If you enjoy my videos please consider supporting the channel: Patreon ➜ www.patreon.com/dandavisauthor My books ➜ amzn.to/3xngwz5 What would you like to know more about? Bronze Age trade routes? The evolution of armour? The Nordic Bronze Age? Let me know!
Perhaps a discussion of the role of armor during the neolithic, cooper and early bronze age. About the only descriptions are from Homer regarding its importance in effectiveness, social standing and identification of the individual warrior during the late bronze age. I would assume this relationship between the warrior and his armor began with the rise of the first warriors in the neolithic. I would guess the development of weapons would be greatly influenced by the armor at any particular time, such as the decline of archery due to its lack of effectiveness due to armor, or perhaps the development of the cooper halberd to circumvent the armor in common use at the time.
The soft cooper halbred although at first look appears to have little use I can see where it would be quite useful in reaching behind a leather armored opponent and slicing the tendons behind the knee or the ankle.
I really respect the fact that you make it clear that you're an author of fiction, and not a domain expert. And you base your work on the work of domain experts.
{ Domain experts do the same. This man should apply to an institution/university for a degree on the basis of his existing work. Another of my favourite topics; the evolution of war - how and why.?
One of the theories about Otzi The Iceman is that he was a bandit who had snuck into the mountains to ambush people. That would explain his extremely valuable copper and his very well made Flint knife that he had more clumsily fixed after it lost some of its edge. The highwayman theory would also explain why his Killers didn't rob him, because they weren't robbers and he was the aggressor... "But hey, that's just a theory, a chalcolithic theory!"
Even materially poor societies can have very strong taboos against using dead folks' stuff. Eskimos didn't have resource rich environments, for example, but they had a very strong prohibition against taking up and using dead people's weapons, etc. Ever heard of Paleosociology? Nobody has beard of it because for human behavior before written records we can, at best, just speculate what was going on. No evidence, no facts, just a few clues. Sure. Some of the guesses are good. Others are off the wall.
@@jackhenry290 Don't believe what? That Eskimos had a taboo against using dead people's stuff? Or that speculating about ancient behavior is just guessing? You can easily Google the former and the latter is common sense. I don't really give AF what you "believe". It's what you know that counts.
@@76rjackson idk what you’re even replying to. But “Eskimo” really? Wtf does that have to do with anything, let alone a culture that pre-dates those losers by at least 4500 years. I highly doubt people living in basically an apocalyptic scenario, would pass on shiny useful loot from an ass hole who tried to rob them.
Spears not being prevalent in the Neolithic is very interesting and also counterintuitive to me given the first hafted weapons in history were flint tipped spears hundreds of thousands of years ago. I have a huge gap in my knowledge between the end of the Ice Age and the start of the Classical Era that you've managed to shrink with your excellent videos. Keep em coming!
Stone spears are good at stabbing flesh, not wood (shields). I think their absence in documented warfare may indicate existence of shields even though we don't have any from that period (yet). Also spears as hunting instrument were totally displaced by bows and thus became obsolete until technology caughd up with the demand for more durable spear head suitable for its new purpose which was war.
I think it's far more likely that we don't have evidence because the spearheads could be reforged and the haft biodegrading (being wood). cultures around the world practice warfare and hunting with spears still to this day.
@@lamebubblesflysohigh it also take a while to make just a single stone spear head, and ofcourse it takes a skilled person to make said spearhead that could be otherwise be doing something else more productive.
I'm a DM, and I recently found you through your documentary about Sardinia and the Nuragic civilization. I'm very impressed by your in depth research for the sake of accurate world building. Your channel is a gold mine of lore, backgrounds and plot hooks. Thank you SO MUCH. I'll be recommending you to any player or DM I talk to.
The Bronze age is definitely one of the area's of history that seems almost out of reach, even people in the classical age referred to the era as the time of hero's (I could be totally wrong but the time of heroes thing rings a bell). That little aura of mystery and legend is very compelling. I will be reading this series of books after all the ideas are down for mine but not until. Hate the idea of even accidentally nicking ideas off modern writers.
I love these sorts of videos. The neolithic, copper age, and bronze age is largely ignored outside of maybe ancient Egypt and even then mostly centers around their pyramids, similar major infrastructure projects, and their ability to summon aliens to do their bidding. The rest of the world seems to be completely forgotten and the major technological advances and shifts in society and culture, such as the rise of a warrior class and advent of large scale warfare is forgotten about.
Dan, you've got some of the most engaging bronze age content on the entire platform. Thanks for all the great videos. Edit: bronze age armor video would be greatly appreciated
I love the Bronze Age! It's so exotic, not just in the sense of distance in time, but also in how little it's used in our modern media, be it books, films, videogames. Very interesting video, Dan, and I appreciate all the work that went into it, great production value! I also appreciate writing books in such a setting.
@L M The vast majority of content about it that is easily accessible to most people is right here, on youtube, on history channels like this one. I don't know of any other significant content, be it film, books or videogames, about the historical bronze age. And I am from Europe, though from Romania, not Western Europe. Maybe things are different in places like UK or France or Germany, but I have strong doubts about that.
@@JustGrowingUp84 the ancient greeks are probably one of the most written about subjects in history and they were a bronze age society not to mention the egyptians aswell
@@noswad86 The ancient greeks most often talked about were the ones of Classical Greece, which was an iron-age society. The Bronze-Age greeks were the Myceneans, and the ones before them. Also other civilizations like the Minoans on Crete. They don't get talked about much. Egypt is fair, but even that is not talked about that much, at least not its bronze age. You can add to that the various cultures of Mesopotamia, which is my personal favorite. Yet how much do most people know about the Sumerians, the Akkadians, the Amorites etc.? But those were the big ones. There are many other Bronze Age cultures that don't get much limelight at all, if any - like the ones our friend Dan Davis talks about in this and other videos.
