Reviews

Eden in the Altai: The Prehistoric Golden Age and the Mythic Origins of Humanity by Geoffrey Ashe

elentarri's review

informative slow-paced

2.5

Geoffrey Ashe has an interesting hypothesis of an ancient civilization/culture in the Altai region that has had world-wide influence.  However, this hypothesis is bogged down with Mr Ashe's excessive and tedious obsession with mythological "sevens".   The author devotes the vast majority of the book to analysis of legends with a smattering of analysis on language usage and a passing mention of archaeological hypotheses.  While the hypothesis is interesting and Ashe might be on to something, he fails to provide archeological finds in the Altai region that would point to this civilization.  Ashe also fails to review any relevant literature that was published after 1986 (as far as I can tell), making the reader wonder if he has simply missed all the new findings (assuming there are any).  The 2018 "update" provides a paragraph with a passing mention of Denisovans.  Maps showing the movement of people mentioned in this book would also have been helpful.