This eighth lecture completes the Neolithic period in Eurasia with a discussion of the "dolmen" type burial practice in the Caucasus. Neolithic art is presented as an incorporation of Upper Paleolithic (realistic) with Mesolithic (schematic) and the geographic areas of the Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Central Asia are emphasized. Neolithic rock art with a focus on animal drawings and sculptings in bone, stone, and clay depicting people of Mongoloid and Europoid ethnography are highlighted. Professor Alexeev concludes the discussion of the Neolithic Period with a brief discussion of V. Gordon Childe and his theory of the "Neolithic Revolution".
The remaining portion of this lecture introduces the Bronze Age in Eurasia. The Bronze Age begins 1,500 years later than in the Near East while in northern Siberia, the Neolithic tradition continues during the Bronze and Iron Ages and lasts until the 16-17 century. The concept of a new age, the Eneolithic, which exists between the Neolithic and Bronze Age is presented and reflects one of Alexeev's intellectual tools i.e. the examination of borders or the restructuring of time frames. Bronze is examined as an alloy of copper with different additions, each addition reflecting a different migratory group in the European and Asiatic Steppe region.
The Pit Grave Culture is presented as the group which replaces the Tripolie Culture in the Ukrainian Steppe in the mid third millennium BC. and the "kurgan" type burial structure is described. Geographically, kurgans have been found from Romania to the Steppe areas of the Ukraine. Morphologically, the Pit Grave people are tall with a broad face and a strong superstructure in the region of the forehead i.e. Europoid without a Mongoloid mixture.
The Afanasyevo Culture appears several centuries later than the Pit Grave in a small area in the Upper Yenissei River Valley. Physically the Afanasyevo resemble the Pit Grave i.e. Europoid without a Mongoloid mixture.
Recently "Soviet" archaeological exploration and study has been conducted in Mongolia. Results from Mongolia are similar to the results discovered by Chinese archaeologists excavating in eastern Turkistan and the Xingjiang Province of China 1.
The language for both the Pit Grave and Afanasyevo is Indo-European. Origins of the Indo-European language is a tricky problem; Russian scholars Viacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov and Tamaz Valerianovich Gamkrelidze think the Indo-European language formed in Turkey. Colin Renfrew, a Cambridge University scholar, also argues for Turkey as the homeland of the Indo-European in the eighth millennium BC and links its spread with the diffusion of agriculture. Professor Alexeev disagrees with Renfrew because 1) there is no evidence for such an early language and 2) agriculture was invented in the Near East. Alexeev argues: "likely the origins of language are polycentric".
The transition from the end of the Neolithic to the Bronze Age shows different dates for different geographical areas. In the Near East, populations begin to use copper and bronze in the fourth millennium BC. This is also true for the Nile Valley. But in Central Asia and the southern territories of Eurasia, the Neolithic lasts until the end of the third millennium BC. The end of the Neolithic is 1,500 years later in Eurasia than in the Near East. In northern Siberia the Neolithic tradition continues during the Bronze and Iron Age and survives until the 16-17 century when the territory is invaded by the Russians.
The transition to copper and bronze takes place in local areas of Russia and south Siberia and is a slow process, not a sudden invention. The use of bronze is not a continuous process in either the Near East or in Central Asia. In eastern Eurasia the cultures using bronze are located in the Caucasus and in Central Asia possibly because these areas continue to be influenced from the Near East. The Bronze Age in the Caucasus and Central Asia begins at the end of the third millennium 2.
The Eneolithic Age is the time period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. Some scholars disregard this intermediate period while others see the Eneolithic as a special period when traditions of Neolithic development are present and when bronze tools are being prepared in small numbers. During the Eneolithic, many objects still are worked in flint.
Bronze is an artificial alloy of copper with some additions such as arsenic and tin. Different cultures have different additions. Chemical and microscopic studies of bronze allow talk regarding genetic relationships among cultures (there are massive migrations of populations across the European and Asiatic Steppes from west to east during this period).
The Pit Grave Culture is located in the southern Russian Steppe area (Ukraine) and replaces the Tripolie Culture in the mid third millennium BC. Its roots are in the Neolithic and continue to the beginning of the second millennium BC. We have no knowledge of housing or settlement patterns, only graves have been found. These graves reveal a new tradition of burial, the burial mound.