@@noswad86 they're talked about a decent amount sure but not accurately lol. You'll be pretty hard pressed to find any big budget or mainstream "bronze age" media out there that isn't full of mythology, and what little you do find that is historically accurate is mostly set around middle eastern cultures and empires. You really have to go out of your way to learn about some of these cultures it feels like and that's a real shame.
@@c4onmylip If going on your pc and googling is going out of your way then sure, or even going to a library. The information is there, people are just too lazy to look for it
When's the next installment to the "Gods of Bronze" series!? I'm seriously hooked! I even have my 92-year-old grandmother hooked on it. Love your work brother!
I’ve heard about this Ice man,but at the end of the day,the man died fighting.It’s the fact even when he might’ve been farming,he embraced the violence of his foes even when he didn’t ask for it,he showed anything can be a weapon.He used his strengths and died with them.A warrior in my eyes
The difference is about whether someone sees the fight as a core part of their identity. Take a 'warrior' vs a 'soldier'. A soldier is a job that someone can pick up or put down, whereas a warrior is someone for whom fighting is a core part of their personality. They can't put it down because it's who they are. This is the distinction that arose during the Chalcolithic/early bronze age.
Pain stakingly researched ,wonderfully represented with maps, photos and depictions, an explosive amount of information concisely delivered and flawlessly presented. Bravo good Sir! I enthusiastically applaud your accomplishment and vigorously encourage you for more! Michael Weeks, a friend in San Antonio Texas.
Just subscribed to the channel this morning after watching a video about the Nordic bronze age, followed by the video about Thor's hammer. Well thought out and articulated. Accurate and knowledgeable about the subjects. I was very impressed and find it hard to believe I'm just now stumbling across this channel. Very good work, sir.
First "professional" warriors could have been "second sons". When father died, 1 adult son inherited the wealth and the other one was given a weapon to sent to world to earn his wealth. It was more practical then splitting the heard and make both sons poorer than their father or giving it all to one and leaving the other one sour and potentially cause trouble.
Is it some kind of nomad tradition? That still sounds more like the 2nd. son will turn a raider rather than a soldier. At least I would facing such proposition...
@@demoncore5342 I doubt they had soldiers back then. And raiding could have been seen as legitimate way of obtaining cattle... as long as you was raiding someone other than your brother and his community. World was much larger back then and there was always a frontier with foreign people to be raided either as a mercenary or a "private" bandit.
@@lamebubblesflysohigh Sure not as we understand the term, but it's kinda closest to what I ment. May be a mercenary, but that has even more distant vibe. Rather than one payed to fight someone fighting to pillage. In the end that's what warrior is, a man that fights so other men can live undisturbed.
equal partition is how my family lost its lands. The first recorded ancestor had more than 10 minor titles, all his sons got their piece so after generations their power dwindled into oblivion. By the time of the french revolution, another family had the title for the town bearing our name. Equal partition, not even once
@@demoncore5342 yeah, it seems Indo European tribes had some kind of youth societies that live outside the villages, hunted and raided neighbours. We have evidences of this in the iron age tribes from Britain all the way to India I think
Another captivating video. The importance of stone axes reminds me of one well-known anthropological study of a tribe in norther Australia, where only adult men were allowed to make and own this tool. The entire social structure came apart once Europeans introduced cheap steel axes.
Very nice work, thanks. The emergence of a warrior class is a huge milestone in the growth of civilization, and these insights in to aspects that are often overlooked are great!
I’m actually working on a really massive cross medium project of history fiction and myth building, I’ve been working on it since before I found your channel, but your work has been very inspirational to me, and has helped keep me motivated and focused. I’m sure you know how it can be when you’re in the middle of a seemingly never ending project and you still have lots of work to do, but you’ve helped me ground myself and rediscover the joy and love in my work that motivated me to start it in the first place.
1:30 there’s evidence of inter group conflict in homo antecessor in I think France or Spain from like 300,000 bc or something crazy like that. With primitive weapons and everything. I forget the dating on it, exactly, it may have been even older, I just did a perfunctory search trying to get a date and they gave me nothing of value so I’ll come back and add the dating when I can find it.
Your videos are an excellent resource for me - I've been writing for five years now and am gearing up to write my first serious novel, which I hope to sell. Very historically inflected fantasy. I'm finding my love of how people lived in distant times meeting my habit of writing about unusual members of society. Your videos are helping me get a groundwork before I start reading books like the ones you've cited. Thanks for your work here! I'm going to be ordering one of your novels from my local bookstore soon for sure
Great stuff, really enjoyed. Love that you clearly research lots of viewpoints, and in a balanced way offer your opinion. This works really well and moves the videos on at a pace and direction that I can follow. Often I find detailed breakdown of all research available results in me getting lost. You do a great job of guiding me through at a pace and level that results in learning loads within digestable chunks. Often after watching I am armed with an understanding that allows me delve into areas of interest. Thank you!!!!
Thanks for the video Dan. Just wanted to say that your very well researched and articulated presentations led me to read both of your Gods of Bronze books. I love your take on Bronze Age Europe. Keep up the good writing sir!
