Over time, the descendants developed a more communal way of life and better tools which helped in the erection of the stones.īones, tools and other artefacts found on the site seem to support this hypothesis.Įvidence is mounting to support the theory that the Yamnaya were accomplished warriors that defeated all comers in their journey across Europe, but archaeologists warn it may not be that simple and to believe a model based on a single assumption could be a tempting, but misleading, trap. Modern scientists now widely believe that Stonehenge was created by several different tribes over time.Īfter the Neolithic Britons - likely natives of the British Isles - started the construction, it was continued centuries later by their descendants. Historians now think that the ring of stones was built in several different stages, with the first completed around 5,000 years ago by Neolithic Britons who used primitive tools, possibly made from deer antlers. To do this would have required a high degree of ingenuity, and experts believe the ancient engineers used a pulley system over a shifting conveyor-belt of logs. Some of the stones are believed to have originated from a quarry in Wales, some 140 miles (225km) away from the Wiltshire monument. The heavy rocks weigh upwards of several tonnes each. Stonehenge was built thousands of years before machinery was invented. The men of the tribe were likely away from the site at the time tending to the cattle when the raid was launched, leaving the women and children defenceless.Įulau is an example of a fightback from scorned locals, but experts caution that it was likely an anomaly. Of the 13 bodies at the site, five suffered injuries which were likely the cause f their death and experts claim this is evidence they were ambushed and massacred by rival tribes in a revenge attack.
Isotope analysis of the adults' teeth revealed they were in fact not local to the area and grew up elsewhere before moving to the region - likely women captured by the Yamnaya. Here, graves were found where large amounts of women and children were buried together. Such aggressive and murderous behaviour would have inevitably caused some consternation among Neolithic societies struggling to hold back the powerful Yamnaya.Įvidence of a fightback against the brutal folk comes from an archaeological site in Germany called Eulau. This, some say, indicates the Yamnaya invade, massacred all the males and impregnated the women in order to rapidly further their bloodlines. The men maintained their burial traditions while women were buried in the traditional ways of their local civilisation. 'They were healthier and probably physically quite strong.'Ī controversial study from 2017 also claimed the burial rituals of the men and women differed in societies after the Yamnaya had invaded and succeeded. 'It looks like they lived mostly on meat and milk products,' says Professor Kristiansen.
Some archaeologists also argue that the warrior tribe consisted of skilled horsemen. Yamnaya, untainted by the torrid events which occurred before their arrival, blossomed against the pitiful natives.Īncient DNA reveals these migrants were well nourished, tall and muscular.
Wooden beams covered the grave and a mound of Earth, known as a kurgan, was created atop the burial site. The Yamnaya buried their dead in easily identifiable ways, in 'pit graves' and not the common communal graves of the time. Not only were the people spreading, but so were their customs. They then interbred with the Corded Ware people in central Europe, with later generations inheriting a significant amount of Yamnaya DNA.Įnvironments in these two locations were vastly different at this time in history with the European steppe and its shrubland giving way to forests and vast areas of greenery.Įvidence of genetic remnants of these people so far away from their origin sparked confusion and outrage among many experts, who scrambled for an explanation to explain how the tribe moved so swiftly across the continent. Yamnaya people arrived in Eastern Europe approximately 5,000 years ago and their culture and customs spread rapidly to both the east and the west. Yamnaya people interbred with the Corded Ware people, who made the pictured pottery, in central Europe, with later generations inheriting a significant amount of Yamnaya DNA
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