Talk:Scythians - Wikipedia


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February 19, 2008Peer reviewReviewed
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Section sizes

Section size for Scythians (215 sections)
Section name Byte
count
Section
total
(Top) 7,666 7,666
Names 44 10,455
Etymology 4,785 4,785
Modern terminology 62 5,626
Scythians proper 717 717
Broader designations 3,083 3,083
Saka 708 708
Cimmerians 1,056 1,056
History 767 232,302
Pre-Scythian period 534 3,436
Beginning of steppe nomadism 1,163 1,163
The Chernogorovka-Novocherkassk complex 1,739 1,739
Proto-Scythian period 4,435 4,435
Migration out of Central Asia 1,671 4,573
Displacement of the Cimmerians 2,902 2,902
Early (or Archaic) Scythian period 41 41
Ciscaucasian kingdom 4,935 124,206
Arrival in West Asia 29 10,272
Cimmerian migration into West Asia 986 986
Reasons for southwards nomad expansion 5,101 5,101
Scythian expansion into West Asia 4,156 4,156
Arrival in the Pontic Steppe 1,471 5,313
Displacement of the Agathyrsi 1,851 1,851
Activities in Europe 31 1,991
Raids into Central Europe 322 322
Relations with the forest steppe 1,638 1,638
Presence in West Asia 10,474 22,879
Alliance with the Neo-Assyrian Empire 5,466 12,405
West Asian influences on the Scythians 6,939 6,939
Conquest of Mannai 2,672 2,672
The reign of Madyes 567 37,141
Conquest of Media 2,212 2,212
Scythian hegemony in West Asia 1,470 1,470
Defeat of the Cimmerians 131 12,255
Cimmerian activities in Anatolia 1,830 1,830
Cimmerian alliance with the Treres 472 472
Cimmerian attack on Lydia and Asian Greece 2,472 2,472
Cimmerian activities in Cilicia 1,439 1,439
Death of Dugdammî 1,280 1,280
Decline of the Cimmerians 383 383
Rise of the Lydian Empire 4,248 4,248
First wave of Greek colonisation 2,110 4,685
First Greek trade outposts 2,575 2,575
Decline in West Asia 701 7,112
Revolt of Media 2,731 2,731
Raid till Egypt 3,680 3,680
War against the Neo-Assyrian Empire 2,880 2,880
Beginning of Graeco-Scythian commercial activities 1,668 1,668
Expulsion from West Asia 1,654 4,292
Remnants in West Asia 2,638 2,638
North Pontic Scythian kingdom 4,161 40,994
Pontic Scythian political and social formation 5,814 5,814
Scythian influence in the Pontic Steppe 1,754 1,754
Expansion into Central Europe 40 7,131
Migration of the Sindi 840 840
In the forest steppe 1,831 1,831
Raids to the west 2,139 2,139
Westwards Scythian influences 2,281 2,281
Second wave of Greek colonisation 7,215 7,215
Rise of the Persian Empire 1,122 1,122
Third wave of Greek colonisation 3,093 3,093
First wave of Sauromatian immigration 4,930 4,930
Anacharsis 1,523 1,523
The Persian invasion 4,251 4,251
Middle (or Classical) period 2,394 59,690
Consolidation 1,149 26,929
Expansionism 158 9,754
In Thrace 2,234 2,234
In Sindica 242 242
In the forest steppe 1,795 1,795
On the Pontic coast 5,325 5,325
Commercial activities 32 6,717
Grain trading 1,531 1,531
Slave trading 1,922 1,922
Other Scythian exports 147 147
Import of Greek goods 1,179 1,179
Economic prosperity 1,906 1,906
Greek influence 1,399 1,399
Early sedentarisation 4,075 4,075
The city of Kamianka 3,384 3,384
The city of Yelizavetovskaya 451 451
Succession struggle 1,272 9,603
External relations 191 5,797
With Central and Western Europe 231 231
With Thrace 1,268 1,268
With the Bosporan kingdom 3,761 3,761
With Athens 346 346
Second wave of Sauromatian immigration 1,242 1,242
Period of instability 1,292 1,292