This is how I imagined the warrior class developed: Some steppe mom to her 17 year old c. 3500 BC: you’re insufferable and drank all the months milk reserve, go be a dead outcast and don’t come back till you’ve raided some cattle and grow up He, 1500 years later: sorry I forgot the cattle but I do have a spear, armor, and the head of that one guy who said your shawl was tacky mom Anyway, keep up the great work!! Still hoping to see a vid exploring how some PIE descendant cultures developed a tradition (or legends) of warrior women when they were otherwise patriarchal. And i’m dying for a Bronze Age armor video. Mycenaean armor is so alien looking, almost silly. Looks like a walking tower. I get a kick out of the idea that thats what Achilles or Odysseus or Agamemnon were actually wearing at Troy
I was part of the Maharish (TM) cult in 70s & 80s, we would listen to 9th & 10th mandala of Rig Veda after morn & aft meditation. Often the richa (hymn, poem) that was worshipping Indra involved hustling cattle (or killing Vitra) or great simili's ("like a libertine, to the wife of a friend" always liked that one, till I got married)
Definitely interested in Bronze Age age armor! Although I've never been into the Aesthetics of bronze age armor I'd definitely be keen to learn more of it's origins and varieties. Also, amazing videos and thanks for making them so interesting💪🏻
So interesting that people from all over europe build warrior like statues out of stone, a couple weeks ago i visited the pre-historic site of Filitosa on Corsica where i saw such similar stone warrior like sculptures.
Excellent, Dan. Thanks for the introduction to sewn boar-tusk armour pieces, even though I'm gonna lie awake at night feeling bad for the poor bastards that were compelled to craft them...
What I find funny about history is how much we get wrong before we get right. I mean heck we even refused to believe the Hittites existed before we found out they did and historians still can't seem to get that Gobekle Tepe shows we go back much further than they think. It almost takes them getting a club to the head to give up theories which are SUPPOSED to be flexible. For some reason ego seems to trump common sense until it gets smashed down their throats.
I'm loving your videos. It's a great accidental consequence of your research for fiction writing. My 2 cents on arrow volleys: I'm not saying archery volleys never happened, but if you've ever made arrows and realize how long it takes to make one, or realized an archer can only carry a limited number of them, arrow volleys stop making much sense and it's easy to see how an archer would not want to loose an arrow unless he knew exactly where the point was going to end up.
If you”re not an historian, you seam to be! I am am amateur and it”s the first time I saw such an cronologie well done for what is called “celtic “ world. Thank you !
Hi mate I stumbled across one of your videos and recognised your voice from the drake podcast you did with history bro. My eyes literally lit up when I saw your play list you've got loads of videos to keep my on my toes at work. Love history. your awesome!
He was incredibly generous having me on his show and also in allowing me to upload his videos onto my channel. Glad you found this channel, hope you enjoy the videos.
I enjoyed the back and forth between you too. Great chemistry. Obviously both engrossed in the story. You both sound pretty working class as well compared to most history enthusiasts. ( I'm from the black country so far from posh lol)
Terrific video. I'm seriously impressed. It's hard to believe you aren't a professional historian my friend. I consider myself a fairly knowledgeable amateur historian, specifically on iron age, Vendel age and Viking era Germanic mythology and culture and I will tell you, this is some of the most well researched content I've seen in a good while. Well done, sir.
Just found your channel. About to launch a game based around a permanent bronze age. As in... iron is very rare and only the dwarves know how to forge it. It's a step above mithril. Humans only cast metals because that's all that can be found. Looking forward to your content.
Been watching your series. Introducing me to a history I was completely unfamiliar with. It may not have been your intention but this is the best advertisement for your novels. Your vids show a great interest and deep research into the subject matter of your historical fiction settings. I don’t fall for advertising at all but just wanted to let you know these vids made me buy your books Looking forward to reading them.
This is fantastic video and it also helped me feel kind of smart today! I always liked this subject matter very much, but never had enough time and organizational skills to move from my own work to anthropology and the related fields. Even with my average intelligence though, I heard the questions "why did the warrior culture start?" and within about three seconds thought... "population". There hasn't time for someone to focus on just being a warrior when your challenges were simply finding food and not becoming food for something else. Then after humans cluttered things up with agriculture and some of them started to use manipulative skills on other people instead of competing animals, we had things like stockpiling and plans for excess, surplus, and invented greed. Time for specialists.
Just stumbled onto this after viewing, um, other stuff unrelated to reality! A good find, indeed; what I know about early cultures could be inscribed on the head of a Bronze Age pin. Well-done, indeed . . . AND I really appreciate the way you close a quote - "end quote;" "unquote" drives me to distraction!
7:58 despite a 1000 years gap , we could compare the fates of the Amesbury archer (2300 bc ) with the Egtved girl (1370 bc). And considere that trade must have been a reason why people travel along river systems... it said that she did the travel from the Alps to Denmark 3 times before her death and her prestigious burial ( because of her trader status , a wedding in a rich local family?). The Archer was ready to fight for sure but how to distinguish from the burial's evidences between his possible : -warrior status ( conqueror or mercenary) -craftman and / or trader status -"druid" /pilgrim status ( a Stonehenge's prestige on the continent ?) -a combination of those ? the Archer has one of the most wealthy burial discovered yet but may be not the most at all of the period , i mean nothing says that he was the most important ruler there.
I especially appreciated the clear definition of a warrior from 2:05-2:35. "Status in life bound up in warfare." Yup. Been there. Keep up the good work. Why no discussion of clubs, maces, and axes? And yes, can you do one on bronze age armor?
"Dagger Axes" or the Neolithic Halbred were also used in China at a pretty early point and they were one of the more popular East Asian weapons of the Chaco and Bronze age.
This channel sometimes feels a little...'tenuous', based on decision to keep writing novels. That's Not a criticism, any # of channels come & go for all reasons. Not to mention the time spent on book promotion could not be more minimal. Overall I find it unique in terms of the pre-historical content. It withholds some of the more "flashy" production with focus on a more casual delivery, which nevertheless gives the sense of containing an in-depth understanding. aka, thanks!
