Ancient Geography Database

Part #11 - Second Supplementary on Britain (Pictish Britain, Part One)

I had originally hoped to make just one installment on Pictish Britain, however it has turned out vastly more complicated than I thought. Here is the first part, regarding river names. I have located a number of features, but a number of them elude me. What is very clear is that the three promontories - Travedrum/Orcas, Virvedrum and Verubium - correspond with the northern most spot of Scotland. The exact location of the "high" shore is uncertain to me, too, but it must be along the relatively straight coastal area between the northern tip and the Moray Firth.

North Sea Coast:

Tarvedrum or Orcas promontory - Dunnet Head, Caithness??
Virvedrum promontory- ???
Verubium promontory - around John O' Groats, Caithness??
Ila river
The "high shore"
Varar estuary
Loxa river - near/along Moray firth??
Tuesis estuary - Ness river / Moray Firth??
Caelis river
Taezalon promontory - around Peterhead, Aberdeenshire
Deva river
Tina river - Firth of Tay
Boderia estuary - Firth of Forth
Alaunus river
Vedra river

Western / Irish Sea Coast:

Navarus River - Strath Naver
Volas Bay
Itis river
Longus river
Promontory of the Epidii - Kintyre penninsula
Lemannonius Bay
Vindogara Bay
Clota Estuary - Firth of Clyde
Rerigonius Bay - Loch Ryan
Novantarum penninsula - Rhins of Galloway
Abravannus river - Water of Luce
Iena estuary
Devas river - Dee river
Novius river - Nith river
Ituna estuary

Other features:
Orcades Islands - Orkney Islands
Dumna Island - Outer Hebrides?
Scetis Islands - ???
Thule - a classical "mythical northern place" in Antiquity, judging by the relative coordinates that are given by Ptolemy, the best shot for the place would be the western coast of Norway (somewhat north of Bergen).
 
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Thande

Donor
Bear in mind if the Romans were using Ptolemaic maps, Scotland is always shown as distorted by being bent over and stretching too far east due to a longitudinal miscalculation.
 
Bear in mind if the Romans were using Ptolemaic maps, Scotland is always shown as distorted by being bent over and stretching too far east due to a longitudinal miscalculation.

Oh, I already accounted for that, and fixed it in the list above. Trust me, that one wasn't so much the problem. ;)

Having said that, accounting for said distortion in terms of coastal features is a lot easier than for inland towns. That's the primary reason I split things - the settlements are giving me headaches.
 
Part #12 - The Alpine Region

Location: modern area of Austria, southern Germany, northern Italy, Switzerland, northern Slovenia)
Time Period: 1st century BC - 2nd century AD

I have decided to split this into four parts, covering the Helvetii and Alpine Gaul, the Norii, the Raeti and the Vindelici. For the Roman period, the western part of the Alpine region (the area of the Helvetii, approximately western Switzerland) was considered part of Gaul, the central part was the province of a province called Rhaetia and Vindelicia (later just Rhaetia - the modern area of eastern Switzerland, Germany south of the Danube and western Austria), and the eastern part was the province of Noricum (central and eastern Austria, as well as northern Slovenia).

I) The Helvetii
The Helvetii were a Gaulish tribe which attempted to invade Roman territory and were defeated by Caesar. Apparently though, there seemed to be enough left of them afterwards to resettle in their home territory. The Neo-Latin term for Switzerland, "Confedoeratio Helvetica", takes it's name from the Helvetii.

Sub-Tribes of the Helvetii:
Latobrigi - not actually part of the Helvetii, but allied with them during the campaign against the Romans.
Tigurini - near Aventicum
Toygenes
Toutones (perhaps absorbed remnants of the Cimbri and Teutones?)
Verbigenes

Towns
Aventicum (Avenches)
"Brenodunum" (Berne)
Genava (Geneve)
Juliomagus (Schleitheim near Schaffhausen) - originally the central town of the Latobrigi
Lousanna (Lausanne)
Octodurum (Martigny)
Vindonissa (Windisch)

Other features:
Jurassus Montes - The Jura Mountains

II) Vindelicia
The Vindelici or Vindolici were a Celtic tribal confederation that lived in the corridor between the Alps and Germania Magna - in other words approximately northwestern Austria and southern Bavaria). Although a good number of tribal and town names are readily identifiable as Celtic, ancient authors variably considered them as Venetic or Illyrian.

