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Ruins of Gonur Depe, Turkmenistan
Author: David Stanley. Source: Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 2.0
Originally, Indo-European referred only to speakers of specific languages. These languages had a certain syllabic proximity and were distinguished from Semitic, African and Asian languages. As linguists did not agree on the geographical origin of these languages (North Indian, Eurasian or European), the terminology ‘Indo- European’ was the result of a compromise.
Then the Indo-European became a member of a human family that shared a certain physical resemblance, a similar (ancient) way of life and, of course, linguistic proximity.
There are two basic theses on the origin of Indo-Europeans. According to the first, all populations have a common background. According to the second, Indo- Europeans are descended from local populations whose neighbourhood spread a way of life and the linguistic elements that go with it. Many historians favour the first thesis, and since then they have been looking for the ‘common ground’.
What is the likely hypothesis? Knowing that Indo-European archaeological sites stretch from Ireland to Korea (…), the thesis of the propagation of a way of life through the neighbourhood is difficult to defend. That said, we could consider a ‘hybrid’ path: a common fund would have influenced local populations.
This hypothesis is because a population can make significant advances in agrarian, metallurgical, architectural, economic, linguistics, etc., and use this breakthrough to increase its influence over other populations.
There are many competing theories on the common ground. They can be grouped using the four cardinal points: north, east, south, and west. Linguists and historians lean towards the East. In this respect, an ancient fortified city of 30 hectares founded 4400 years ago is very fashionable. This is the city of Gonur Depe (Turkmenistan), whose artistic wealth of artefacts uncovered is not trivial.
Some artefacts represent winged women (fertility goddesses), ‘dragons’ (half snake, half lion) and large birds of prey that do not seem to be ‘sympathetic’ with dragons. Finally, the extinction of this city, a thousand years later, would be due to lasting changes in the region’s climate.
The site of Khara-Khoto in the Gobi Desert (which was not always a desert) seems more promising. We base this on a discovery made by Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov, a Russian explorer, during an expedition at the beginning of the last century (1907– 1909). He wrote a report translated into English under the title Mongolia and Amdo and the Dead City of Khara-Khoto (1923). In summary, he states that this splendid city (still active in medieval times) had multiple foundations. However, the sand is such an obstacle that it discourages archaeologists.