While my primary interests usually are in “hard” science, I've found that even there some of the most informative views have come from people specializing in science novels, such as Asimov, Gould and Dawkins rather than their work published in peer-reviewed journals. Novelists in prehistory are less well known to me but Jean M. Auel, Clan of the Cave Bear, comes to mind. I appreciate that Mr. Davis references his work and is open with contrasting views to his opinions rather more than his lack of academic writing.
@@robertgotschall1246 yeah, I think you hit on it, something I've appreciated. In our seemingly overnight new world of "facts/science" by way of a kind of near mantra-like repetition, it's important to still have people say "but, or, and maybe"!
I am absolutly not a novel reader, they usually just don't interest me. But in the case of writing about pre-history I find it is a good thing to try to creep into a pre-historic skin and to imagine what it would be like to have lived then. There was one novel about pre-historyI kept going back to as a kid. You were drawn into the main character and what he went through the day, playing, eating, learning skills, hunting, illness, travel and so on. Just plain life with a sense of discovery.
Mate, this is a growth channel. The fire rises. Consider becoming a patron to bear fuller witness to the author's commitment to content around these eras and peoples (not to mention hilarious agonising over mind-bendingly miniscule details).
Yes, very interested in the Bronze Age warrior armor & if there was a quilted type of fabric worn beneath their armor. What kinds of stitches, threads, fabric & tools were used?. Have recently learned about the Japanese Sashiko method of stitching their fabrics together (special stitches/threads used) to be worn underneath the warrior's armor... Wondering if quilted underclothing was designed, made & worn beneath these warriors' armor... my interests are in quiltmaking, & learning about historical clothing made using different kinds of fabrics & stitches used. Also, wondering about the what the needles were made of & when the "steel" ones used now were made. Thanks.
Really enjoyed this. Its 3am an I'm drunk. I usually I pass out to history videos but this cause they are great but also super chill, I watched . Hahaha on the real I love history channels and they do help me sleep but this one was special and i watched the whole thing then subbed/ commented. Keep up the great work 😎👍
Awesome video, my wife was even hooked when I had this on the tv other day. A video on armor would be incredibly popular, I’m sure! I hope you are still writing, brother! I’ve finished all the Gods of Bronze and half of the Immortal Knight, so I’m gonna be craving some new material! Thank you for all the content!
If you enjoy my videos please consider supporting the channel:
Patreon ➜ www.patreon.com/dandavisauthor
My books ➜ amzn.to/3xngwz5
What would you like to know more about? Bronze Age trade routes? The evolution of armour? The Nordic Bronze Age? Let me know!
When you say Europa you mean Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean right !?
Perhaps a discussion of the role of armor during the neolithic, cooper and early bronze age. About the only descriptions are from Homer regarding its importance in effectiveness, social standing and identification of the individual warrior during the late bronze age. I would assume this relationship between the warrior and his armor began with the rise of the first warriors in the neolithic. I would guess the development of weapons would be greatly influenced by the armor at any particular time, such as the decline of archery due to its lack of effectiveness due to armor, or perhaps the development of the cooper halberd to circumvent the armor in common use at the time.
The soft cooper halbred although at first look appears to have little use I can see where it would be quite useful in reaching behind a leather armored opponent and slicing the tendons behind the knee or the ankle.
I think you just named two topics that would make immensely popular videos ⬆️
Brilliant stuff, please keep making these amazing videos 👍🏻
Yes. We're interested in bronze age armor. We'd like a articular deep dive into boar's teeth helmets, and laminar armors.
Seimo turbino armor ftw
I just found this channel. But sub earned and I would also love too see some epic old school armor
With you.
Yes very interest yes very interested
Absolutely agree
I really respect the fact that you make it clear that you're an author of fiction, and not a domain expert. And you base your work on the work of domain experts.
This. This is really key to me taking his videos as more reliable.
It’s unusual to find another of humility today. The author has it.
{ Domain experts do the same. This man should apply to an institution/university for a degree on the basis of his existing work.
Another of my favourite topics; the evolution of war - how and why.?
One of the theories about Otzi The Iceman is that he was a bandit who had snuck into the mountains to ambush people. That would explain his extremely valuable copper and his very well made Flint knife that he had more clumsily fixed after it lost some of its edge. The highwayman theory would also explain why his Killers didn't rob him, because they weren't robbers and he was the aggressor...
"But hey, that's just a theory, a chalcolithic theory!"
Even materially poor societies can have very strong taboos against using dead folks' stuff. Eskimos didn't have resource rich environments, for example, but they had a very strong prohibition against taking up and using dead people's weapons, etc. Ever heard of Paleosociology? Nobody has beard of it because for human behavior before written records we can, at best, just speculate what was going on. No evidence, no facts, just a few clues. Sure. Some of the guesses are good. Others are off the wall.
@@jackhenry290 Don't believe what? That Eskimos had a taboo against using dead people's stuff? Or that speculating about ancient behavior is just guessing? You can easily Google the former and the latter is common sense. I don't really give AF what you "believe". It's what you know that counts.
I understood that reference
@@76rjackson idk what you’re even replying to. But “Eskimo” really? Wtf does that have to do with anything, let alone a culture that pre-dates those losers by at least 4500 years. I highly doubt people living in basically an apocalyptic scenario, would pass on shiny useful loot from an ass hole who tried to rob them.
Interesting theory... it's honestly hard telling what truly went down on that fateful day for the iceman. There are so many possibilities.
Spears not being prevalent in the Neolithic is very interesting and also counterintuitive to me given the first hafted weapons in history were flint tipped spears hundreds of thousands of years ago. I have a huge gap in my knowledge between the end of the Ice Age and the start of the Classical Era that you've managed to shrink with your excellent videos. Keep em coming!
