Origin and Diffusion of Indo-European

Origin and Diffusion of Indo-European

1. Proto-Indo-European

   • existence cannot be proven
     • would have existed thousands of years before the invention of writing or recorded history
   • Nomadic Warrior Thesis
     • Marija Gimbutes
       • first speakers were the Kurgan people
         • homeland in the steppes near the border between present-day Russia and Kazakhstan
       • the Kurgans were warriors who invaded others
         • they forced people to speak their language
           • this common language evolved into Indo-European language family
   • Sedentary Farmer Thesis
     • Colin Renfrew
       • first speakers lived 2,000 years before the Kurgans
         • lived in eastern Anatolia, part of present-day Turkey
       • the speakers were peaceful people
         • they migrated to other places to farm
           • thus spreading their language to other places
             • this common language evolved into the Indo-European language family
     • Russell D. Gray supports this, but dates the first speakers at around 6700 B.C.