Towns:
Abodiacum (Epfach, part of Denklingen, Bavaria)
"Artobriga" - "bear burgh" Based on the location, it should have been approximately located at the confluence of the Lech and Danube rivers (near 48°44' N, 10°56' E ).
Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg) - provincial capital of the Roman province of Rhaetia and Vindelicia
Boiodunon - "Boii fort", given the proximity to Noric territory, I speculate if this is a misspelling of "Boiodurum", which would be Passau
Brigantion or Brigantium (Bregenz, Austria) - central town of the Briganti
Cambodunum (Kempten, Bavaria) - central town of the Vindelici Estiones
Carrodunon - ???
Damasia - the main fort ("rock fortress?") of the Licates, localization unclear
Inutrium - ???
Medullum - ???
Sorviodunum (Straubing, Bavaria) - central town of the Runicates
Turum (Dorfen, Bavaria) - central town of the Cosuanetes)

Vindelician Tribes:
Brigantes (near Lake Constance) - also in Britain, Gallaecia and Ireland
Cattenates - Bavaria
Cosuantes or Cosuanetes
Estiones - Bavaria
Licates or Lycates (Allgäu, Lech river area)
Runicates or Rucantii - Bavaria

Rivers and other features:
- Auenus or Oenus (Inn) - marks the eastern border of Vindelicia
- Danubius (Danube) - marks the northern border of Vindelicia
- Lacus Brigantion - Lake Constance
- Licca (Lech)

(Oppidum at Manching near Ingolstadt, Bavaria) - a very large Celtic oppidum that was destroyed several decades before the Romans arrived in the area - possibly in the wake of the economic collapse that wrought havoc to this region in the wake of the Roman conquest of Gaul. The name of this oppidum is not preserved, but the Roman fortification built later at this site was called "Vallatum".

"Pyrene" - In the 5th century BC, Herodotus mentions a major Celtic settlement called "Pyrene" near the source of the Danube. If Herodotus is to be trusted with this one (since he was rather 'geographically challenged'), then our best shot for the location of Pyrene is at an archaeological site called the Heuneburg, located at 48°05'40'' N, 9°24'40'' E. It should be added that this settlement was destroyed around approximately the same time as Herodotus mentions it, and the later Vindelici may be unrelated with the denizens of Pyrene.

III) Raetia
From the ethnic perspective, this is utterly confusing. According to certain ancient sources, the "Raeti" were people related with the Etruscans that fled into the Alps following the invasion of northern Italy by the Gauls. However, besides the Raeti in the narrower sense (which indeed may have spoken a language related to Etruscan), there probably was also a bewildering variety (for this small area, certainly) of Celtic, Illyrian, Ligurian and/or Venetic tribes. Ancient authors are rather confusing on the topic.

One ethnic group in particular I'd like to make some notes on are the Lepontii: they were a Celtic people who apparently however spoke a language distinct from Gaulish. Indeed, this Lepontic language - written in a variety of the Etruscan alphabet - is the oldest attested undoubtably Celtic language. When the Gauls invaded Italy, Lepontic was gradually replaced by Gaulish, however the Etruscan alphabet continued to be used in Cisalpine Gaul until the Roman period.

Towns:
Bilitia or Bilitio (Bellinzona, Switzerland)
Bracouina - ???
Bragodouron - ???
Brixina (Brixen, South Tyrol)
Curia (Chur, Switzerland) - town of the Calucones
Faiana - ???
Lapidaria (Zillis, Switzerland) - town of the Suanetes
Oscola (Domodossola, Italy) - a Lepontian town
Sabiona (Monastary of Säben)
Veldidena (Wilten, a suburb of Innsbruck, Austria)
Viana - ???

"Raetic" Tribes:
Breuni or Breoni (Inn valley) - possibly Illyrian
Brixenetes - Bolzano province, Italy
Calucones (Graubünden, Switzerland)
Camunni (around Cividate Camuno, Lombardy)
Focunates - Bolzano province, Italy
Genaunes - possibly Illyrian
Isarci (Isarco/Eisack river)
Lepontii - Lake Lugano area
Rugusci or Rucinates - "Raeti" in the narrower sense
Suanetes - "Raeti" in the narrower sense
Trumpilini
Uberi
Vennones or Vennonetes
Venostes - Vinschgau, South Tyrol

IV) Noricum
The Norii or Norici were a Celtic confederation or kingdom that lived in the eastern part of the Alps.