Golden Age 2,738 6,813
Trade with the Greeks 1,384 3,537
Scytho-Bosporan relations 2,153 2,153
Early Sarmatian immigration 538 538
The reign of Ateas 5,168 5,168
The late 4th century BC 3,158 3,158
End of Pontic Scythia 5,625 5,625
Late period 3,743 3,743
End 1,781 1,781
Legacy 442 29,630
Antiquity 18 14,696
In West Asia 3,738 3,738
In ancient art 486 486
In Graeco-Roman literature 730 9,810
According to Herodotus of Halicarnassus 3,267 3,267
In later Graeco-Roman literature 4,422 4,422
As general designation 1,391 1,391
Ancient grave robbing 644 644
Mediaeval period 458 4,278
In Mediaeval European literature 3,145 3,145
Russian Chronicles 293 293
Mediaeval grave robbery 382 382
Modern period 228 10,214
Modern pseudohistory 4,845 4,845
Early modern grave robbery 1,202 1,202
Russian Scythianism 3,939 3,939
Culture and society 1,450 102,896
Location 15 10,213
Early phase in the western steppes 485 485
In West Asia 1,648 1,648
In the Pontic steppe 3,098 7,473
Climate 2,592 2,592
Neighbouring populations 1,783 1,783
Little Scythia 592 592
Ethnicity 16 11,798
Central Asian Iranic origins 1,215 1,215
Later tribal confederation 973 973
Constituent tribes 8,086 8,086
Related populations 1,508 1,508
Language 1,395 1,395
Social organisation 26 13,575
Class system 1,673 6,101
The aristocracy 1,085 1,085
Commoners 1,554 1,554
Serfdom 308 308
Slavery 770 770
Class hierarchies 711 711
Clan structures 872 872
Gender roles 21 1,964
Patriarchy 966 966
Marriage customs 636 636
Gender non-conformity 341 341
Administrative structure 376 4,612
Kingship 2,423 2,423
Popular and warrior assemblies 356 356
Dependancy 298 298
Administrative divisions 1,159 1,159
Economy 1,388 28,474
Pastoralism 2,184 2,184
Hunting 235 235
Agriculture 2,030 2,030
Crafts and materials 1,662 5,782
Metalworking 1,376 1,376
Goldsmithing 384 2,345
Industrial organisation 1,961 1,961
Textiles 399 399
Trade 2,455 2,455
Scythian exports 1,752 8,009
The grain trade 514 4,777
Athenian commercial ventures 839 839
Scythian-managed grain trade 991 991
Bosporan grain trade 745 745
Scythian profits 1,688 1,688
The slave trade 1,480 1,480
Scythian imports 1,398 4,468
Importation of wine 1,141 1,141
Scythian trade relations 833 833
Pottery importation 659 659
Hellenisation as consequence of trade 437 437
The gold trade route 1,722 1,722
Coinage 201 201
Lifestyle 16 35,991
Equestrianism 1,024 1,869
Saddles 845 845
Nomadism and sedentarisation 2,030 2,030
Habitations 322 3,763
Tents 1,176 1,176
Sedentary settlements 32 2,265
Scythian settlements 2,233 2,233
Vehicles 150 150
Diet 1,029 1,759
Wine consumption 730 730
Clothing and grooming 4,722 6,342
Hairstyle 250 250
Grooming 1,370 1,370
Medicine 1,501 1,501
Pets 74 3,179
Art 14 3,105
Literary art 122 122
Physical art 436 436
The "Animal Style" 286 286
Development 2,247 2,247
Religion 1,017 1,017
Warfare 1,255 14,365
Weapons 104 7,912
Archery 3,879 3,879
Poisons 2,999 2,999
Other weapons 930 930
Armour 2,167 2,167
Command structure 879 879
Tactics 173 173
War customs 1,979 1,979
Physical appearance 2,709 4,035
Archaeology 1,326 1,326
Genetics 3,195 7,422
Maternal haplogroups 3,020 3,020
Paternal haplogroups 1,207 1,207
List of rulers 796 4,720
Kings of Early Scythians 1,188 1,188
Kings of Pontic Scythians 2,736 2,736
See also 159 159
References 35 35
Sources 12 79,295
Ancient 3,615 3,615
Modern 72,401 72,401
Further reading 3,267 3,267
Total 448,985 448,985

