2020/01/01 by Chuan‐Chao Wang, Martine Robbeets · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Linguistics and Cultural Studies #Linguistics and language evolution #Linguistic and Cultural Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/ehs.2020.8
openalex publication_date 2020/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
The Tungusic languages form a language family spoken in Xinjiang, Siberia, Manchuria and the Russian Far East. There is a general consensus that these languages are genealogically related and descend from a common ancestral language, conventionally called 'Proto-Tungusic'. However, the exact geographical location where the ancestral speakers of Proto-Tungusic originated from is subject to debate. Here we take an unprecedented approach to this problem, by integrating linguistic, archaeological and genetic evidence in a single study. Our analysis of ancient DNA suggests genetic continuity between an ancient Amur genetic lineage and the contemporary speakers of the Tungusic languages. Adding an archaeolinguistic perspective, we infer that the most plausible homeland for the speakers of Proto-Tungusic is the region around Lake Khanka in the Russian Far East. Our study pushes the field forward in answering the tantalizing question about the location of the Tungusic homeland and in illustrating how these three disciplines can converge into a holistic approach to the human past.