Noric Tribes:
Alauni
Ambidravi - Drava river area
Ambilenes
Ambisontes
Helvetii (?)
Laianci
Norici
Saevates
Uperaces

Towns:
Aguntum (Dölsach near Lienz) - main town of the Lianci
Arelate - ???
Bedacon - ???
Boiodurum (Passau, Bavaria)
Celeia - originally probably "Kelea" - (Celje, Slovenia)
Claudionium - ???
Favianis (Mautern at the Danube)
Gaunodurum or Gabauodurum - ???
Gesodunum - ???
Iuvavum (Salzburg) - town of the Alauni
Lauriacum (Enns, Austria)
Poidicon - ???
Sianticon - ???
Teurnia or Teuournia (near Lendorf in the Drava valley) - Ambidravi territory
Vacorion - ???
Vindobona (Vienna)
Virunum - Zollfeld near Klagenfurt (46°42' N, 14°21' E)

River Names:
Auenus or Oenus (Inn) - marks the eastern border of Noricum
Dravus - Drava river
Iscarus - Iscaro/Eisack, South Tyrol
Isonta - Salzach river, a tributary of the Inn
 
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Part #13 - Third Supplementary on Britain (Pictish Britain, Part Two)

These are the towns in northern Britain, as mentioned by Ptolemy. Localization is extremely difficult, and the way I post them here kind of means I have given up on them. However, I have given you the vague area where they located.

Towns of the Selgovae:
Carbantorigum - somewhere in the Lowlands
Corda - somewhere in the Lowlands
Trimontium - Newstead
Uxellum - somewhere in the Lowlands, near Irish Sea coast

Towns of the Damnoni:
Alauna - somewhere along the Irish Sea (Lemannonius Bay)
Colanica - somewhere in the Lowlands
Coria - somewhere in the Lowlands
Lindum - inland from Alauna of the Damnoni
Victoria - between Lindum and Orrea
Vindogara - somewhere in the Lowlands, towards the Irish Sea (inland from the Vindogara Bay)

Towns of the Otalini:
Alauna - somewhere along the North Sea, around Fife Ness
Coria - somewhere in the Lowlands
Bremenium - somewhere in the Lowlands, southwards from the "Alaunus" river that empties into the North Sea

Towns of the Vacomagi
Bannatia - somewhere in the Highlands
Pinnata - somewhere along the Moray Firth, between the Loxa and Tuesis rivers
Tamia - somwhere in the Highlands
Tuesis - perhaps near Inverness

Other towns:
Devana of the Taezali - along the Deva river
Locopibia of the Novantae - somewhere in the Lowlands, near the Irish Sea
Orrea of the Venicones - possibly near Dundee
Rerigonium of the Novantae - near Loch Ryan
 
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Thande

Donor
Well good work EQ and perhaps someone more familiar with Scottish geography can help identify matters.
 
Well good work EQ and perhaps someone more familiar with Scottish geography can help identify matters.

Thanks. I added a few more details which could infer from the coordinates that Ptolemy gives for them. My next installments will be another one for Germania Magna (that one is still in the cue, sorry), but I've also started working on Sarmatia and Hispania. The latter is going to be especially immense because I have three sets of data: Roman Hispania (in Ptolemy's time), Hispania at the eve of the Punic Wars, and (partially) on Hispania during the 6th century BC.
 
If you want I can contribute with Germania Inferior as you are working on Germania Magna, EQ.

Sure, you're free to go ahead. :D You already have a good chunk of data since Germania Inferior lay basically within the territory of Gallia Belgica (at least, the borders said province existed earlier).
 
Part #14 - Pre-Roman Hispania

Time Period: 3rd century BC

The Iberian penninsula at the eve of the Punic Wars was a highly diverse place with a bewildering number of different ethnic groups. I have therefore split things along the lines of major ethnic groups in order to measure up for that. Please note that in regard for localizations, this is still very vague, I'm going supplement this later however when I'm including the provinces of Roman Hispania based on Ptolemy's notes.

I) Aquitanians
The Aquitanians were the ancestors of the modern Basques, and they lived in the approximate are of the modern Basque country, as well as adjacent areas.

