Not to object to anything in particular you said, but the order of the paragraphs is a bit misleading. The 10kya bog body is definitely not Indo-European. The 5kya Mound of the Hostages is very unlikely to be Indo-European. If we accept everything asserted as true and related, then the Indo-European sacrifice was laid on top of the Samhain date used in Ireland before the Indo-Europeans showed up. If you want to trace it back farther than that, you have separate the branches. The Mound doesn't leave much interpretation, in particular no evidence of sacrifice. I guess if it had been a grave before the Indo-Europeans, that fits well with the theme of ghosts.
The Feast of All Saints was a spring holiday in traditional christianity and still is so in Orthodoxy. It was moved to November 1st by the catholic church during the Dark Ages for unknown reasons. Maybe it was due to the influence of irish christianity which was at its peak at that time.
Interesting that the passage grave you mention in Ireland is aligned with Samhain. I’m sure you know that Newgrange - another passage tomb - is aligned with the winter solstice in December.
Also, on the Ginzburg connections theme: I noticed that the spirals on the entrance stone at Newgrange are also in Peru. Neolithic indigenous cultures shared these symbols. It’s fascinating stuff.
Not to object to anything in particular you said, but the order of the paragraphs is a bit misleading. The 10kya bog body is definitely not Indo-European. The 5kya Mound of the Hostages is very unlikely to be Indo-European. If we accept everything asserted as true and related, then the Indo-European sacrifice was laid on top of the Samhain date used in Ireland before the Indo-Europeans showed up. If you want to trace it back farther than that, you have separate the branches. The Mound doesn't leave much interpretation, in particular no evidence of sacrifice. I guess if it had been a grave before the Indo-Europeans, that fits well with the theme of ghosts.
The Feast of All Saints was a spring holiday in traditional christianity and still is so in Orthodoxy. It was moved to November 1st by the catholic church during the Dark Ages for unknown reasons. Maybe it was due to the influence of irish christianity which was at its peak at that time.
Interesting that the passage grave you mention in Ireland is aligned with Samhain. I’m sure you know that Newgrange - another passage tomb - is aligned with the winter solstice in December.
Also, on the Ginzburg connections theme: I noticed that the spirals on the entrance stone at Newgrange are also in Peru. Neolithic indigenous cultures shared these symbols. It’s fascinating stuff.