Stone spears are good at stabbing flesh, not wood (shields). I think their absence in documented warfare may indicate existence of shields even though we don't have any from that period (yet). Also spears as hunting instrument were totally displaced by bows and thus became obsolete until technology caughd up with the demand for more durable spear head suitable for its new purpose which was war.
I think it's far more likely that we don't have evidence because the spearheads could be reforged and the haft biodegrading (being wood). cultures around the world practice warfare and hunting with spears still to this day.
@@haloe2233 you cant reforge stone spear head
@@lamebubblesflysohigh it also take a while to make just a single stone spear head, and ofcourse it takes a skilled person to make said spearhead that could be otherwise be doing something else more productive.
Also, in combat a spear is much more effective than a sword due to its longer reach. That makes it very unlikely bronze-age worriers did not use them.
I'm a DM, and I recently found you through your documentary about Sardinia and the Nuragic civilization. I'm very impressed by your in depth research for the sake of accurate world building. Your channel is a gold mine of lore, backgrounds and plot hooks. Thank you SO MUCH. I'll be recommending you to any player or DM I talk to.
The Bronze age is definitely one of the area's of history that seems almost out of reach, even people in the classical age referred to the era as the time of hero's (I could be totally wrong but the time of heroes thing rings a bell). That little aura of mystery and legend is very compelling. I will be reading this series of books after all the ideas are down for mine but not until. Hate the idea of even accidentally nicking ideas off modern writers.
the age of heroes is what the british dark age is called
I love these sorts of videos. The neolithic, copper age, and bronze age is largely ignored outside of maybe ancient Egypt and even then mostly centers around their pyramids, similar major infrastructure projects, and their ability to summon aliens to do their bidding. The rest of the world seems to be completely forgotten and the major technological advances and shifts in society and culture, such as the rise of a warrior class and advent of large scale warfare is forgotten about.
but, but, muh history channel after midnight.
You can't ruin that with interesting and unique historical investigation.
"their ability to summon aliens to do their bidding" Hiring illegal (space) aliens to do construction work - nothing to be proud about.
Blood found on Ötzi's dagger & arrowheads; almost sounds like Ötzi could be the earliest known revenge killing or vendetta casualty.
Copper age John Wick, they killed the wrong farmer's wolf-dog
Waaaay to early car jacking?
The question is, is it human blood?
Because a hunter, who never killed anything...is a vegan
@@phredphlintstone6455 He did specifically say in the video that the blood was from 3 *people,* so it must be human.
@@Menzobarrenza ah, missed that. Any of it his?
Dan, you've got some of the most engaging bronze age content on the entire platform. Thanks for all the great videos.
Edit: bronze age armor video would be greatly appreciated
Bronze Age armour would be interesting.
Seconding this
Thirding this lol
Yup
@@jackholloway1 monobbnp
I have seen the Dendra panoply up close in Greece and it’s amazing. Great presentation here - thanks!
7:37 Obviously took an arrow to the knee. Possibly not a "warrior" as such, but certainly an adventurer.
Oh, you’re finally awake.
I was just looking for this comment.
"You come at me with fists raised? Are you looking for a beating?"
@@Phil6181 It’s a reference to the video game Skyrim
@@jackparker8602 well I’m an idiot. I’ll erase that comment.
Anyone reading this disregard….I’m just dumb. Haha
I love the Bronze Age!
It's so exotic, not just in the sense of distance in time, but also in how little it's used in our modern media, be it books, films, videogames.
Very interesting video, Dan, and I appreciate all the work that went into it, great production value!
I also appreciate writing books in such a setting.
@L M The vast majority of content about it that is easily accessible to most people is right here, on youtube, on history channels like this one.
I don't know of any other significant content, be it film, books or videogames, about the historical bronze age.
And I am from Europe, though from Romania, not Western Europe.
Maybe things are different in places like UK or France or Germany, but I have strong doubts about that.
@@JustGrowingUp84 the ancient greeks are probably one of the most written about subjects in history and they were a bronze age society not to mention the egyptians aswell
@@noswad86 The ancient greeks most often talked about were the ones of Classical Greece, which was an iron-age society.
The Bronze-Age greeks were the Myceneans, and the ones before them.
Also other civilizations like the Minoans on Crete. They don't get talked about much.
Egypt is fair, but even that is not talked about that much, at least not its bronze age.
You can add to that the various cultures of Mesopotamia, which is my personal favorite. Yet how much do most people know about the Sumerians, the Akkadians, the Amorites etc.?
But those were the big ones.
There are many other Bronze Age cultures that don't get much limelight at all, if any - like the ones our friend Dan Davis talks about in this and other videos.
@@noswad86 they're talked about a decent amount sure but not accurately lol. You'll be pretty hard pressed to find any big budget or mainstream "bronze age" media out there that isn't full of mythology, and what little you do find that is historically accurate is mostly set around middle eastern cultures and empires. You really have to go out of your way to learn about some of these cultures it feels like and that's a real shame.
@@c4onmylip If going on your pc and googling is going out of your way then sure, or even going to a library. The information is there, people are just too lazy to look for it
I DEFINETLY want a bronze age armor video, specially one about early armor, the very earliest you can find
When's the next installment to the "Gods of Bronze" series!? I'm seriously hooked! I even have my 92-year-old grandmother hooked on it. Love your work brother!
It will be next year. Delighted to hear your grandmother is enjoying the series. Cheers.
I’ve heard about this Ice man,but at the end of the day,the man died fighting.It’s the fact even when he might’ve been farming,he embraced the violence of his foes even when he didn’t ask for it,he showed anything can be a weapon.He used his strengths and died with them.A warrior in my eyes
He had the blood of three men on his knife. Sounds like a warrior to me
The difference is about whether someone sees the fight as a core part of their identity. Take a 'warrior' vs a 'soldier'. A soldier is a job that someone can pick up or put down, whereas a warrior is someone for whom fighting is a core part of their personality. They can't put it down because it's who they are.
