Mummified royals who loved tattoos and cannabis

I think the word dank is appropriate for this
Maybe Jesus got a oz off the forth wise man 🌿

originally posted by: Anaana
a reply to: Flavian and Earthoccupant

Just looking at the terracotta cart compared to the one from the Altai which, to my eye, doesn't look particularly serviceable, I am wondering whether they were emulating elite burials that they had witnessed in China...I think the article suggests that the tattoos may indicate cultural connections (as have other finds in the region). Or is the chariot just fragile looking due to degradation over time? If not then perhaps they knew the principle of spoked wheels but lacked the technology to replicate anything more than a rough facsimile, perhaps?

I thought there was a fair bit of evidence to indicate that the first Emperor would have been of Mongol stock, or at least very intimate with the Mongols - even down to riding with his "chosen men". Which would again indicate that this knowledge had been out there (and remained there for the Chinese).......but for some reason disappeared for the Mongols.......

originally posted by: Flavian
I thought there was a fair bit of evidence to indicate that the first Emperor would have been of Mongol stock, or at least very intimate with the Mongols - even down to riding with his "chosen men". Which would again indicate that this knowledge had been out there (and remained there for the Chinese).......but for some reason disappeared for the Mongols.......

My reading comprehension, amongst other things, is off, I thought the find was 2200 BC, not 2200 years ago. I was also completely wrong about the workmanship of the wheels (now that I've read up on wheel making techniques), they have all the key components of wheelwrighting. I blame poor screen resolution due to uncleanliness, I printed off the picture and they cannot be faulted

So, the carriage, though wonderful, technologically is not particularly innovative in terms of transportation, solid four wheeled cart meets two spoked wheel war chariot, but it is indicative of the need (or desire) for speed in transporting goods and people, therefore interesting in a different way. It is the kind of technology that allows for armies to be supplied quickly.

I don't know enough about the Mongols, so I'm not sure whether the speed at which their caravans could follow them would have been significant to them, but racing sports and speediness are qualities valued by war-like peoples, which suggests a connection of cultural antecedents. Maybe?