Bottom of the sea? Check. Scorching desert? Check. Frosted Steppe? Check. Afterlife? You could say, check.

This seemingly nonsensical list is actually a summary of the life of Dr. Gino Caspari, whom I have welcomed into The Snakeman's Lair as this episode's guest. Dr. Caspari is an archaeologist whose quest towards understanding how ancient people lived and believed led him on several expeditions around the globe. One constant of his work has been the awareness that civilizations have always been constrained and shaped by the environment while also heavily modifying and exploiting it for their own benefit.

As a case in point, Dr. Caspari and colleagues recently published the sensational discovery of a burial mound in Siberia where a clan of ancient Scythians (nomadic horsemen from the steppes of central Asia) showed the unbreakable bond they shared with their horses in a most spectacular way. To hear all about this and much more, all you have to do is join us in The Snakeman's Lair!