Aquitanian tribes (in Hispania) include:
- Autrigones (by typonomy, they were more probably Celtic)
- Caristii
- Vascones (origin of the name "Basques")
- Varduli

II) Iberians
The Iberians, who eventually gave their name to the entire penninsula, lived along the eastern coast of Hispania, approximately from Catalonia in the north towards eastern Andalusia in the south. We know a little bit about the Iberian language because the Iberians had several different scripts, which they originally had adopted from the Tartessians (though they later modified it under Greek influence). The Iberian language was a non-Indo-European language that may have had a relationship of *some* kind with Aquitanian. The Iberians were conquered by Rome during the 2nd Punic War. Another issue that should be noted is that the gentilic suffix "-tani", although heavily used in Iberian names, was not of Iberian origin. Instead, it seems to be a translation of the Iberian gentilic suffix "-sken". Where it's preserved, I therefore have added native Iberian names as they are known in Italics. It should also be noted that Iberian town names typically started with the prefix "Ili-".

Iberian Tribes:
- Ausetani (Barcelona province) - "Ausesken"
- Bastetani or Bastuli (Granada and Almeria provinces)
- Bergistani (Lerida province)
- Cessetani (Tarragona province) - "Kesesken"
- Ceretani (eastern Pyrenees)
- Contestani (Murcia and Alicante provinces)
- Deitani
- Edetani (Valencia)
- Ilercavones (Castellon and Teruel provinces)
- Ilergetes (Huesca province)
- Indigetes (Barcelona and Gerona provinces) - "Indikesken"
- Laietani (Tarragona province) - "Laiesken"
- Lacetani
- Sedetani (Zaragoza province)
- Sordones (Pyrenees-Orientales, France)

III) Lusitanians
The Lusitanians were a people (or, actually,a group of peoples) in the approximate area of central Portugal and the Spanish Extremadura (along the Tejo river). They spoke a (non-Celtic) Indo-European language that may have arrived on the Iberian penninsula in an earlier wave of migration, and may have originally lived along the entire area of the northwestern coast up to Galicia.

Lusitanians (in the narrower sense) - central and lower Tejo areas. They were engaged in a several decades long war against the Romans during the mid-2nd century BC before they were subjugated by the Romans.

Vettones - upper Tejo river area, corresponding approximately with the Spanish provinces of Caceras, Salamanca, Avila as well as western Toledo.

IV) The Celts of Hispania
Classically, the term "Celtiberians" has been used for all Celts on the Iberian penninsula, however technically, this should be only used for the Celts of 'Celtiberia' proper, that is the upper Ebro river area. This is something that is necessary to distinguish. In any case, all Hispano-Celtic dialects were apparently Q-Celtic, akin to Irish. It's unclear when exactly the Celts arrived on the Iberian penninsula, but in many areas, there's name evidence for previous peoples (both Indo-Europeans and non-Indo-Europeans) which presumably inhabited these areas before the Celts arrived. A very typical example is the way Hispano-Celtic town names are formed, typically with a non-Celtic first part and with the Celtic "-briga" attached to it.

IVa) Celtiberians
The Celtiberians, as their name suggests, were heavily Iberian-influenced (most notably they had adopted a modified variant of the Iberian scripts), which puts them into contrast with the other Hispano-Celts, which lacked a writing system. Wether they were actually Celticized Iberians, or Iberian-influenced Celts is impossible to tell, however. The Celtiberians inhabited the upper Ebro valley area and the source area of the Duero, which roughly corrsponds to the areas of western Aragon and northeastern Castille. Their principal stronghold was Numantia, an oppidum located at 41°48'36'' N, 2°26'37'' W, which was besieged by the Romans in 134/33 BC, however it's denizens decided to commit suicide rather than surrendering to the Romans.

Celtiberian subtribes include:
Arevaci
Belli
Berones
Lusones
Pelendones
Titti

IVb) Gallaecians
The Gallaecians (also called "Callaeci" or "Kallakoi") lived in the approximate area of modern Galicia, as well as adjecent areas in northern Portugal (north of the Douro river). Gallaecia was home to a bewildering number of tribes.