These mounds or kurgans (a Turkic word) are made of stone in mountainous areas and made of soil in flat areas. Today kurgans are found both singly and in groups. The height of kurgans vary. In southern Russia and southern Siberia, these kurgans are never more than 10 meters high, usually averaging 2-4 meters. A circle of kurgans may be as great as one hectare. In the middle of a kurgan are usually one or two burials but the number can be as great as fifteen to twenty. Different objects and tools are found in the graves. Bronze is known but is very rare. Scholars think this is the beginning of bronze usage. Also present in kurgans are bones of domestic pig and horse (no sheep). Some scholars think the Pit Grave Culture did not know agriculture. There is also the absence of permanent sites; scholars are not sure about settlements, the size and types of houses etc.
Geographically kurgans have been found from Romania to the Steppe areas of southern Russia to the Volga with some findings in Kirghizistan. Now more than 2,000 kurgans have been excavated many of which contain only pottery. Pit Grave pottery has a rounded bottom, an indication that their settlement isn't permanent (likely the pots were suspended on a frame over the fire). The ceramics are not painted and are of poor decoration. A series of dots either cover the full surface or are found only alone the rim.
The population of the Pit Grave Culture is large and demonstrates a strong economy and strong relationships with surrounding cultures. The Pit Grave Culture has influenced other cultures in the Caucasus and eastern Turkey. In the west, the Pit Grave Culture has influenced peoples in Bulgaria, central Europe, and Romania. The Pit Grave are a people without Mongoloid mixture. Physically they are more similar to Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic than to Neolithic i.e. they are tall with a broad face and a strong superstructure in the region of the forehead. Some scholars think the Pit Grave are descendants of Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic peoples whereas the Neolithic peoples are invaders from the south.
The Afanasyevo Culture appears two to three centuries later than the Pit Grave i.e. mid to late third millennium BC. They are related to the Pit Grave and are located in a small area in the Upper Yenissei River Valley. Scholars know nothing about their housing or economy because only kurgans have been found (this is similar to Pit Grave). Actually not many kurgans have been discovered so the bronze objects are few; only twenty bronze objects in total have been found. Also only a small number of bones of domesticated animals, of sheep, pig, and horse, have been uncovered. There has been no trace of seeds; likely the Afanasyevo had no agriculture and were nomadic like the Pit Grave Culture.
Physical traits of the Afanasyevo are similar to the Pit Grave i.e. a people without a Mongoloid mixture and more similar to Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic than to Neolithic in that they are tall with a broad face and a strong superstructure in the region of the forehead.
During the past thirteen years, the area of study in Eurasia has been extended south. Some kurgans have been found on the border with Mongolia and some in southwestern Mongolia. Chinese archaeologists excavating in east Turkistan and Xingjiang Province 3 have found that these kurgans contain the same type of animal bone and physical traits found in the Soviet Union. In the original area, different kurgans have been found in one cemetery; in Mongolia there are only single kurgans.
At the second part of the third millennium BC to the first century of the second millennium BC, European populations were distributed throughout the Steppe zone to central Mongolia; a great migration. Siberia was inhabited by Mongoloids in the Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic. European populations began to appear in Siberia in the early Bronze Age. The only real explanation for such a massive migration is the strong economic development of the Pit Grave people with many animals, a good supply of food, and large populations.
Populations for the Pit Grave people are not known. Preliminary figures indicate 6-8,000 population for the Black Sea area based on the presence of 2,000 kurgans. This culture lasts for 1500 years with three generations for each 100 years, therefore there are 45 generations with about 200 kurgans per generation. These figures seem small.
The language for both the Pit Grave and Afanasyevo Cultures is Indo-European. This Indo-European Language family is common for Russia, Iran, South Asia 4, and India (except for southern India); it occupies a hugh area. In both linguistic and archaeological literature there has been a problem with the homeland of the Indo-European Language. The most common hypothesis is that Indo-European formed in the area of the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, some in the Balkans, some in Turkey, and some in the Russian Steppes.
Russian scholars Viacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov and Tamaz Valerianovich Gamkrelidze 5 hypothesize that the Indo-European language formed in Turkey. Their hypothesis is supported by Colin Renfrew 6. Most specialists think Indo-European formed in the steppe and mountain zone of the Balkan Peninsula and in southern Russia. Some think there was a great movement from west to east of a people all of whom spoke one language.
There is documentation from eastern Turkistan dating to the first millennium BC written in the Tokharian language, a derivative of Indo-European (also known as the Yueh Chih language). In Central Asia, possibly western Mongolia, there is an area inhabited by one large group, the Tokharians.
