Who Were the Proto-Indo-Europeans?

A captivating overview of the origins and characteristics of the Proto-Indo-Europeans, as well as theories regarding how they managed to spread through Europe and Asia. A new theory of the origins of the language released in July 2023 is also discussed and challenged.

00:00 - Intro
02:19 - Discovery of Indo-European
07:37 - Origins of the Indo-Europeans
12:33 - Forest to Steppe
16:37 - The Early Steppe
22:16 - The Yamnaya & Corded Ware
35:13 - The Caucasus Hunter Gatherers and the New Indo-European origin theory

To support the channel and get extra content, discussion, requests, etc.

You can also send me a SUPER STICKER through the button bellow the YouTube video

OR
Paypal donations (Greatly appreciated)

[bosertheropode]

There is no day on which I don't thank my indo-aryan ancestors for the gift of lactose tolerance.

[girinka]

3:00 - Lomonosov was born in a small village of Denisovka (Archangelgorod governorate), not in St Petersburgh although he died there. I am Slovakian living in Ireland, and we have a word for snow - 'sneh' . In Irish gaelic snow - 'sneachta' which I found very interesting.

[AUDHDlucy]

It turns out the real proto indo-europeans were the friends we made along the way.

[Survivethejive]

24:14 It doesn't show that really. Archaeological evidence (in several distinct locales) shows that the earliest wheels come from old Neolithic Europe, central Europe (in Germany or an adjacent country before 3400 BC) prior to the influence of WSH on that region. It appears more likely that the Indo-Europeans learned about wheels from people to their West and then applied their own terminology to the technology. It is likely that Sredny Stog had wagons by that time too but we haven't found them. What we also know for sure is that the people using wagons in central Europe did not have horses and that Sredny Stog/Yamnaya were the first to ride horses. Maybe Sredny Stog had wagons (it seems likely) but we cannot say with any certainty that they invented them and didn't borrow them from the West. However we know that Central Europeans had wagons before Yamnaya existed

[FarooqKhanx-mkjv]

As a Pashtun I'm a descendant of the Scythians who were ancient Iranic Siberian steppe nomads

[aag]

I'm Lebanese, and I'm happy to say I have about 30% Steppe ancestry. According to two genetic tests I did. This isn't surprising though, as we're a Mediterranean people. With additional geneflow from the Byzantine Empire. I love all things Indo-European. Thank you for this great presentation 🖤

[mehreganpaiver]

As an Iranian I appreciate you for this beautiful video and narration sir.
I wish there weren't such political and religious conflicts which separate us apart.
Besides for those who interested in mythology I recommend to read SHAHNAMEH by great poet FERDOUSI especially the first half of it. I think you will find much more culteral similarities.

[coreydougherty]

Been following the channel since way back when you barely had a thousand subscribers. It’s awesome to see how much it’s grown and the high quality content you’re producing. This channel is a gem. Keep up the good work!

[UlrichWPreussPreuss]

🎯 Key points for quick navigation:

00:01 *🌊 The modern world was shaped by tumultuous events in Eastern Europe 5, 000 years ago.*
00:29 *🌍 Indo-Europeans impacted regions from Ireland and Iberia to the Indus Valley and Xinjiang, China.*
00:56 *🗣️ Languages like Hindi, Persian, Russian, Spanish, English, German, and Gaelic originated from the Indo-Europeans.*
01:24 *❓ Questions persist about who the Proto-Indo-Europeans were and their origins.*
02:26 *📚 Interest in Indo-European languages dates back to the 16th century, with academic study expanding in the 18th century.*
02:55 *🧠 Mikhail Lomonosov noted a common ancestry among Latin, Greek, German, and Russian languages.*
03:23 *📝 The term "Indo-European" was coined in 1813 by Thomas Young, based on the language group's geographical spread.*
03:55 *🗝️ Core vocabulary similarities, like words for "father" and "mother, " indicate linguistic connections.*
04:53 *🏛️ Ancient Greeks and Romans acknowledged kinship with other peoples through myths, hinting at linguistic awareness.*
05:18 *🌐 Ancient Greek and Iranian languages were more similar, possibly reinforcing beliefs in shared ancestry.*
07:38 *🧐 Identifying the original speakers of Proto-Indo-European remains a primary challenge.*
08:10 *🐎 The Steppe Hypothesis suggests Indo-Europeans were pastoralists from the Pontic-Caspian Steppe who domesticated horses.*
09:04 *⚠️ Early 20th-century misuse of Indo-European concepts led to backlash, but recent genetic studies support earlier theories.*
09:33 *🧬 Genetic flow from the Steppe into Europe around 3000 BC introduced Indo-European languages to Central and Western Europe.*
10:36 *📜 The origins of the Steppe people trace back to Eastern hunter-gatherers, ancestors of the Proto-Indo-Europeans.*
00:28:17 *🧬 Recent genetic research suggests the Yamnaya were not the primary vector for spreading Proto-Indo-European languages across Europe and Asia.*
00:28:47 *🌍 The Yamnaya dialect contributed to Balkan Indo-European languages like Proto-Greek and possibly led to the Afanasievo culture, linked to Tocharian in Xinjiang, China.*
00:29:14 *🏺 The Corded Ware culture, closely related to the Yamnaya, is considered the root of most Indo-European languages.*
00:29:38 *🧪 Genetic studies reveal the Corded Ware culture wasn't formed directly from Yamnaya migrations but from a closely related group.*
00:30:04 *🔥 Corded Ware people cleared forests using fire to create pastures and farm cereal crops.*
00:30:31 *⚰️ They practiced singular burials with tumuli, similar to Yamnaya customs.*
00:31:01 *🗣️ Proto-Indo-Europeans shared linguistic and cultural similarities, allowing for broad generalizations about their society.*
00:31:27 *🧵 They wove textiles, made pottery, farmed cereals, produced cheese, and created fermented honey beverages.*
00:31:54 *🐴 They trained horses, developed horse gear, built carts, and worked with copper and gold artifacts.*
00:32:24 *👑 Organized into tribes called "tuatha, " they were led by leaders known as "hregs, " selected by aptitude, status, and ritual.*
00:32:53 *🤝 Tribes formed alliances based on lineage, debts, marriage, and mythology, sometimes uniting under a single ruler.*
00:33:20 *📜 Elders served as priests upholding rulers' legitimacy, while poets preserved tribal histories and hymns.*
00:33:48 *⚔️ They had a warrior culture that celebrated battle, valorized raiding, and honored warrior heroes.*
00:34:16 *🐂 Heroic tales featured warrior cattle raiders, exemplified by figures like Indra and Heracles.*
00:34:41 *🐺 Warriors engaged in ecstatic combat, embodying fierce animals like wolves during battles.*
00:35:13 *🏛️ Despite their warrior ethos, they valued hospitality, elevated priests and poets, and had complex social structures.*
00:35:43 *🧬 Studies in 2015 showed the Yamnaya had about 35% ancestry from Caucasus hunter-gatherers.*
00:36:15 *🔄 Eastern hunter-gatherers mixed with Caucasus hunter-gatherers, leading to significant genetic admixture before the Yamnaya emerged.*
00:36:36 *🧩 New theories suggest Indo-European origins are linked to Caucasus hunter-gatherers due to this admixture.*
00:37:05 *📚 A 2023 study proposes Proto-Indo-European developed around 6000 BC south of the Caucasus.*
00:37:36 *🗺️ This language moved north, adopted by Eurasian hunter-gatherers, establishing the Indo-European root.*
00:38:04 *🔀 Migrations west into Anatolia formed the Anatolian branch; similar movements might have influenced Greek.*
00:38:32 *🕌 The study suggests Indo-Iranian languages spread via migrations of Caucasus hunter-gatherers into Iran and India.*
00:39:01 *🚫 The author critiques this theory, noting Yamnaya's patrilineal society and that most Caucasus admixture came from women.*
00:39:33 *🧩 In patrilineal societies, female admixture alone is unlikely to cause major linguistic shifts.*
00:40:03 *💡 The admixture likely resulted from women joining Yamnaya societies through various means, influencing genetics but not language.*
00:40:33 *🗺️ Evidence suggests the Anatolian branch entered the region from Thrace, with steppe ancestry present in Bulgaria by 4500 BC.*
00:41:01 *⚖️ Lack of steppe ancestry in Hittite samples doesn't conclusively prove Indo-Europeans didn't spread from the steppe into Anatolia.*
00:42:23 *📢 Power and prestige can drive language spread more than sheer numbers of speakers.*
00:43:19 *🌾 The author asserts that Indo-European languages developed and spread via the steppe.*
00:44:13 *🌐 Proto-Indo-European culture, language, and genetics shaped many ethnic groups across the world.*
00:44:38 *🤝 We should appreciate this shared heritage and respect all ethnic groups without divisiveness.*

Made with HARPA AI

[JoshuaPerkins-byrj]

Hey Kevin, I went back and listened to this video a second time because I enjoyed it the first time so much. I also realized based on my first comment about further Corded Ware expansion that it was mentioned with in a whole spectrum of good info. Thanks again and now am signed up as patron, appreciate all the hard work.
Josh

[nlbhaduri]

My mother was born near Rezekne Latvija and my father was born in Kolkata India….I feel very lucky to have them as parents….and this video makes me feel connected to something that before I didn’t know existed…the Indo European roots.

[aadityapratap]

One small steppe for man, one giant steppe for mankind.

[vmhutch]

Great video. One of your best! Thanks for including the latest Caucuses argument. So many posted pieces take a simplistic, sometimes political approach to Indo-European origins. Thank you for showing us the gradients without prejudice.

[happykt]

As someone who is of Greek, Anatolian and Italian ancestry on one side, and Ukrainian, Polish and Croatian on the other side, I find this video fascinating.

[sterno]

Fourty years ago there had been published a book in Germany - "The Shepherds who changed the World". One of my favourites. There's nothing to be changed up today.

[AntonPavlovich]

Russian "mat' " for "mother" you've mentioned was actually even closer to indo-european origin, as there are still words used which have a root "mater' ", like "materinsky".

The same with daughter, which is today "doch", but we still say "docherniy" so obviously it was "docher' " some time ago and it's still traceable.

It's always fascinating how similar most languages are.

[robbychin-a-loi]

A great video.
I was born in South America and I am a descendant of Scottish, German, Dutch, African, American Indian and Chinese ancestors. I'm a mix of all these etnical groups and I feel very happy about it. A mix like mine or a mix of other etnical groups is not rare in my country Suriname, because of the variety of people who came to Suriname in one way or another during colonial times and even after.

[ClaudioPin]

What a wonderful, informative and well researched video! Congratulations and many thanks, this video is a gift to all curious people, who thirst for knowledge.

[Survivethejive]

The occasional mythic similarities between IE and Sumerian religion may encourage an identification of a PIE origin south of the Caucasus except for the fact that there are equally compelling similarities between IE and Turkic/Siberian religion which has its origin in East Siberia far beyond the furthest influences of any Middle Eastern culture.

[knottytoob]

Kudos in commendation to your team, yours and yourself for the well researched and articulated content.