This is the distinction that arose during the Chalcolithic/early bronze age.
Was fully expecting a slick ad for the Dollar Shave Club there!
Imagine the lost battles we’ve never even heard of or discovered yet..... that’d be awesome
Pain stakingly researched ,wonderfully represented with maps, photos and depictions, an explosive amount of information concisely delivered and flawlessly presented. Bravo good Sir! I enthusiastically applaud your accomplishment and vigorously encourage you for more! Michael Weeks, a friend in San Antonio Texas.
I think this is the most fascinating era in history, keep up the good work! 👍🏼
Just subscribed to the channel this morning after watching a video about the Nordic bronze age, followed by the video about Thor's hammer. Well thought out and articulated. Accurate and knowledgeable about the subjects. I was very impressed and find it hard to believe I'm just now stumbling across this channel. Very good work, sir.
First "professional" warriors could have been "second sons". When father died, 1 adult son inherited the wealth and the other one was given a weapon to sent to world to earn his wealth. It was more practical then splitting the heard and make both sons poorer than their father or giving it all to one and leaving the other one sour and potentially cause trouble.
Is it some kind of nomad tradition? That still sounds more like the 2nd. son will turn a raider rather than a soldier. At least I would facing such proposition...
@@demoncore5342 I doubt they had soldiers back then. And raiding could have been seen as legitimate way of obtaining cattle... as long as you was raiding someone other than your brother and his community. World was much larger back then and there was always a frontier with foreign people to be raided either as a mercenary or a "private" bandit.
@@lamebubblesflysohigh Sure not as we understand the term, but it's kinda closest to what I ment. May be a mercenary, but that has even more distant vibe. Rather than one payed to fight someone fighting to pillage. In the end that's what warrior is, a man that fights so other men can live undisturbed.
equal partition is how my family lost its lands. The first recorded ancestor had more than 10 minor titles, all his sons got their piece so after generations their power dwindled into oblivion. By the time of the french revolution, another family had the title for the town bearing our name. Equal partition, not even once
@@demoncore5342 yeah, it seems Indo European tribes had some kind of youth societies that live outside the villages, hunted and raided neighbours. We have evidences of this in the iron age tribes from Britain all the way to India I think
Another captivating video. The importance of stone axes reminds me of one well-known anthropological study of a tribe in norther Australia, where only adult men were allowed to make and own this tool. The entire social structure came apart once Europeans introduced cheap steel axes.
or the alcohol ...
Very nice work, thanks. The emergence of a warrior class is a huge milestone in the growth of civilization, and these insights in to aspects that are often overlooked are great!
As a writer myself, this video has been so very useful to me. I really, deeply appreciate this!
starts at the beginning and finishes at the end. you make the in between understandable. thank yew
Two videos I think would be cool:
A summary of bronze age genetic history based on current findings.
A book list.
Great content by the way
I can't believe I can this dude's content for free. totally excellant
I love the longer videos
I’m actually working on a really massive cross medium project of history fiction and myth building, I’ve been working on it since before I found your channel, but your work has been very inspirational to me, and has helped keep me motivated and focused. I’m sure you know how it can be when you’re in the middle of a seemingly never ending project and you still have lots of work to do, but you’ve helped me ground myself and rediscover the joy and love in my work that motivated me to start it in the first place.
1:30 there’s evidence of inter group conflict in homo antecessor in I think France or Spain from like 300,000 bc or something crazy like that. With primitive weapons and everything. I forget the dating on it, exactly, it may have been even older, I just did a perfunctory search trying to get a date and they gave me nothing of value so I’ll come back and add the dating when I can find it.
4:23 where did you find that picture of me?! I haven’t dressed like that since the Stone Age!
Yes! Definitely would like to see a video on Bronze Age weapons and armor!
Your videos are the best. I’m so fascinated by this period of history.
Your videos are an excellent resource for me - I've been writing for five years now and am gearing up to write my first serious novel, which I hope to sell. Very historically inflected fantasy. I'm finding my love of how people lived in distant times meeting my habit of writing about unusual members of society. Your videos are helping me get a groundwork before I start reading books like the ones you've cited. Thanks for your work here! I'm going to be ordering one of your novels from my local bookstore soon for sure
great output man, you're putting all others to shame.
Wonderful video! A video discussing armor in the bronze age would be great!
I find your videos to be extremely interesting with lots of good, clear close ups of the artifacts.
Great video.
Thank you.
Mate you make the best history documentaries out there hands down. It’s simply brilliant.
Really liked this presentation, well done and thanks for the hard work and ease at which you presented it. Chris
Great stuff, really enjoyed. Love that you clearly research lots of viewpoints, and in a balanced way offer your opinion. This works really well and moves the videos on at a pace and direction that I can follow. Often I find detailed breakdown of all research available results in me getting lost. You do a great job of guiding me through at a pace and level that results in learning loads within digestable chunks. Often after watching I am armed with an understanding that allows me delve into areas of interest. Thank you!!!!
Thank you.
Thanks for the video Dan. Just wanted to say that your very well researched and articulated presentations led me to read both of your Gods of Bronze books. I love your take on Bronze Age Europe. Keep up the good writing sir!
Cheers Kyle, thanks for letting me know! So glad you enjoyed the stories.
@@DanDavisHistory can you do a video on the development of the composite bow? From simple longbow to complex
16:53 I thought you were about to hit us with the smoothest transition to a dollar shave club ad
Yeah that would have been neat.
I just recently found your channel, but I'm very happy I did. Very interesting content, and certainly generates my interest in your novels!
