This video summaries the Yamnaya Culture, who were pastoralists that migrated from the Eurasian Steppes north of the Black Sea into Europe from between 3,300 BC and 2,600 BC.

Following are points from the video:

— The Yamnaya spent winters in wooded river valleys using trees for fuel, and in the summers they fed their herds in the grasslands.

— They were the first to ride horses, and they potentially invented the wheel as well as four-wheeled Ox-drawn wagons that allowed them to drive herds of cattle across the steppes.

— They ate horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, and also hunted other animals of the steppes and river valleys.

— They drank milk and ate butter and cheese, and thus lactose intolerance was not very common among them.

— Some did farming, but it was not a huge part of their diet.

— They were physically large people.

— Due to their robust size and advanced technology, they were very successful and expanded Westward into Europe.

— Their interactions with the previous inhabitants of Europe was complex, where sometimes they swept in and overwhelmed the previous people, but that was not always the case.  Sometimes there was “folk migrations” where entire communities abruptly moved long distances, bringing their technology with them.

— Many native Europeans are descendants of them.


This video is created by Dan Davis, promoting his book “Thunderer,” available on Amazon.