Warfare, Advancement, and Revisionism

This week we talk about two neolithic cultures that existed in the western portion of the Yangtze River system, the Pengtoushan and Daxi cultures. The Pengtoushan culture ends a few hundred years after the start of this season, but we discuss their last (or next to last) site of Bashidang. As well as their burial practices, architecture, pottery, and tools. We also talk about their use of domesticated crops. As for the Daxi we discuss their occupation of the Three Gorges region, their own unique pottery, their use of walls and ditches. How they were more reliant on domesticated food sources, their DNA results, and their trade links with groups to the east along the Yangtze Delta.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/RsbbM34B0dI

This week we go over several broad topics that are related to neolithic China. This includes the etymology of the two main rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow, along which various neolithic cultures emerge. The potential langue spoken and spread by one or more of these cultures, and the broad genetic background of the people who will found the neolithic cultures of China. This is all the sets the stage for next week were we travel up and down the river to talk about cultures like the Yangshao, Cishan, Houli, and many more.I also went over an brand new article that ties in a little to last week's episode about a Denisovan jawbone found in the Penghu archipelago. Here is the link for those interested in the subject: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads3888Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/AbQOZQDsn4g

This week's episode sees us discuss the island of Taiwan, and the people living on it. We go over the theory of how over the next few seasons they will spread off the island and spread the Austronesian language and their influence over a number of other regions and people. We also talk about the etymology of the island as well as different names given to it at different times and different people. I also give a rough road map of how I plan to cover the various neolithic cultures that are emerging this season along the Yangtze and Huang He Rivers.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/BPVP7WCPzDY

This week's episode talks about genetics and linguistics in Southern China and the border regions of northern South East Asia, We al briefly discuss the climate and geography of the Guilin and Guangxi provinces , and we talk about the final abandonment of the Zengpiyan site as well the spread of rice agriculture south from the Yangtze River. Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/VZlGse7K4hs

This week we conclude our study of South East Asia between 6000-4000 BC(E). In it we discuss the sites and material cultures of Quỳnh Văn and Đa Bút. We also go over the spread of agriculture into other parts of the region toward the end of the season as well as a talk about the current understanding of the genetic relationship between the Andamanese and the Hoabinhian. Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/P_kL8taSL6Q

Take 2! After an Audacity crash caused me to lose my first recording I was able to rerecord, and while I think this is much rougher we were still able to go over some highlights of this period of Neolithic South East Asia in general like the spread of agriculture and the domestication of pig and chickens.. I also focused on some specific sites in what is now Thailand.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/0hn_eJ-8wxQ

This week I go over some agricultural developments. One about millet domestication I forgot to cover in an earlier episode. The other is about rice domestication and the possibility of local strains being domesticated prior to the introduction of other strains from the East. We also discuss potential animal domestication events. Finally we discuss potential relations and interactions to neighboring peoples and regions in East Asia.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/k9kwpV0_T_I

This week's episode deals with some etymology of the two eponymous rivers. The climate of the regions their systems run through and how that has affected archeology of this region during this period. We also give a very brief overview of the populations living in what is now Nepal and Bhutan. Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/5Z3fFC3ihMo

This week I talk about some of the most mysterious and probably oldest isolated languages in the Indian subcontinent in the regions we've gone over so far this season. If they existed during this season's time frame and if so where. We also talk about the Vedda people of Sri LankaTwitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPod YouTube: https://youtu.be/z36xqaQO76Y

This week we start talking about Southern India and Sri Lanka for this season. We discuss how the sea level is affecting the connection between the two regions as well as possible agricultural and pastoral developments in the region. We also talk about potential language and ritual developments.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/O4nSKhGTkus

This week we talk about the similarities between the sties we discussed last week and the numerous villages and sites emerging along the Indus River Valley. We also talk about some of those sites and how they were beginning to develop their own material identity.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/gJNzQb7jfx4

This week we finish Mehrgarh up for this season by discussing the first half of Phase III and enter the chalcolithic phase for the site. We also discuss two material cultures that emerged from the neolithic expansion happening in Balochistan, Kili Gul Mohammad and Togau.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/E8Tqk_KIX1E

This week I am following up to some questions about the Eurasian Steppe. Before we moved on to talk about the end of the first phase of Mehrgarh, a site we first discussed last season. We move into the second stage and appearance of pottery as well as the wide range of new production techniques developed during the period. We also go over changes to burials during this period. Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/M6ENFO_zyZY

This week we talk about the continued spread of the Neolithic life styles along the various river valleys around portions of Central Asia.We also discuss the more traditional Kelteminar culture of the Caspian and Aral Sea. As well as some theories surrounding their spread.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/HH9Zm2eKg1M

This week we talk about the Central Persian or Iranian Plateau and the possibility of a missing or undiscovered material culture in the region possibly centered in or around the Zayandeh River. We also focus on the site of Tepe SialkTwitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/AYjdTtXf2_0