Gallaecian tribes:
Albiones (compare "Albion")
Aobrigenses
Arroni
Arrotrebae or Artrabi
Baedi
Bibali
Bracari
Capori
Celtici Praestamarici
Celtici Supertamarici
Cibarci
Clinei
Coelerni
Equaesi
Grovii
Interamici
Lapatianci
Lemavi
Louguei
Luanqui
Naebisoci
Namarini
Nemetati
Nerii
Poemani
Quaquerni
Seurri
Seurbi
Tamagani
Turodi

IVc) Astures
The Astures or Asturians lived in approximately the area of modern Asturias, as well as adjacent areas in Leon, Palencia and Zamora. They were divided into two areas, the Astures Transmontani and the Astures Cismontani, which lived north and south of the central range of the Cantabrian mountains, respectively. The Astures were amongst the last inhabitants of the Iberian penninsula to be conquered by the Romans.

Astures Transmontani
Baedunenses
Brigaentini (compare with the "Brigantes" of Britain, Ireland and Vendelicia)
Cabarci
Iburri
Luggones
Paesici
Penios
Selini
Vincianes
Viromenices

Astures Cismontani
Amacori
Gigurri
Lancienses
Lougei
Orniacori
Supertii or Supertati
Susarri
Tibures
Zolae

IVd) Cantabrians
The Cantabrians lived in an area that closely corresponds with the area of modern Cantabria, as well as adjacent areas in the provinces of Burgos, Leon and Palencia. The Cantabrians were amongst the last inhabitants of the Iberian penninsula to be conquered by the Romans.

Cantabrian tribes include:
Avarigines
Blendii
Plentusii
Camarici or Tamarici
Concani (compare with the "Cancani" of Ireland)
Coniaci
Moroecani
Noegi
Orgenomesci
Salaeni
Vadienses
Vellici

Other larger Hispano-Celtic tribes:
Carpetani (Central Spain, around Toledo)
Celtici (southern Portugal) - also in Gallaecia
Oretani (Jaen, Ciudad Real and Albacete provinces)
Turboletae (Tereul Province, Spain)
Turduli (northwestern Andalusia and along the coastal plain of central Portugal)
Vaccaei (Central Duero area)

V) The (post-)Tartessian region
Unlike the previous regions which were pretty straightforward in terms of ethnic groups, this is a bit more complicated. Tartessos was a city or kingdom that existed in the southwest of the Iberian penninsula (the Algarve and western Andalusia, with the core area being around the lower Guadalqivir river) from about the late Bronze Age to about the 6th century BC. Tartessos presumably grew rich from it's position as a trade hub that had access to both the Atlantic and Mediterranean trade networks. Based off the Phoenician alphabet, the Tartessians developed their own writing system which was the basis of the other indigenous writing systems of the penninsula. In the 6th century BC, Tartessos collapsed for unknown reasons (perhaps due to schemings by the Phoenicians), and in the following centuries the region was increasingly colonized by Celts in the north and by Phoenicians in the south.

Ethnic groups of this region include (note that this is somewhat anachronistic):

Cynetes or Cunetes (Algarve region, 5th century BC and earlier) - ostensibly a Tartessian-speaking peoples, since in fact most Tartessian inscriptions have been found in their area. Later (1st century BC), Strabo mentions a people called "Conii" in approximately the same area, which may have been the Celticized descendants of the Cynetes.

Turdetani (lower Guadiana and Guadalqivir river areas - 3rd century BC onward) - presumably the descendants of the Tartessians. They were clients of the Carthaginians and staged a revolt against them during the 2nd Punic War. It's unclear what language they spoke as they mave been already apparently partially Celticized, Iberianized and/or Punicized even by the 3rd century BC.

Additionally, the former region of Tartessos was inhabited by Celtici, Turduli, Bastetani and Phoenicians by the 3rd century BC.

VI) Phoenician Colonies
The Phoenicians already had established themselves at the begin of the 1st millennium BC in the area of modern Andalusia.

Gadir (Cadiz) - oldest Phoenician city in Hispania.
Carthago Nova (Cartagena) - actually just "Qart Hadasht", just like the "old" Carthage, with both places being called merely "New City" in Punic.
Abdera (near modern Adra, Spain)
Ebusos (Ibizza)
Onoba (Huelva) - may have been founded ontop of a Tartessian town.
Malaka (Malaga)

VII) Greek Colonies
The Greeks, specifically Phocaeans, arrived near the begin of the 6th century BC in the northeastern areas of Hispania (in Iberian areas), and Greek culture also had a considerable influence on the Iberians, notably on arts and scripture. Greek colonies include:
- Emporion ( 42°15'30"N, 3° 4'30"E )
- Hemeroskopeion (modern Denia, Valencia)
- Rhode (Roses, Girona)

