Ship of the Sun or Ship of the Dead? Stone Ships

Stone ship settings or Skeppssättning are amongst the most remarkable Viking age monuments in Scandinavia, but what were they for? They were built over a period of 2000 years from the Nordic bronze age until the end of the Viking age, mainly in grave fields but they weren’t just associated with burials and cremations as they were also used for a kind of meeting called a ‘Thing’. This video explains how the stone ships may relate first to a Bronze age cult of the sun in Gotland, and later to a Viking belief that the dead would need a vehicle for a journey to and from the underworld. The stone ship settings included in this film are Tjelvars grave in Gotland, Anundshög in Västmanland, Åsa domaresäte in Södermanland, Ängakåsen and Ale’s stones in Scania and the Jelling stone ship in Denmark.

 

Art

Original works created for this video

Robert Molyneaux - CGI reconstruction of the Jelling stone ship in Denmark

Other art work used in the video

Christian Sloan Hall - Odin / First blood / Eastre dawn goddess

Roy Douglas - Vendel helmet cgi
Christopher Steininger - Ship to the otherworld animation
Stella Spente - Freyja in her chariot

Ryan Murray - Treudd ritual

Gemini Science - CGI ship burial

Graman - Sutton hoo burial
Eva Gjerde - Storhaug ship burial

Sources

• Bonde, N & Stylegar, F. A., ‘Between Sutton Hoo and Oseberg – dendrochronology and the origins of the ship burial tradition’, Danish Journal of Archaeology (2016), 5:1-2, 19-33
• Davidson, H.E., The Road to Hel: A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature, Cambridge University, (1943). 
• Elliott, R. N. ‘Håga in context – An analysis of the Håga complex in the Bronze Age landscape of the Mälar Valley region’ (Uppsala: 2020)  
• Jackson, E. “Not Simply Lists”: An Eddic Perspective on Short-Item Lists in Old English Poems. Speculum, 73(2), 338–371. (1998) 
• Shenk, Peter, To Valhalla by Horseback? Horse Burial in Scandinavia during the Viking Age, (Oslo: The Centre for Viking and Medieval Studies, University of Oslo, 2002). 
• Skoglund, P., ‘Stone ships: continuity and change in Scandinavian prehistory, World Archaeology, 40:3, 390-406, (2008) 
• Rowsell, T., “Riding to the Afterlife:The Role of Horses in Early Medieval North-Western Europe,” MA Thesis, University College of London, (2012). 
• Rowsell, T., "Religious Continuity in Northern European Boat Burial Practices of the Vendel Period" Research proposal, (2015)
• Vikinge skibs museet website 

MUSIC: 

The whole other - Ether oar 

Wolcensmen - Sunne (remix by Eternal Rik) 

Saichaika - Musica aeterna 

Halindir - Hedelandet II 

Bark sound productions - My 

Aaron Kenny - yonder hill and dale 

Patrick Patrikios - away 

Kevin MacLeod - Rites 

Stark von Oben - Praetorian Germanicus 

Stark von Oben - Winter Soulstice 

Ormgård - Séta 

Borg - Death of Winter 

Myling - Töcken 

Halindir - Hummocks in fog 

Rishi Shah - From Runes to Ruins 

Xurious - Steppe expansion

JIVE TALK: Indo-Anatolian? Reaction to Harvard's Southern Arc paper

Indo-European and Ancient North Eurasian cosmology - The World Tree and Hell

Watch above on Rumble or click to watch on Odysee or YouTube

Through comparative mythology we can reconstruct the earliest Indo-European beliefs about the cosmos and the afterlife as far as 6000 years back. but Indo-European religion has many features in common with Siberian and Native American religions. These three groups all share common ancestry from an ice-age population called Ancient North Eurasians, so we can even reconstruct cosmological beliefs of a Siberian people 20,000 years ago! This film helps you to understand the most ancient and fundamental pagan beliefs concerning death, the underworld and reincarnation.

 

ART

These four artists created original art for this video:

• Hell hounds / Wolf art / Gaulish warrior / Yamnaya couple / Hel and her army by Christian Sloan Hall 
• Sacrifice to the head in Hell / Yamnaya funeral by Graman  
• Wading through Hell by Jack Jones
• The World Tree in Hell by Pete Amachree (summer pudding)

The following artists also kindly contributed preexisting art for this video:

• Animations by Castor and Bollux animation
• Elf blot by Thomas Cormack
• Sky father by Andrew Whyte
• Celtic chariot by Alex Cristi
• Yamnaya facial reconstructions by Robert Molyneaux
• Primordial sacrifice by Johan Jernhed
• Hell tree / boat of souls / Hell hall by Waking of sky tree
• Haoma drinker (viraf's dream) by A Forest of Shadows Art & Illustration
• Hel by Leo Albiero (contact him at Leohjart@outlook.com)
• Bronze age map by Dan Kogosov