Awesome, I'm very happy you found the channel too.
Another great upload Dan , great work mate. I listen to everything you do so .🇮🇪
Your mention of warriors coming to each other's aid resonates with Beowulf coming to aid Hrothgar...
This is how I imagined the warrior class developed:
Some steppe mom to her 17 year old c. 3500 BC: you’re insufferable and drank all the months milk reserve, go be a dead outcast and don’t come back till you’ve raided some cattle and grow up
He, 1500 years later: sorry I forgot the cattle but I do have a spear, armor, and the head of that one guy who said your shawl was tacky mom
Anyway, keep up the great work!! Still hoping to see a vid exploring how some PIE descendant cultures developed a tradition (or legends) of warrior women when they were otherwise patriarchal. And i’m dying for a Bronze Age armor video. Mycenaean armor is so alien looking, almost silly. Looks like a walking tower. I get a kick out of the idea that thats what Achilles or Odysseus or Agamemnon were actually wearing at Troy
I was part of the Maharish (TM) cult in 70s & 80s, we would listen to 9th & 10th mandala of Rig Veda after morn & aft meditation. Often the richa (hymn, poem) that was worshipping Indra involved hustling cattle (or killing Vitra) or great simili's ("like a libertine, to the wife of a friend" always liked that one, till I got married)
Definitely interested in Bronze Age age armor! Although I've never been into the Aesthetics of bronze age armor I'd definitely be keen to learn more of it's origins and varieties. Also, amazing videos and thanks for making them so interesting💪🏻
So interesting that people from all over europe build warrior like statues out of stone, a couple weeks ago i visited the pre-historic site of Filitosa on Corsica where i saw such similar stone warrior like sculptures.
Nice to see Graman's wonderful artwork featuring in your vids, a crossover made in Valhalla ✊🏻
I love that guy's work.
Excellent, Dan. Thanks for the introduction to sewn boar-tusk armour pieces, even though I'm gonna lie awake at night feeling bad for the poor bastards that were compelled to craft them...
I am very interested in Bronze Age armor and Swords! Please make more such videos. I am extremely impressed with all of your content.
Thank you.
Hi Dan , love the statement " I don't know what I am talking about " , Used that one myself , lol.
Well done, great video.
Starting to read your book as well. I really enjoy it.
Yes, very interested in a video about Bronze Age armor. Thanks - I really like this video too.
Love to see more on Bronze Age armour. Thanks for citing your sources in these videos. :)
Very informative, thanks! Also Bronze Age armor would be a great topic.
What I find funny about history is how much we get wrong before we get right. I mean heck we even refused to believe the Hittites existed before we found out they did and historians still can't seem to get that Gobekle Tepe shows we go back much further than they think. It almost takes them getting a club to the head to give up theories which are SUPPOSED to be flexible. For some reason ego seems to trump common sense until it gets smashed down their throats.
He used to be a warrior, till caught that arrow to the knee
I'm loving your videos. It's a great accidental consequence of your research for fiction writing.
My 2 cents on arrow volleys: I'm not saying archery volleys never happened, but if you've ever made arrows and realize how long it takes to make one, or realized an archer can only carry a limited number of them, arrow volleys stop making much sense and it's easy to see how an archer would not want to loose an arrow unless he knew exactly where the point was going to end up.
Thank you for the post - truly appreciated it - love that period from afar but it was a brutal time.
I would love to see a video covering Bronze Age Armor. Thank you for another awesome video!
A very knowledgeable Author, thanks for sharing this well-researched video.
If you”re not an historian, you seam to be! I am am amateur and it”s the first time I saw such an cronologie well done for what is called “celtic “ world. Thank you !
Most excellent presentation. I definitely look forward to more.
Thank you for a great presentation.
Outstanding!! Those are all great topics, I’ll happily watch any video from you, thank you 🌟!!!
Your channel got me into your books. I'm half way through Godborn and love it!
That's great!
Hi mate I stumbled across one of your videos and recognised your voice from the drake podcast you did with history bro. My eyes literally lit up when I saw your play list you've got loads of videos to keep my on my toes at work. Love history. your awesome!
He was incredibly generous having me on his show and also in allowing me to upload his videos onto my channel. Glad you found this channel, hope you enjoy the videos.
I enjoyed the back and forth between you too. Great chemistry. Obviously both engrossed in the story. You both sound pretty working class as well compared to most history enthusiasts. ( I'm from the black country so far from posh lol)
@@patjonas0 lol yeah I'm common as muck mate but I do my best to keep my accent under control on the videos.
Good stuff Dan. Always figured the spear was the earlier bronze age weapon type, but then maybe it became so due to numbers of soldiers needed.
One of the best places on YT to get a big picture of professionals research
Terrific video. I'm seriously impressed. It's hard to believe you aren't a professional historian my friend. I consider myself a fairly knowledgeable amateur historian, specifically on iron age, Vendel age and Viking era Germanic mythology and culture and I will tell you, this is some of the most well researched content I've seen in a good while. Well done, sir.
Bit of a scientist myself eh
Top of my first to click list. Always interesting and covering a fascinating and up covered period of time.
under covered - sorry
Excellent video! You mentioned making one about bronze age armor, I would love to see that!
I would realy like to hear about"heroic warrior" ideal appearing in culture!
Just found your channel. About to launch a game based around a permanent bronze age. As in... iron is very rare and only the dwarves know how to forge it. It's a step above mithril. Humans only cast metals because that's all that can be found. Looking forward to your content.
Cool idea mate.
As many videos I’ve seen of the man found in the Alps I never knew about the blood on his arrow tips.
Another excellent post, thank you for sharing.
