Warrior women of the Eurasian steppes: new evidence suggests that tales of Amazon warriors may be more than mere legend

Article Abstract:

Greek legends of Amazon warrior women may have a factual basis in people called Sauromatians and Sarmatians, who lived in the steppes of southern Russia. Sauromatian women have been found with weapons in burial mounds near Pokrovka, Russia, on the border of Kazakhstan. The Sauromatians were reportedly a matriarchal tribe that resulted from the pairing of Amazons with Scythians. The Sauromatians lived near Pokrovka in about 600 BC and were displaced by the Sarmatians around 400 BC. Parallels between Arthurian legend and Ossetian folklore may be due to Sarmatian cavalrymen who served in Britain under the Romans.

author: Davis-Kimball, Jeannine, Littleton, C. Scott
History, Russia, Antiquities, Women in war, Arthurian romances, Arthurian legend, Sarmatians

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Chinese pig tales: a popular tradition mirrors a people's ambivalent feelings about swine

Article Abstract:

Chinese ambivalence toward the pig is reflected in many folk traditions. The pig may have been the first animal domesticated by the Chinese. Earlier the wild boar was noted for its ferocity, and many parts of the boar were reputed to have therapeutic effects. The pig came to symbolize wealth and fertility, played a role in burial practices, and was regarded as a protector of children and those born under its zodiacal sign. In the tale 'Xiyou ji' ('Journey to the West') the Pig character is depicted as gluttonous, cowardly, and simple.

author: Tsang, Ka Bo
China, Swine, Myths and legends

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Mummy matters: a popular study of an age-old obsession

Article Abstract:

A discussion on the book, The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession and the Everlasting Dead, written by Heather Pringle are presented. The relation between the science and desecration of the dead are discussed.

Criticism and interpretation, Works, Mummies, The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession and the Everlasting Dead (Book), Pringle, Heather

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