Welcome to 23 minutes archaeology with Noah! For episode 1 I will give a general introduction concerning the limitations of archaeological research, especially in the reconstruction of burial rites. I chose an example to illustrate how we work and try to find clues on prehistoric funerary practices. We will look at over 50-thousand-year-old, intentional burials of Neanderthal-individuals, found in Shanidar Cave and talk with Dr. Emma Pomeroy from the University of Cambridge, who published the amazing new results from the recent excavations of this northern Iraqi site.

Reverences:

• Pomeroy et al. (2020), New Neanderthal remains associated with the ‘flower burial’ at Shanidar Cave
• Pomeroy et al. (2019), Issues of theory and method in the analysis of Paleolithic mortuary behavior: A view from Shanidar Cave
• Sommer (1999), The Shanidar IV ‘Flower Burial’: A Re-evaluation of Neanderthal Burial Ritual
• Leroi-Gourhan (1998), Shanidar et ses Fleurs
• Solecki (1975), Shanidar IV, a Neanderthal Flower Burial in Northern Iraq

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For Episode 2 we come to a topic, which fascinates me since many years: The mysterious Scythians who lived in the Eurasian steppe, some 2500 years ago. I’ll begin with a quick overview of these people from the antiquity and thanks to the preserved writings of the Greek author Herodotus, we have the unique opportunity to learn about them almost from first hand. I then compare Herodotus statements about the burial habits of the Scythians with actual archaeological evidence from excavated grave monuments in order to test the validity of the antique author. After this overview and comparison, I will talk with Dr. Gino Caspari about his experience’s excavating grave sites in the Eurasian steppe and the Scythians in general.

Reverences:

• Simpson/Pankova Eds. (2017), Scythians. Warriors of ancient Siberia
• Parzinger (2004), Die Skythen
• Rolle et al. (1991), Gold der Steppe
• Rolle (1980), Die Welt der Skythen
• Rolle (1972), Neue Ausgrabungen skythischer und sakischer Grabanlagen in der Ukraine und in Kazachstan
• Herodotus HIV

Links: https://linktr.ee/23_minutes_archaeology

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This episode is one of the major reasons why I decided to start recording a podcast in the first place. We will remain with prehistoric nomadic steppe tribes, which are attributed to the umbrella term of Scythians, but shift our focus, from present day Ukraine, some 5000 km to the east, to one of the most remote regions on earth, the Siberian region of the Altai mountains. There, over two-thousand-year-old mummies have been discovered, perfectly preserved in ice. These frozen individuals were covered in amazingly detailed tattoos and allowed for remarkable research. So, I hope I’ll be able to give you an account of why I’m so fascinated by these mummies, and then, we’ll continue our conversation with Dr. Gino Caspari and talk about his experiences, excavating grave mounds in remote regions in Siberia.

Reverences:

· Simpson/Pankova Eds. (2017), Scythians. Warriors of ancient Siberia

· Liesowska (2014), Iconic 2,500 year old Siberian princess ‘died from breast cancer’, reveals MRI scan

· Siberian Times (2012), Siberian Princess reveals her 2,500 year old tattoos

· Badenkov (2006), The Frozen tombs of the Altai mountains

· Polosmak (1996), Menschen aus dem Eis Sibiriens

· Rudenko (1970), Frozen Tombs of Siberia

Links: 23minarch.com

Support: patreon.com/23minarch