(Old Persian: Sakā; New Persian: ساکا Saka; Greek: Σάκαι Sakai; Armenian: սկյութները Skyout'nerə; Latin: Sacae, Sanskrit: शक Śaka), and Sai (Chinese: 塞; Old Chinese: *sˤək), respectively.[8]

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Change spelling of entartainment to entertainment 2605:59C8:2678:3300:E192:8D5:E423:9D44 (talk) 00:40, 21 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

  Done. Thank you for your contribution to Wikipedia! Quadrantal (talk) 04:43, 21 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

In the genetic study by Krzewińska, Maja; et al 2018 it is said that the Scythians have exclusively R1b, on some sites I came across information that the article of the genetic study incorrectly concluded that the western nomads of the Iron Age had haplogroup R1b, at first I did not know on what basis such an opinion was made. However, recently I came across a genetic study (Population genomics of post-glacial western Eurasia), there is autosomal DNA of samples, including those that were tested in the study by Krzewińska, Maja; et al 2018, and it confirms that there is an error in the article, that allegedly "western nomads of the Iron Age had R1b", only scy305 and scy009 had haplogroup R1b, the rest of the Scythians had mainly R1a, there were also samples with I2a and E1b. Therefore, in the article "Scythians" in the section "Genetics" it is necessary to correct the incorrect statement that the Western Scythians had only haplogroup R1b. P.S. to see the table of autosomal DNA samples you need to download the study or here is the link (table1 and table2). And the samples (Scythians) from the genetic study Krzewińska, Maja; et al 2018 are marked "scy". In another genetic study (The genetic history of the Southern Arc) in the tables at the very bottom of the study in the "Supplementary Materials" section, it also shows that the samples (scy) had not only a haplogroup R1b. User8638 (talk) 20:17, 23 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

A solution I propose to short the article is to split it into time periods or at least have a separate article for the people and the history, but please feel free to discuss. Legendarycool (talk) 06:22, 13 September 2024 (UTC)Reply

I would short the article of everything required to shorten it. The shorted material should go in other new shorter articles. The topic should not be shortened. It would totally be comprised, then, by a series of articles. I recommend we use more formal English for this making it sound more professional. No, I don't think time divisions best fits the material. Yes I do think people and history matches it. I would not simplify it to pigin-English. Use good English or at least defer to it. My two main divisions would be just Scythians, which would contain introductory definitions, etymology, geography, and history. The rest of the material would be under [[Anthropology of the Scythians]]. However there are a lot of specialized topics, such as [[Rulers of the Scythians]]. These can be taken out any time. I suggest we use anthropological terms for the anthropological topics. Botteville (talk) 02:37, 24 September 2024 (UTC)Reply

Last year I had endeavoured to overhaul this article, but this had the result of creating an unusually long page. After discussion with @Carlstak and @Buidhe, we decided that I should move the update to my sandbox and trim it there before moving it back here.

