Secrets Of The Serpent's Heart (The Arkana Archaeology Mystery Series Book 6) by N. S. Wikarski
Authors: N. S. Wikarski
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Needless to say, the discovery of the Tarim Basin mummies wasn’t widely publicized for fear of stirring up a furor in that region all over again. But the Uyghurs offer strong genetic proof that Caucasian tribes have existed along China’s northern and western borders for the past four millennia or more.”
Rou managed to squeak out a few audible words at last. “The Mongols.”
“What have they got to do with this?” The Pythia sat forward in her chair.
Jun replied. “As you know, the Great Wall was built to keep out barbarian raiders from the north. These raiders eventually coalesced into the Mongol Empire many centuries later. What most people don’t know is that the Mongols were genetically quite diverse. Chinese historians of the time referred to them as ‘the people with colorful eyes’.”
“That would mean they were Caucasian.” Griffin sounded baffled.
“At least in part,” Jun said. “In fact, Genghis Khan is described as having red hair and green eyes. His wife’s name was Bourtai which means ‘grey-eyed’. There are many people living in Mongolia today who have Asian features with light hair and eyes. It would appear that when the Caucasian tribes migrated eastward, they didn’t stop in central Asia. They gradually extended their reach to encompass the northern and western borders of China. A smaller number continued southeastward into China itself. Gansu Province, where we are right now, is called the Gansu Corridor because it is the easiest way to reach the Yellow River Valley from central Asia.”
“So this province acted like a funnel to draw traffic from the steppes,” the Pythia concluded. “But I still don’t understand why overlords would have traveled this far east. What was the attraction?”
Jun gave a humorless laugh. “They needed a new group of agriculturalists to exploit.”
Cassie and Griffin exchanged troubled glances before turning their attention back to the trove-keeper.
“Hold on,” the Pythia objected. “I was told the overlords left the steppes because the grasslands dried out and their herds needed greener pastures.”
“That is only part of the story,” Jun countered. “The grasslands dried out but the livestock problem wasn’t the main reason for their mass migration out of western Asia. As early as the fourth millennium BCE, the overlords had learned to prey upon the neighboring agricultural population.”
“I never thought of that,” Griffin interjected. “Of course it makes sense. Before desiccation began, fertile farmland would have existed along the fringes of the steppes. Agricultural communities probably flourished side by side with the nomads.”
“Sadly, the domestication of the horse gave an advantage to the nomads,” Jun said. “Rather than trading peacefully with the farmers as they had done in the past, they swept in and raided the agricultural communities. On horseback, the nomads struck too quickly to be pursued.”
“Nice people,” Cassie said sarcastically. “Except that it’s a bad long-term strategy. I mean, sooner or later the farmers must have gotten fed up with the chronic pillaging and moved away.”
“I believe the nomads developed other tactics to control the farmers,” Jun said. “Various tribes of horsemen would fight each other to claim control of a given agricultural area. The victors would offer to protect the farmers in their territory from other predators in exchange for a share of their crops and other goods.”
“That’s just great,” the Pythia remarked. “They invented the stone age version of a protection racket.”
“And gave birth to the exploiter model of overlord culture which has plagued us ever since,” Griffin concluded.
“This state of affairs existed for at least a thousand years before desiccation affected central Asia around 3500 BCE,” Jun said. “Some of the farming communities would have died out from famine after their crops failed year upon year. Others would have moved
Rou managed to squeak out a few audible words at last. “The Mongols.”
“What have they got to do with this?” The Pythia sat forward in her chair.
Jun replied. “As you know, the Great Wall was built to keep out barbarian raiders from the north. These raiders eventually coalesced into the Mongol Empire many centuries later. What most people don’t know is that the Mongols were genetically quite diverse. Chinese historians of the time referred to them as ‘the people with colorful eyes’.”
“That would mean they were Caucasian.” Griffin sounded baffled.
“At least in part,” Jun said. “In fact, Genghis Khan is described as having red hair and green eyes. His wife’s name was Bourtai which means ‘grey-eyed’. There are many people living in Mongolia today who have Asian features with light hair and eyes. It would appear that when the Caucasian tribes migrated eastward, they didn’t stop in central Asia. They gradually extended their reach to encompass the northern and western borders of China. A smaller number continued southeastward into China itself. Gansu Province, where we are right now, is called the Gansu Corridor because it is the easiest way to reach the Yellow River Valley from central Asia.”
“So this province acted like a funnel to draw traffic from the steppes,” the Pythia concluded. “But I still don’t understand why overlords would have traveled this far east. What was the attraction?”
Jun gave a humorless laugh. “They needed a new group of agriculturalists to exploit.”
Cassie and Griffin exchanged troubled glances before turning their attention back to the trove-keeper.
“Hold on,” the Pythia objected. “I was told the overlords left the steppes because the grasslands dried out and their herds needed greener pastures.”
“That is only part of the story,” Jun countered. “The grasslands dried out but the livestock problem wasn’t the main reason for their mass migration out of western Asia. As early as the fourth millennium BCE, the overlords had learned to prey upon the neighboring agricultural population.”
“I never thought of that,” Griffin interjected. “Of course it makes sense. Before desiccation began, fertile farmland would have existed along the fringes of the steppes. Agricultural communities probably flourished side by side with the nomads.”
“Sadly, the domestication of the horse gave an advantage to the nomads,” Jun said. “Rather than trading peacefully with the farmers as they had done in the past, they swept in and raided the agricultural communities. On horseback, the nomads struck too quickly to be pursued.”
“Nice people,” Cassie said sarcastically. “Except that it’s a bad long-term strategy. I mean, sooner or later the farmers must have gotten fed up with the chronic pillaging and moved away.”
“I believe the nomads developed other tactics to control the farmers,” Jun said. “Various tribes of horsemen would fight each other to claim control of a given agricultural area. The victors would offer to protect the farmers in their territory from other predators in exchange for a share of their crops and other goods.”
“That’s just great,” the Pythia remarked. “They invented the stone age version of a protection racket.”
“And gave birth to the exploiter model of overlord culture which has plagued us ever since,” Griffin concluded.
“This state of affairs existed for at least a thousand years before desiccation affected central Asia around 3500 BCE,” Jun said. “Some of the farming communities would have died out from famine after their crops failed year upon year. Others would have moved
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