Been watching your series. Introducing me to a history I was completely unfamiliar with. It may not have been your intention but this is the best advertisement for your novels. Your vids show a great interest and deep research into the subject matter of your historical fiction settings. I don’t fall for advertising at all but just wanted to let you know these vids made me buy your books Looking forward to reading them.
This is fantastic video and it also helped me feel kind of smart today! I always liked this subject matter very much, but never had enough time and organizational skills to move from my own work to anthropology and the related fields.
Even with my average intelligence though, I heard the questions "why did the warrior culture start?" and within about three seconds thought... "population".
There hasn't time for someone to focus on just being a warrior when your challenges were simply finding food and not becoming food for something else. Then after humans cluttered things up with agriculture and some of them started to use manipulative skills on other people instead of competing animals, we had things like stockpiling and plans for excess, surplus, and invented greed. Time for specialists.
Just stumbled onto this after viewing, um, other stuff unrelated to reality! A good find, indeed; what I know about early cultures could be inscribed on the head of a Bronze Age pin. Well-done, indeed . . . AND I really appreciate the way you close a quote - "end quote;" "unquote" drives me to distraction!
Very fascinating video sir. I look forward to seeing more from you!
Only now stumbled onto your excellent channel. Well done, mate; great content - just subscribed. Greetings from Greece!
Thank you very much, welcome to the channel.
Dan Davis Author - Thanks, glad to be here! 🙂
Greetings, please do the Bronze Armour video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and research. pax, PL
so happy. needed a video today. much love
a fantastic video, once again!
7:58 despite a 1000 years gap , we could compare the fates of the Amesbury archer (2300 bc ) with the Egtved girl (1370 bc).
And considere that trade must have been a reason why people travel along river systems... it said that she did the travel from the Alps to Denmark 3 times before her death and her prestigious burial ( because of her trader status , a wedding in a rich local family?).
The Archer was ready to fight for sure but how to distinguish from the burial's evidences between his possible :
-warrior status ( conqueror or mercenary)
-craftman and / or trader status
-"druid" /pilgrim status ( a Stonehenge's prestige on the continent ?)
-a combination of those ?
the Archer has one of the most wealthy burial discovered yet but may be not the most at all of the period , i mean nothing says that he was the most important ruler there.
great video bro, and bronze age trade routes sounds fascinating for a video topic
I especially appreciated the clear definition of a warrior from 2:05-2:35. "Status in life bound up in warfare." Yup. Been there.
Keep up the good work. Why no discussion of clubs, maces, and axes?
And yes, can you do one on bronze age armor?
Thank you. I made a bronze age armour video, please check my channel.
A masterpiece, good stuff!
"Dagger Axes" or the Neolithic Halbred were also used in China at a pretty early point and they were one of the more popular East Asian weapons of the Chaco and Bronze age.
Fantastic as always!!!! I really cant get enough of your stuff I got to get the books!!!
This channel sometimes feels a little...'tenuous', based on decision to keep writing novels. That's Not a criticism, any # of channels come & go for all reasons. Not to mention the time spent on book promotion could not be more minimal.
Overall I find it unique in terms of the pre-historical content. It withholds some of the more "flashy" production with focus on a more casual delivery, which nevertheless gives the sense of containing an in-depth understanding. aka, thanks!
While my primary interests usually are in “hard” science, I've found that even there some of the most informative views have come from people specializing in science novels, such as Asimov, Gould and Dawkins rather than their work published in peer-reviewed journals. Novelists in prehistory are less well known to me but Jean M. Auel, Clan of the Cave Bear, comes to mind. I appreciate that Mr. Davis references his work and is open with contrasting views to his opinions rather more than his lack of academic writing.
@@robertgotschall1246 yeah, I think you hit on it, something I've appreciated. In our seemingly overnight new world of "facts/science" by way of a kind of near mantra-like repetition, it's important to still have people say "but, or, and maybe"!
I am absolutly not a novel reader, they usually just don't interest me. But in the case of writing about pre-history I find it is a good thing to try to creep into a pre-historic skin and to imagine what it would be like to have lived then.
There was one novel about pre-historyI kept going back to as a kid. You were drawn into the main character and what he went through the day, playing, eating, learning skills, hunting, illness, travel and so on. Just plain life with a sense of discovery.
Mate, this is a growth channel. The fire rises. Consider becoming a patron to bear fuller witness to the author's commitment to content around these eras and peoples (not to mention hilarious agonising over mind-bendingly miniscule details).
A great video! This history nerd salutes you! ~JR Handley
Great video, Dan!
Yes please, a Bronze Age armor video would be amazing.
Yes, very interested in the Bronze Age warrior armor & if there was a quilted type of fabric worn beneath their armor.
What kinds of stitches, threads, fabric & tools were used?.
Have recently learned about the Japanese Sashiko method of stitching their fabrics together (special stitches/threads used) to be worn underneath the warrior's armor...
Wondering if quilted underclothing was designed, made & worn beneath these warriors' armor... my interests are in quiltmaking, & learning about historical clothing made using different kinds of fabrics & stitches used. Also, wondering about the what the needles were made of & when the "steel" ones used now were made. Thanks.
Really enjoyed this. Its 3am an I'm drunk. I usually I pass out to history videos but this cause they are great but also super chill, I watched . Hahaha on the real I love history channels and they do help me sleep but this one was special and i watched the whole thing then subbed/ commented. Keep up the great work 😎👍
Awesome video, my wife was even hooked when I had this on the tv other day. A video on armor would be incredibly popular, I’m sure!
I hope you are still writing, brother! I’ve finished all the Gods of Bronze and half of the Immortal Knight, so I’m gonna be craving some new material! Thank you for all the content!
Its mind blowing to think of all the crazy things that've gone down on earth, that none of us will ever know about. Life is surreal.