Leading British prehistorian Francis Pryor writing in 2011.

Well known for his excavation of the Bronze Age Flag Fen site, he has written many books and appeared on many TV shows, especially in the 90s and 2000s.

I have enjoyed many of his books, for example his 2003 book "Britain BC" where he argues against the concept of prehistoric "invasions" generally, and specifically by the Iron Age Celts and by Neolithic farmers. He says the old demographic "wave of advance" model has been disproven. He ignores the Bell Beaker migration to such an extent that as far as I can see he only mentions beaker pots once, in passing. The British Neolithic passes into the Bronze Age seamlessly.

We now know, thanks to aDNA, that Britain saw an almost complete turnover in population at the Mesolithic / Neolithic boundary and at the Neolithic / Bronze Age boundary too.

It's almost impossible to overstate the extent to which the "genetic revolution" - from say 2015 onwards - has transformed mainstream archeology.

Burial of a Yamnaya child (6-7 years) with four sheep knuckle bones as a grave good. This is yet another example of how some children were also given careful burials in the Yamnaya culture. I wonder if these were used as a toy or for religious reasons (or both). His burial chamber inside the kurgan may have been supported by wooden posts. There is evidence based on how his head was position that a pillow may have been used to support his head showing that maybe Yamnaya used them for sleeping. The burial name is Peschany-4, kurgan 13 and the source of the information and image is from the supplementary file of the recent paper "The genetic origin of the Indo-Europeans". Lazaridis, I., Patterson, N., Anthony, D. et al. The genetic origin of the Indo-Europeans. Nature 639, 132–142 (2025).

Happy St George's Day.

Be sure to slay them dragons (you know what yours are).

https://x.com/DanDavisWrites/status/1914978079652356388

It's hard to remember every little detail.

New one dropping today.

Set your alarm clock! You're gonna have to set aside 20 mins to watch the story about these strange little chaps.

What on earth are they?!

[Channel Members and Patreon supporters, your ad-free edition will be live in a min.]

NEW VIDEO NOW LIVE!

These strange carved stone objects were buried in a child's grave, thousands of years ago.

But no one knows what they are.

Find out the possible answers to this ancient mystery now.

I hope you enjoy my new video, shares appreciated! Cheers.

This video is like a high budget TV history / travelogue documentary, with a fabulous script and narration, and extraordinary footage, it's amazing that people can fund and produce something like this independently and put it on YouTube. This could go on any TV channel as is.

Anyway, check it out.

NEW FILM on YouTube
🇮🇸🐦‍⬛️⚔️
'Sagas of the Raven Land' is a history documentary in which historian Tom Rowsell journeys to Iceland, immersing himself in the landscapes that inspired the Icelandic sagas of the Viking Age. He rides native horses across the fells, bathes in hot springs, and traces the footsteps of legendary saga heroes like Eirik the Red and Egill Skallagrimsson.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT NOW

I'm leaving instructions to be buried like this.

Real hunter-gatherers mogg modern influencers, brah!

Present-day hunter-gatherer societies live a lifestyle more closely related to Mesolithic lifestyles over 12,000 years ago. Hunter-gatherer diets also consist of a variety of meat, plant, and fruit items. In the context of Mesolithic Europe, the Stone Age ancestors of modern Europeans known as Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG) ate a variety of food items.

In this documentary which was contributed to by myself and The Beaker Lady, Dan Davis explores the dietary changes across time in prehistoric Europe. Regarding the Mesolithic diet of European hunter-gatherers, he notes:

-The dietary variety included various shellfish and fish species. Mesolithic people gathered, cooked, and ate species like oysters, periwinkles, mussels, limpets, whelks, cockles, and scallops. The consumption of shellfish and other seafood provided excellent sources of protein as well as other vital nutrients like various fats and micronutrients like iron, zinc, magnesium, B vitamins, and vitamins E and C.

-Mesolithic Western Hunter-Gatherers also consumed terrestrial animals. Evidence suggests they ate boar, elk, red deer, oryx, and small game, as well as reindeer in Northern Swedish regions. The diet was not solely reliant on animal sources; they also gathered plant foods. Sites like Star Car in England revealed that they lived in environments rich with plants like bull rushes, fruit species like blackberries, pears, apples, raspberries, and crowberries.

-Hazelnuts were a significant part of their diet, evidenced by intensive gathering and processing practices. Sites such as the Howick Home in northern England show clear evidence for intensive seasonal gathering and preparation at special hazelnut processing sites. Hazelnuts were roasted to enhance flavour and shelf life, indicating their importance as a food resource.

Watch The Delicious Diets of Prehistoric Europe (Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age).

ALERT: My new video is now live for Patreon supporters and YouTube Channel Members.

If you want early access to ad-free, sponsor-free versions of all my new videos by supporting my work with a membership.

Amongst other things, your support helps me access expensive high quality video footage of these incredible ancient sites. Like all the shots of the Iron Gates Gorge in this latest video.

Thank you very much indeed.

GET HYPE

Couple of hours to go, so get ready.

Ritually prepare yourself now with a ritual cleanse, and a ritual meal, and a ritual cup of coffee.

NEW VIDEO NOW LIVE!

8,000 years ago, in the Danube’s Iron Gates Gorge, lived a remarkable society of fisher-foragers who sculpted strange statues of human-fish hybrids.

But were they Mesolithic hunter-gatherers or Neolithic farmers... or something unique?

This is the amazing story of the enigmatic fish people of Lepenski Vir.

Enjoy the video. Shares welcome! 🙏

Okay, thanks 👍

Some good advice in there.

Don't forget to check out my wonderful YouTube shorts, like this one.

These are for people who have the attention span of a goldfish so if you're on Telegram that's probably you.

Enjoy!

Cheers 🙏