Where Did Indo-European Begin?
Caption
Where did Indo-European begin? Ancient DNA from 435 people (Nature, 2025) points to the steppe between the Caucasus and the lower Volga. Yamnaya: ~4/5 that CLV stream, ~1/5 Dnipro–Don hunter-gatherers. A smaller CLV stream (≥1/10) reached Hittite-era Anatolia. Genes aren’t languages.
Short takes
Hittite is the oldest Indo-European language we can read, written on clay tablets in what is now Turkey. Earlier DNA studies found no steppe ancestry in the Hittites. The 2025 study traces at least a tenth of their ancestry to the same CLV people. Same family, a different road.
Homeland debate: which clue do you trust most?
1) DNA (who moved)
2) Words for wheel and horse (what they said)
3) Archaeology (what they left)
Reply with a number and your reason.
Image description
River diagram on a 4500–2000 BCE axis: a wide Caucasus–Lower Volga stream takes in a narrower Dnipro–Don hunter-gatherer stream (80/20) to form the Yamnaya, which then splits into four later spreads; a thin CLV branch (at least one-tenth) turns south and joins a wide Anatolian-farmer band.
