The Proto-Indo-Europeans

Hello, I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina, this is my first post and I have some questions:

I've been researching about the IE (Indo-Europeans) since a while ago and I decided I should start with some books. Now, I don't really know which authors are the most respected ones in these area.

Does anyone know anything about them? It seems to me that Marija Gimbutas did some good research on them, anyone read anything from her?

Now that we have genetics, I was thinking that it could be a great way of finally knowing where they came from, but I did not find any group researching about IE genetics. Do you know any? Would genetics be useful?

Moreover: is there any ethnicy that is potentially related by ancestry to the IE? Maybe in Europe or the Middle East there are some.

Thanks in advance.

There is a strong mythical belief among Iranians and probably Indians from the ancient times that the Proto-Indo-Europeans (their linguistic ancestors) were white-skinned and migrated from somewhere in the north to Iran, India and other regions, of course there have been always some nativist views against this belief, but on the other hand, there are also some mythical beliefs among Celtic, Germanic and some other European peoples that they also migrated from the south (like the Middle East) to the Europe, I think it is possible the Proto-Indo-Europeans lived somewhere that people already don't speak an Indo-European language.

Thanks for all the answers.

Originally posted by Cryptic   Though almost all European Languages are Indo European, I do not think there are any European ethnic groups that are directly linked to the Indo European migration.   Maybe the question can be reversed  i.e. Which European peoples do not speak an Indo European language and are therefore less likely to be direct or partial descendents  of Indo Europeans?   In this case, it would be Basques, Sa'ami, Finns, Hungarians, Estonians and Karelians.  We can probably add another people whose language (related to Basque) went extinct in southeren France during the late middle ages and the extinct Etruscans (I think that Estruscan, though unclassified, is not Indo European).

Mh, alright. That's why think that genetics would be quite useful this time because we could analyze which ethnicy has the largest Indo-European influence.

Originally posted by Cyrus Shahmiri There is a strong mythical belief among Iranians and probably Indians from the ancient times that the Proto-Indo-Europeans (their linguistic ancestors) were white-skinned and migrated from somewhere in the north to Iran, India and other regions, of course there have been always some nativist views against this belief, but on the other hand, there are also some mythical beliefs among Celtic, Germanic and some other European peoples that they also migrated from the south (like the Middle East) to the Europe, I think it is possible the Proto-Indo-Europeans lived somewhere that people already don't speak an Indo-European language.

The Indo-Europeans were indeed a fair-skinned people (much like anyone in Europe or the Middle East on that time), even with blond features, and what you say it's quite possible, yes.

I was thinking that maybe a first, initial group of IE existed, but then they separated and formed different communities, that could explain the multiple theories about their origins. All I'm saying is that maybe all or most of the theories are right.

Originally posted by svimpie Good books on a proposed homeland (Urheimat) for Indo-Europeans are James Mallory In Search of the Indo-Europeans, Renfrew Archaeology and Language, Anthony The horse, the wheel, and language. There are ofcourse many other books. For a anthropological sketch and overview (both cultural and physical) John Day's Indo-European Origins is a no brainer. For the genetic part I think it would be better to search the web (Dienekes anthropology forum may have some on it, and I think Dienekes is a advocater of a Anatolian homeland for Proto-Indo-Europeans).

Ok, I'll check all of those books. Thank you.


Edited by Ëperom - 02-Mar-2010 at 07:20

That's probably true, yes, the IE may've been a set of separate peoples. As for Dienekes, it is certainly hard to follow sometimes, but there are some interesting things in his site.

This map for example: http://dienekes.50webs.com/arp/articles/ieorigins/colin_renfrew.jpg





Edited by Ëperom - 03-Mar-2010 at 22:42

Originally posted by Ëperom Hello, I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina, this is my first post and I have some questions: I've been researching about the IE (Indo-Europeans) since a while ago and I decided I should start with some books. Now, I don't really know which authors are the most respected ones in these area. Does anyone know anything about them? It seems to me that Marija Gimbutas did some good research on them, anyone read anything from her?

They came to Italy and occupied northern and partly central districts of the peninsula. Soon, due to overseas trading and contacts with higher civilizations of Phoenicians, Greeks and Egyptians, Etruscans acquired writing, invented their own alphabet and brought up their original culture, so unlike other cultures of that time Europe.

Linguists have been studying the links between Etruscan and other language families for many centuries already, but still little progress was done. One of the great mysteries of Europe still fascinates."

Originally posted by Ëperom Hello, I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina, this is my first post and I have some questions: I've been researching about the IE (Indo-Europeans) since a while ago and I decided I should start with some books. Now, I don't really know which authors are the most respected ones in these area. Does anyone know anything about them? It seems to me that Marija Gimbutas did some good research on them, anyone read anything from her? Now that we have genetics, I was thinking that it could be a great way of finally knowing where they came from, but I did not find any group researching about IE genetics. Do you know any? Would genetics be useful? Moreover: is there any ethnicy that is potentially related by ancestry to the IE? Maybe in Europe or the Middle East there are some. Thanks in advance.