Cronos had mentioned runic in an earlier post, (last year I guess) and I had been wondering about a link to the Celts and runic.. whether runic had close ties to the Celts..
So, here are the Celts, invading Etruscan lands, and what do I find about Runic?
Note the tree's descent is: Etruscan, N. Italic, Runic-Germanic... (This is the "Elder" runic.)
Then it splits into "Younger" runic, and A.S.(Anglo-Saxon) Runic..
The (runic) article places it's beginnings about 200 BCE...
The Celtic origins article places the Celts in Etruscan territories about 400 BCE..
The Xinjiang Mummies article is talking about a people that existed in that area from about 2,000 BCE to 1,000 BCE.. quite a time frame..
Then we have Yingpan man, in apparent greek style death mask, and western burial garb, a contemporary of the Celts, Etruscans and Romans at the time of the Po Valley invasions.. approximately 2,000 years ago..
It would appear that while some "proto celts" remained in the near east, (Xinjiang, Yingpan) the influx of asain and mongoloid ( is there distinction there? I think there is.. ) caused at least SOME celts to migrate west.. some probably went West toward the Bosphorus straits and Bulgaria, and met the Etruscans, some went northwest, through the Caucasus Mts, into Russia, Ukraine, Romania, etc.. spreading throughout europe..
At this point I'm blathering, but I now see a tie-in with The Celts, and Runic forms.. and I can see their origins... Etruscan and N. Italic..
A culture with no tradition of written language meets a "civilization" WITH written language..
Result, a bastardised form of writing made to conform to an already existing language form..
A concept so alien to the culture it was perceived, at least initially, as having "magical" properties..
Well I'll leave it there, and let you guys tear my little theory apart..
Please,.. Be Gentle.. And Respect Me in the morning..