by Christopher Fulkerson

This is a superb documentary.     A Russian archaeologist, Leonid Yablonsky, and an American theorist, working together for at least 20 years, have found some pretty amazing stuff.    Though apparently even the main scientist here, Jeannine Davis-Kimball, does not believe Homer reports fact, and the ancient Greek historian Herodotus's writings are often thought to weave fairy tails with truth, it turns out that the previously dismissed ancient Greek reports of blond Asian warrior women in southern Russia do have a basis in fact.    Ancient Greek vases depict many artifacts found in southern Russia and Mongolia, including some things still to be seen today.    2500 year old skeleton "272" from southern Russia, with the DNA of a woman warrior, big, voluptuous, no longer under active consideration, is very similar to that of Miramgul, a blond, hazel-eyed girl nomad, alive today, and riding a pony to show her solidarity with the ancient Amazons.    No mention of this is made in this film, but across the centuries curious correspondences with fact have been found in Ludovico Ariosto's wild epic poem ORLANDO FURIOSO (the single most common source of Baroque opera plots), the story of the knight Orlando and his love for Angelica... a blond Asian!    Such a conspicuous character was unimaginable in Ariosto's time... where did he get the idea for her?    Could he have known something his contemporaries did not, even we, do not know?     Do we have yet another "fictional" work with some basis in fact?   In any case, this documentary is proof that we should not accept received ideas that belittle what others think is insignificant.

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Copyright 2010 by Christopher Fulkerson

Posted 4/5/2010.

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