Happy New Year! We start off 2025 by talking about the Dalma culture and its spread from the banks of Lake Urmia. We discuss their pottery, mixed life ways, their settlements, and their trade. We also cover the end of the final part of the Jeitun culture. The spread of their sites and speculate on their influence and trade with their neighbors. Finally we cover the abandonment of Jeitun itself, and the establishment of several site around the same time including Anau, which will grow into another cultural nexus in Central Asia.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/5InccYjYmms

This week we talk about the Susian culture and its start at the start at the site of Chogha Mish. The devastation it faced in the early 5th millennium and it's continuation after this near disaster. We also talk about the expansion of copper artefacts and tools the is happening all along the Iranian Plateau but particularly in Susa itself. Also Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/6DQoIYhXW7s

This week we talk about the shift in the life style of the peoples living along the Caspian Sea and in the Zagros Mountains. How they differed from each other and their Southern Caucasus cousins. We also talk about their closest neighbors and their trade relations.Twitter: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/eY-Rh57wp3c

This week we're back to more historical and archeological information. We're going over the arrival of agriculture and people who made the foundations of the Shulaveri-Shomu culture. That culture's characteristics advancements and its eventual decline. YouTube: https://youtu.be/pQ5Phf11zZwTwitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPod

I am back after a couple of weeks off! Today I'm easing myself back into the swing of things by going over some etymology of the mountains and rivers in the areas we will be talking about the next couple of episode and some small facts about each of them. Join me as we talk about the Caucasus and Zagros mountains as well as some smaller neighboring ranges. We also talk about the salt lake Urmia and a couple of rivers including the Kura.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/-I3fgQoZQsM

In our final episode on Sumerian mythology this season we cover the tablets containing the Eridu Genesis and the Debate between Summer and Winter. The Genesis covers the creation of cities, kingship, the gods plan to wipe out humanity, and their survival thanks to the sage king Ziusudra thanks to the intervention of Enki. We also cover the birth of the defied Summer and Winter, Emesh and Enten and the roll these two forces played in the cycle of life in Sumer. Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/AKAUuzXFyyY

This week we go over some points from last week that I wanted to make and then we move onto the Sumerian King List. What it says about history up to the flood and just after and how much it can be trusted.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/vV3a16TJ7tg

This week we go over the state and origin of most of our Sumerian religious and mythological sources. We then go over the most important gods of the Sumerian pantheon, their roles, domains, their relations to each other, and their primary cities and temples. Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/BpF9EP33An0

This week I go into more detail on some Ubiad points I went over last week. Including statuary, linguistics, and warfare. I also talk about some more potential advancements they potentially made when it came to wool and fishing.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/xKIHp2wOI5I

This week we talk about the Ubaid culture of southern Mesopotamia. Beginning with their discovery and then going over their evolution from simple settlements of reed huts to early cities of up to 5000 people and spread out of the south to cover areas that belonged to the cultures that we discussed the last few weeks.Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/plOvDcc9gEY

This week we talk about two material cultures that emerge in the Tigris River Valley, the Hassuna and Samarra. We go over what made them unique and what they have in common and the areas they overlapped with each other and the Halaf. Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/tKrS1xrUElE

This week we give an overview of the Halaf culture that established itself in the upper Tigris River Valley and spread to occupy land to it's West, North, and Southeast. Not to mention spreading it's material culture well outside of these bounds. We go over what we believe made the Halaf the Halaf, their pottery, statuary, agriculture, and architecture. Their innovations in burial and religious practices are also covered. Twitter: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/D8VDAzUShCw

This week sees us finish our overview of the northern Levantine coast by talking about the foundations of Ugarit and Adana, the mystery of who founded them, and the differences between them. We also talk about a couple of smaller sites in the border regions between the two. Twitter: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/mommI-xQlOg

This week's episode is focused on the geography and some etymology of the regions we talked about in our central Levant episode and the places we will be discussing for the next week or two. I had some questions come in about several of the places and I though this might be a good time to slow down a bit and talk about it. Next week's episode we see us shift back to discussing in more depth the people and sites occupying the places I talk about this week.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/fz72G8MFU9s

This week we talk about the end of the Aceramic period on Cyprus and the apparent disappearance of the people and culture of that period, the Khirokitia. Then we turn to the arrival of the Sotira people and the arrival of the pottery before they to contract and set the stage for the arrival of the Cacholithic age and people.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPod YouTube: https://youtu.be/1asscgZxvPw

This week we talk about the central Levant and why they were able to more quickly urbanize and the early sites of Byblos and Beirut. We also discuss Damascus, the Beqaa Valley, and Qarqar. As well as who the people inhabiting the sites may have been. Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/KfmKH9iptBM

This week we cover the "end" of the Yarmukian Culter, and the emergence of neighboring cultures to it's south and in some of it's old sites. This includes the Lodian, Nizzanim, and Wadi Rabah. We also talk about the arrival of the chalcolithic age in the levant with the Wadi Rabah and Ghassulian. We also talk about some etymology briefly.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/YKk2FWDSys4

This week we move into the Levant to recap and talk about changes happening at Jericho (Tell Es Sultan) this season. We also talk about the spread of pottery and the invention of the earliest (or second earliest) pottery wheel. We also talk about the Western Semitic Languages and the contacts between the region, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/I0eDDwwt-eA