VIII) The Baleares (Or "Gymnesian Islands")
This is not directly related with the Iberian penninsula, but since the isles are part of it today politically, I included them here as well. It should be noted that in Antiquity, the Baleares were strictly speaking only Majorca and Menorca (in contrast, Ibizza and Formentera were the "Pityuses"). On these isles, the native Talayotic culture existed during the Bronze Age, which later came under Phoenician influence, who established themselves on nearby Ibizza. The Greeks called the inhabitants of these islands "Gymnetes" (Naked Ones), and in Antiquity, they were known as renowned slingers, and Balearic slingers fought as mercenaries in Carthaginian armies during the 2nd Punic War.
 
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Great work Qianlong; I'll be using this a lot. Thanks on behalf of a lot of people.

Thanks. And feel welcome, it was the basic idea that everybody here could use it. ;) If you have specific question, ask it. Also, if there's parts where you'd like to see more supplementaries - such as on Hispania where I'm currently still working on, or other regions further down the road where I should give more priority, please tell me. ;)
 
Wow, great work! Thanks for doing this, I've always been fascinated by ancient geography. I'm looking forward to the section(s) on the little bit of knowledge the Mediterranean sources recorded about the Africa interior (assuming there will be one?).

Just curious, are there plans to cover Central Asia? I remember being very interested by Chinese sources like the Hou Hanshu when I was in high school, trying to figure out what was what.
 
Wow, great work! Thanks for doing this, I've always been fascinated by ancient geography. I'm looking forward to the section(s) on the little bit of knowledge the Mediterranean sources recorded about the Africa interior (assuming there will be one?).

Well, there is some limited informations (Ptolemy has three entries covering that, specifically the 'interiors of Libya and Ethiopia'). There's also the journey by Hanno the Navigator. Compared to the Euro-Mediterranean area, this information is rather scarce.

Just curious, are there plans to cover Central Asia? I remember being very interested by Chinese sources like the Hou Hanshu when I was in high school, trying to figure out what was what.

Yeah, I'm definitely going to cover Central Asia somewhere down the stream, and I'm also interested in including eastern sources there. :)
 
*bump*

I know that this is an act of shameless self-promotion, but since this thread is starting to become confusing, I have decided to create an article in the AH.com Wiki which links to the various installments in this thread. Enjoy:

Link
 
Well, there is some limited informations (Ptolemy has three entries covering that, specifically the 'interiors of Libya and Ethiopia'). There's also the journey by Hanno the Navigator. Compared to the Euro-Mediterranean area, this information is rather scarce.

Yeah, I think the main sources are Ptolemy, Hanno, and the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea. I've always been intrigued by how ancient historians and geographers addressed the farthest lands, the limits of what they knew - the giant ants of Herodotus' Tibet, the human-animal hybrids of Tacitus' northern Russia. Ptolemy references a mysterious land called Agisymba somewhere south of the Sahara that I've always been curious about.
 
Yeah, I think the main sources are Ptolemy, Hanno, and the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea. I've always been intrigued by how ancient historians and geographers addressed the farthest lands, the limits of what they knew - the giant ants of Herodotus' Tibet, the human-animal hybrids of Tacitus' northern Russia. Ptolemy references a mysterious land called Agisymba somewhere south of the Sahara that I've always been curious about.

Well, Herodotus' statements have always to be taken with a grain of salt because as I stated before, he was rather geographically challenged. If you read between the lines, and with a healthy degree of scepticism, you can get quite some informations from it.

Regarding human-animal hybrids, I'm currently working on an installment regarding Ptolemy's Sarmatia (as well as northeastern Europe in general), and I stumbled across a tribe Ptolemy calls "Hippopodes" (Horse feet) which approximately lived on the area of Central Russia. ;)
 
Interesting! I always imagined the tribes described by Tacitus (the Hellusii and the Oxiones) were based on descriptions of actual people wearing animal skins. I wonder if there'd be any logical explanation for people with hooves...

As for Herodotus' gold-digging ants, this author came up with a creative explanation that the account was actually describing ancient Tibetan gold miners draped in yak hides and their black-furred mastiff companions. Come to think of it, a wild yak seen from a distance might resemble a giant black ant - with its horns as antennas and its hunched back as a thorax. Of course, I'm not convinced that such a crazy story even needs a logical interpretation, but it's interesting to think about nonetheless...
 
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