The Indo-Europeans

Debates, archaeological evidence and linguistic studies show that research on where the Indo-Europeans came from will most likely continue.  The steppe-hypothesis says that PIE was spoken by the first Indo-Europeans around 6 000 years ago originating from what is now Ukraine. Most linguists agree that Proto-Indo-European was a single language at around 3500 BCE with ties to the Yamna culture from the Caspian Steppe and the Maykop culture nearby the black sea. According to scholars, the Yamna culture dating from 3300–2600 BC has been identified as the Proto-Indo-Europeans.  Their Ancestors most likely came from the Mal’ta Buret culture which derives from Eastern hunter-gatherer populations.

The Yamna culture is also closely connected to early Bronze Age cultures that spread throughout western Europe. Cultures like the Bell Beaker cultures and the Corded-Ware cultures are related to them. Culturally, there were many similarities with them being pastoralists, sharing materials and also their burial practice had a common background.

Further research shows that all Europeans can trace their heritage back to these pre historic people. They were steppe pastoralists and came into western Europe by horse during the Bronze Age. The farming hypothesis states that they might have come from Anatolia around 9 000 years ago. And they brought their culture and language with them when they migrated into western Europe inbetween 4200–4000 BCE. 

And with them, Old Europe disappeared but the cause and reason why is yet to be understood. And these Proto-Indo-Europeans became Indo-Europeans and out of these migrations, cultures were given birth such as Celtic, Germanic, Balto-Slavic, Italic… this happened over a long period of time, of course. But this is why when I speak of Germanic  and Celtic tribes, I clearly mean the Indo-European language group. Why is this important, you may wonder? What does this teach us about Paganism?

Many Myths today such as the creation Myth of Ymir (norse), Yama (Hindu), for example, are related. Many myths and deities can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-Europeans such as the norse God Tyr. Tyr derives from Proto-Germanic Tiwaz and the Proto-Indo-European *dyeus for example. He was a sky deity and was later exchanged with Wotan, the norse Odin. Most people interested in the Norse Myths and Norse Paganism know about Thor with his hammer. Thor can be found in Celtic Myths as “Taranis” and in Slavic as “Perun”, and in Old High German as “Donar” but most importantly, he can be reconstructed as the God of rain, thunder and fertility in the Indo-European Pantheon under the name Perkunos, the word “oak” is in his name. The oak was indeed sacred to Germanic tribes. But we see here: These Myths and Gods are older than the Viking Age. The very heart and essence of Paganism indeed appears to be outside of western civilization. 

European Mythology is often animistic, it has many shamanic elements to it. Paganism is the spiritual practice of people that lived off of hunting, gathering and early farming during the Neolithic Period. And these Myths lived on until the rise of monotheism. Paganism is “wild”, the very definition of what “Pagan” means came from the Roman Empire. Every spiritual practice and belief system must be taken into account here: From hunter-gatherers to Neolithic cultures such as the Danubian culture and of course the Indo-Europeans. It’s all part of pre-christian Europe.

   The PIE-people also brought their traditions with them. It’s why we can’t understand European or Norse Myths if we look at them isolated from each other when even our languages are all related to each other and share a common Indo-European Ancestor. This goes for most western and Central European Countries, except if they are of Finno-Ugric origin such as Finnish or Hungarian, or the Basque that do not speak an IE-language . The Finno-Ugric originate from close nearby of the Proto-Indo-European homeland, the Ural mountains.

Does this fascinate you? 

Please click here to learn more about Proto-Indo-European religion as well as here