The Steppe Hypothesis of Indo-European Origins Remains to be Proven

2017/04/22 by Leo S. Klejn · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Linguistics and language evolution #Forensic and Genetic Research #Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies #Steppe #Biological dispersal #History #Presentation (obstetrics) #Geography #Ethnology #Indo-European languages #Ancient history #Archaeology #Linguistics #Sociology #Demography #Philosophy #Population

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0390.2017.12184.x

openalex publication_date 2017/04/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21

Abstract

Recent genetic studies have claimed to reveal a massive migration of the bearers of the Yamnaya culture (Pit-grave culture) to the Central and Northern Europe. This migration has supposedly lead to the formation of the Corded Ware cultures and thereby to the dispersal of Indo-European languages in Europe. The article is a summary presentation of available archaeological, linguistic, genetic and cultural data that demonstrates many discrepancies in the suggested scenario for the transformations caused by the Yamnaya “invasion” some 5000 years ago.

Citations

• Population genomics of Bronze Age Eurasia
• The Indo‐Europeans: Archeological Problems
• Massive migration from the steppe is a source for Indo-European languages in Europe
• Punctuated bursts in human male demography inferred from 1,244 worldwide Y-chromosome sequences
• Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East
• Discussion: Are the Origins of Indo-European Languages Explained by the Migration of the Yamnaya Culture to the West?

Cited by

• Corded Ware culture [wikipedia]
• Yamnaya culture [wikipedia]