However, despite my best attempts, I haven't been able to adequately the rewrite to make it shorter without losing any essential information. Therefore, I would like to do some special pleading to be allowed to move this longer rewrite back into the mainspace and allow other editors to trim it as necessary. Antiquistik (talk) 12:20, 24 September 2024 (UTC)Reply

Antiquistik good news is that the length is much easier to fix than other problems, so if you think that your draft is an improvement over the current article, I would suggest putting it in with a length tag and hope that the length can get fixed later on.
Still, the length is something that should get addressed at some point because it greatly exceeds the recommended size. To me, it looks like a big part of your draft is the "history" section. So a good start would be to split that off per WP:SUMMARY to History of the Scythians and leave a much shorter summary in this article. (t · c) buidhe 12:27, 24 September 2024 (UTC)Reply
Thanks. I'll move the sandbox's content to mainspace first, then I'll work on splitting the article. Antiquistik (talk) 13:08, 24 September 2024 (UTC)Reply
The "Pontic Scythian kingdom" section should be largely split off to Scythia, which is already a political article. "Warfare" section should be split off into a Scythian warfare article. I am referring to the existing article here (not the longer one in the sandbox). Srnec (talk) 13:03, 24 September 2024 (UTC)Reply
Scythia was meant to be a geographic article while the political information was to be contained on Scythians, though, as per the discussions regarding the mergers which created the present Scythians page. Antiquistik (talk) 13:11, 24 September 2024 (UTC)Reply
The article needs splitting. You just increased it by 163,223 bytes and yet seem resistant to the idea of splitting off political information... So what sub-articles are you planning, since the article is now prohibitively long? Srnec (talk) 16:03, 24 September 2024 (UTC)Reply
We need to think positive on this. Antiquistik has done a lot of work so I vote we allow it in. We have to call a spade a spade here. The topic is a big one in ancient studies comprising a whole lot of topics. We are discovering this by trial and error. I think by now we all recognize that one article just is not doing it. Why don't we let Antiquistik do his thing and when we see where we are headed we can contribute better. The goal is a coherent topic of multiple articles linked togther with blue links. We don't need to trail off into an extended carp. Think positive. Botteville (talk) 00:07, 25 September 2024 (UTC)Reply
Thanks, @Botteville. @Srnec I am not against splitting per se, but the way Scythia was turned into a political article was sloppy, since it only consisted of summarising parts of Scythians there.
If splitting needs to be done, I would suggest that the "History" section be made into a History of the Scythians page, and the "Warfare" sub-section be made into a Scythian warfare page.
In general, this is being a headache for me, because the more documented a historical culture is, the more likely the page covering it is going to be similarly huge, e.g. if the page for the Neo-Assyrian Empire was properly overhauled, it would be as big or even bigger. And neither do I have magic answers for how to deal with such situations, nor do I think Wikipedia itself is equipped for these situations either. Antiquistik (talk) 06:31, 25 September 2024 (UTC)Reply
We seem to be in a situation of "who is going to bell the cat." For myself I want to wait a little more to see where the article is going. Then I will study it again to see what can be chipped off. Previously I suggested Scythians and Anthropology of the Scythians. Your History of the Scythians can certainly be chipped off Scythians. It seems to me we need an initial main split with subdivision of those. I only want to point out we need to see the material as a collection of articles and get busy deciding what goes where. It won't be easy but there is plenty of time. Botteville (talk) 10:22, 25 September 2024 (UTC)Reply
"If splitting needs to be done". The article is almost half a gigabyte—that is ridiculously too long. It must be split. As Antiquistik said in the edit summary for the addition of an excessive 163,223 bytes to an already very long article: "Moving content from sandbox to mainspace per discussion. Article to be split to reduce size later." The addition of so much content at once has made dealing with the article too burdensome and it should be reverted to its previous state to facilitate the splitting. The extra content should be apportioned among the resultant multiple articles. Carlstak (talk) 13:05, 26 September 2024 (UTC)Reply
@Carlstak: I said so because I still want to try trimming the page first before we go for a split. Provided I am allowed to try, of course. Antiquistik (talk) 11:55, 6 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
FYI that there is a Reddit thread about all this. Ed [talk] [OMT] 17:36, 2 October 2024 (UTC)Reply
Just as an aside, the thing that strikes me most about that Reddit discussion is is how civilized and positive it is. Carlstak (talk) 18:47, 2 October 2024 (UTC)Reply