This week I had planned to start covering the eastern Mediterranean coast and the Levant, but I remembered I had one important aspect left to discuss about life in Arabia for this season. The structures known as Mustatils. We talk about their numbers, construction, and what they may have been used for. I also had some viewer feedback to go over. X/Twitter: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/unL0TQxLIFw

This week we move into Asia. The first stop for the continent this season is the Arabian Peninsula. We cover the expansion of the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family into this region as well as the etymology associated with that naming convention. We talk about links between Eastern Arabia and southern Mesopotamia and what products drew said connections. We also go over the wild fauna and climate people are dealing with at this time. I also speculate about the birth of falconry. Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/WZ6dGziTQEI

This week we finish up our coverage of Africa. We go over a couple of points about Set I forgot to mention. I go into some etymology of places and peoples. I talk about the importance of oases as the Sahara desert expanded. I also go over the proto-Amazigh people and the cultures they're associated with that existed during this season's time line 6000-4000 BC(E). Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/Q3Ohfb_vE3o

This week we're back and continuing to talk about Egyptian Mythology. A little earlier than theses versions of the myths may have existed during this season's time frame as there are some elements of society that we don't have a record of existing just yet, but the ideas of a cosmic order affecting the lives of humans and leadership struggles between family can't have been unheard of by this point. YouTube:https://youtu.be/l7jWFEIdTxATwitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPod

This week we dive into ancient Egyptian creation myths... or some of them. The gods that were mentioned in these and the concept of natural order Ma'at.Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/CruwFshiDIk

This week we talk about the eastern desert and the goods that are starting to be sourced from the area. We also talk about the culture doing the sourcing as well as a couple of other cultures emerging between 6000-4000 BC(E) Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/K8pi3MRq0rY

This week we jump ahead to talk about terminology used by the Egyptians about the regions and peoples to their south. We also talk about the site that will become the city of Kerma and the beginning of the Kingdom of Kush. We also check back in with the site of Nabta Playa and it's potential ties to Egyptian, Kushite, and other Nubian cultures. Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/d-CCmZqYW5o

This week we talk about the Cushitic branch of Afroasiatic languages and the peoples of the Horn of Africa as well as their proto states and interactions with Egypt and Arabia. Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/nDuDvnf5F2o

This week we discuss the Eburran culture and it's interaction with a pastoralist groups coming into African Great Lakes Region from the Nile and Horn of Africa. We also discuss said pastoralists and who their modern descendants may be. We also start covering peoples living in the Horn itself. Specifically the Omotic speaker's ancestors. YouTube: https://youtu.be/TUnwirIORrYTwitter: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPod

This week we talk about the importance of Lake Chad. The origin of that name. The arrival of pastoralism and the importance of fishing in the region. We discuss the establishment of small scale trade that will eventually grow much larger. We also discuss the interaction between the various ethnolinguistic groups living in and around the region. Twitter/X: https://x.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/1H5lj38mVTc

This week we move to the peoples living around Lake Chad, the eastern Sahel, the southern Nile, and its tributaries between 6000-4000 BC(E) and the expansion of pastoralism and agriculture. We also go over the idea of a macro Nilo-Saharan language and some of the pushback and criticism that got. We talk about the etymology of the Nile and Chari rivers. Next week we will focus on specific sites sites seeing evidence of agriculture and pastoralism in the region. Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/3Em4y6ja7Ew

This week we finish this season's coverage of West Africa. I talk about the delay in the adoption of agriculture in the region, and the future expansion of textiles, cloth, and leather production and styles. We also talk about some of the smaller branches (potentially) of the Niger-Congo Language Family including the Dogon and their religion. X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/-7P-kInG2us

This episode was a little shorter than I would have liked thanks to some technical issues, but that didn't stop me from talking about the West African Hunter Gatherers that inhabited places like Shum Laka. We also started to touch on the Niger-Congo language family and how branches of it are starting to spread. Particularly Mande (Though it may be a separate language family) and it's probable connection to the Round Head Period of the Savannah and how the desertification was affecting its spread. Twitter: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/RW3Pm7leFdw

This week we talk about the ancestors of Central Africa's Pygmy peoples. We discuss why they may have evolved their shorter stature and their potential social organizations and what we know of their languages. We also discuss the all encompassing importance of the forest to them and what role music played in this importance. Twitter: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube: https://youtu.be/JH499Nil6XQ

I return this week after a very frustrating experience last week to talk about the ancestors of the modern Khoi and San peoples and some of the reasons that these peoples haven't had to change as quickly as those living in other regions. I also dive into some discussion about hunter gatherer warfare or conflict and what the differences between that and settle warfare were.Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPod

In our last Urbanization special for season 4 we talk about the first major urban sites in Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent, and what we know and don't know about them at this early date. We also talk about why these areas were ahead of their neighbors in seeing cities form. Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodYouTube:https://youtu.be/0etj839Fa3E

This week we take a look at some older views of cities and their origins from Plato and Aristotle and compare them with the criteria we discussed last week. I also talk about some feedback about cities in the US and my home state. X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WarAdRevPodTwitter: https://youtu.be/XsmZniUlZyA