Additional Thanks

Readings contributed by voice actor D. W. Draffin of  'Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages' on YouTube

Research information relating to *Kolyéh₂  from John of Crecganford on YouTube

Music

In order of use in the score

Tom May - Atlantis falling

Gvasdnahr - Through the Astral void 

Wolcensmen - Sunne (remix by Eternal Rik)

Saichaika - Musica Aeterna

Kevin MacLeod - Rites

Borg - The Dancing Forest

Chris Zabriskie - The_Theatrical_Poster_for_Poltergeist_III

Legionarii - Aristocracy

Andrew weis - scottish medieval

Kevin MacLeod - Enchanted journey

Bark sound productions - Forn

Bark sound productions - Eld

Rishi Shah - song IV - From Runes to Ruins

Borg - May queen enters the circle

Doug Maxwell - Bansure raga

Kevin MacLeod - Dhaka

Doug Maxwell - Arabian nightfall

JR Tundra - Shesh Pesh

Lorcán Mac Mathúna - Caoineadh Fherdia

Stewart Keller - flickers while the door creaks

Myling - Töcken

Xurious - Steppe expansion

Realization of a New Earth - I Think I Can Help You
Ormgård - Sjálfsforn

Chris Zabriskie - Virtues inherited

Altyn Tuu - Altai tuva mix

Mauerbrecher - Hunnic horde

Eagle song of the Hopi Indians

Sources

• Ara, M. ‘Eschatology in the Indo-Iranian Traditions: The Genesis and Transformation’...
• Anthony, David W.; Brown, Dorcas R. (2019). "Late Bronze Age midwinter dog sacrifices and warrior initiations at Krasnosamarskoe, Russia". In Olsen, Birgit A.; Olander, Thomas; Kristiansen, Kristian (eds.). Tracing the Indo-Europeans: New evidence from archaeology and historical linguistics. Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1-78925-273-6. 
• Berresford-Ellis, P. ‘The Ancient World of the Celts’ Constable 1998  
• Dineley, M. 2014 ‘Beakers were for Beer! part one: ale, mead & residues’ 
• Dodge, Erick. (2020). Orpheus, Odin, and the Indo-European Underworld: A Response to Bruce Lincoln's Article “Waters of Memory, Waters of Forgetfulness"”. 10.13140/RG.2.2.15131.90402.  
• Grim, J. ‘The Shaman: Patterns of Siberian and Ojibway Healing’ 1983  
• Günntert, H. Kalypso. Bedeutungsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen auf dem Gebiet der indogermanischen Sprachen, 1919
• Lincoln, Bruce. (1982). Waters of Memory, Waters of Forgetfulness. Fabula. 23. 19-34. 10.1515/fabl.1982.23.1.19. 
• Lincoln, Bruce. Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology & Practice. 2nd ed. edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. 
• Meyer, K ‘Der irische Totengott und die Toteninsel’ 
• Nihil obstat blog ‘The Silencing of St. Oran’ 2009  
• Okladnikov, A.P. ‘Yakutia Before Its Incorporation Into the Russian State.’ 1970 
• Pitulko, V., Pavlova, E., Nikolskiy, P., & Ivanova, V. (2012). The oldest art of the Eurasian Arctic: Personal ornaments and symbolic objects from Yana RHS, Arctic Siberia. Antiquity, 86(333), 642-659. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00047827 
• Saga Book XVI, Viking Society for Northern Research, UCL 1962-65  
• Schlerath, B. 1954. Der Hund bei den Indogermanen. Paideuma, Bd. 6, H. 1. pp. 25-40. Frobenius Institute Stable 
• Scholz, Herbert. The Hound in Greek-Roman magic and religion. Berlin. 1937 (p. 51)

PAGAN FUTURES - Talks, photos and Key points

The playlist below contains the talks of Dr. Borja Vilallonga and myself, Tom Rowsell, as well as the live musical performances by Wolcensmen and the Q and A panel session with the three of us interacting with the audience.

Several people have requested that I post the summary of the core assertions of pagan belief from the talk as text for people to refer to. To reiterate them simply; 

• We revere nature as a path to the divine and therefore require access to sacred natural spaces 
• We revere death as a path to the divine and therefore reject any ideology that seeks to escape death
• We revere our bodies as a gift from the gods - which were created according to divine will and are therefore neither incomplete nor imperfect - but must be maintained and kept healthy and strong 
• We believe that the diversity of mankind is a manifestation of divine will, not a problem to be overcome - and that to approach the divine we must follow the example of our own ancestors, revering the sacred spaces of our own ancestral homelands in order to become closer to the gods of our ancestors
• We must therefore live in accordance with our own ancestral laws and customs

My talk "Pagan Tradition in a Globalized Future" is also available on Odysee and several podcasting websites.