Portasar Armenian Portasar («Mountain Navel»), in Turkish known as Göbekli Tepe («Potbelly Hill») is an archaeological site in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey approximately 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city of Şanlıurfa. It is approximately 760 m (2,490 ft) above sea level. All statements about the site must be considered preliminary, as […]
Haplogroup CF, also known as CF-P143 and CT(xDE), is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. This paternal lineage is defined by the SNP P143. The clade’s existence and distribution are inferred from the fact that haplogroups descended from CF include most human male lineages in Eurasia, Oceania and The Americas. Haplogroup CF is an immediate descendant […]
Near East: Neolithic In the Middle East, cultures identified as Neolithic began appearing in the 10th millennium BC. Early development occurred in the Levant (e.g., Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B) and from there spread eastwards and westwards. The Natufian period or “proto-Neolithic” lasted from 12,500 to 9,500 BC, and is taken to overlap […]
The constellation of Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and is therefore visible throughout the world. Its brightest stars are the supergiants: The red Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) and the blue-white Rigel (Beta Orionis). It was named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. Orion is used as a symbol in the […]
In Norse mythology, Heimdallr is a god who possesses the resounding horn Gjallarhorn, owns the golden-maned horse Gulltoppr, is called the shining god and the whitest of the gods, has gold teeth, and is the son of Nine Mothers (who may represent personified waves). Heimdallr is attested as possessing foreknowledge, keen eyesight and hearing, and […]
Gemini Gemini (Latin for “twins”) lies between Taurus to the west and Cancer to the east, with Auriga and Lynx to the north and Monoceros and Canis Minor to the south. The easiest way to locate the constellation is to find its two brightest stars Castor and Pollux eastward from the familiar “V” shaped asterism […]
Babylonian astronomy collated earlier observations and divinations into sets of Babylonian star catalogues, during and after the Kassite rule over Babylonia. These star catalogues, written in cuneiform script, contained lists of constellations, individual stars, and planets. The constellations were probably collected from various other sources. A connection to the star symbology of Kassite kudurru border […]
Samekh Samekh or simketh is the fifteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician samek, representing /s/. Samekh in gematria has the value 60. The Arabic alphabet, however, uses a letter based on Phoenician shin to represent /s/; however, that glyph takes samekh’s place in the traditional Abjadi order of the Arabic alphabet. The Phoenician letter […]
Dingir (𒀭, usually transliterated DIĜIR) is a Sumerian word for “god.” Its cuneiform sign is most commonly employed as the determinative for religious names and related concepts, in which case it is not pronounced and is conventionally transliterated as a superscript “D” as in e.g. DInanna. The cuneiform sign by itself was originally an ideogram […]
Jericho Jericho (Arabic: Arīḥā; Hebrew: Yeriḥo) is a city in the Palestinian Territories and is located near the Jordan River in the West Bank. It is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world and the city with the oldest known protective wall in the world. Jericho is the type site […]
The Divine Twins in Indo-European Religion Lamassu / Ishum & Papsukkal Isimud (also Isinu; Usmû; Usumu (Akkadian)) is a minor god, the messenger of the god Enki, in Sumerian mythology. He appears in the myth of Enki and Ninhursag, in which he acts as Enki’s messenger and emissary. In ancient Sumerian artwork, Isimud is easily […]
A solar deity (also sun god or sun goddess) is a sky deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. Shivini which is Utu in Sumeria, Shiva in Hinduism, Mithra […]
The Ancient Greek word Hellas (Ἑλλάς, Ellás) is the original word for Greece, from which the word Hellenistic was derived. The Ancient Greek word Ἑλληνιστής (Hellēnistḗs) means “one who uses the Greek language”). The name Hellas comes from Ἕλληνες (Héllēnes, “Greeks”), most probably a derivation of Ἑλλοί (Helloí) or Σελλοί (Selloí), the Greek inhabitants of […]
Armenian Haplogroups – R1b, J2, G2 1) R1b Previously known to include a majority of R1b haplogroups is Italic/Celtic, Germanic/ Hittite, Armenian and Tocharian. According to a study published in August 2010 (Myres et al.) “the phylogenetic relationships of numerous branches within the core Y-chromosome haplogroup R-M207 support West Asian origin of haplogroup R1b, its initial differentiation there followed […]
R1b, R1a, and IE with a special focus on China! Neolithic China, the Yangshao The Shang dynasty is the earliest dynasty of traditional Chinese history supported by archaeological evidence. The Shang left written records and extensive material remains, especially bronze works. Bronze metallurgy, horses, chariots, and other wheeled vehicles came to China with Indo-European migrants. […]