Colin Renfrew argues that Indo-European originated in Turkey in the eighth millennium BC with the invention of agriculture. Alexeev disagrees. There is no evidence for such an early language and likely agriculture was invented in the Near East. Most scholars think Indo-European was formed in the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze era.
[Lecture 9 delivered 22 July 1991]
In studying the Bronze Age, the mass migrations which took place in Eurasia are of utmost importance. In this the ninth lecture, Professor Alexeev presents a recent ethnic map of the three great language families and examines the geographical areas of Central Asia, Siberia, and the Caucasus in terms of their ethnic composition.
According to Alexeev, the three great language families include Indo-European, Finno-Ugric, and Turkic. Indo-European profiles with seven sub-families: Slavic, Baltic, Germanic, Latin/Roman, Armenian, Greek, and Indo-Iranian and covers the largest portion of Eurasia from the Iberian Peninsula across the northern Mediterranean to European Russia [Alexeev does not include the Indo European families of Celtic (western Europe) and Illyric (Albanian) because he only was referencing the former Soviet Union]. Finno-Ugric covers a territory from Scandinavia to Siberia to a far off place in Hungary. Alexeev includes the Nenet = Nenetic here as a subgroup of Finno-Ugric but in the following lecture mentions that he made a gross error [Nenetic (Samodic) and Finno-Ugric are subfamilies of the Uralic family; Finno-Ugric further divides into Finnic and Ugric branches]. Turkic is a complicated language and is found in pockets in the Caucasus, the Volga Valley, Central Asia including Xingjiang, southern and central Siberia, and in Turkey.
To Alexeev's information I have added ethnographic data from HOLLIS (and in a few instances from "Britannica"). To both the Alexeev and HOLLIS language families and people, Arutiunov has made detailed commentary which I in turn have incorporated into the text.
Alexeev comments that ethnic interpretations and the ethnic phase of the Bronze Age are of great importance. In Eastern Europe in the sixteenth century, Slavic populations are distributed from Eastern Europe to Siberia and Slavic is the main population of Russia. Slavic populations are also in Ukraine, Belarus (White Russia), Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the northern Balkans (Yugoslavia).
The Russian language is spoken on the eastern plain, Ukrainian is spoken in southwest European Russia, and White Russian is spoken in Belarus. In Poland there is only one language, Polish, while in Czechoslovakia there are two, Czech and Slovak. The Slavic language is a sub-family of Indo-European.
HOLLIS divides Slavic languages into three divisions: southern, eastern, and western. For the southern Slavic group HOLLIS includes Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, and Slovenian. For the eastern Slavic group: Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian. For the western Slavic group: Czech, Kashubian, Lechitic, Polabian, Slovak, and Sorbian. For the sub-heading Lechitic, HOLLIS lists Kashubian, Polabian, and Polish languages, and the Slovincian dialect.
For the Polish language HOLLIS has 1,884 entries; for the extinct Solvincian dialect HOLLIS has 2 entries. Thus, it seems appropriate that the Polish language, along with the other major Slavic sub families, be listed as major headings.
According to Arutiunov, ancient Bulgarian until the time of Jenghiz-Khan (13 century) was spoken in the Volga-Bulgarian area and partly in the northern Caucasus. It was a Turkic language. Bulgarian was also spoken by the founding royal dynasty of modern Bulgaria and their clan, but was soon assimilated by the local Slavic population. Until the XIIIth century there were two Bulgarias; one on the Volga and the other on the Danube. Thus, as per Arutiunov, the Bulgarian language was Turkic; the Turkic language was then assimilated by the Slavic populations and thus became Indo-European.
Additional information on Slavs: in an area extending along the Baltic coast west of Rugen Island to the Vistula River are the sea coast provinces of Pomerania (as per Arutiunov, Obodrite-Polabian was the extinct language of Pomerania). Czechs are native peoples of Bohemia, Moravia, and/or Silesia (Silesia is an ancient region in central Europe partly in Prussia and partly in Poland). Polabians are Slavic people dwelling in the basin of the Elbe and on the Baltic coast of Germany; Slovaks are people living in eastern Czechoslovakia, and, as per Arutiunov, the Sorbians are a Slavic people occupying eastern Germany, near Dresden, who maintain a costume and speak two dialects: Upper Lausitz and Lower Lausitz. Kashubian, Polabian, and Slovincian are Polish languages.
To resolve the Slavic subfamily of Indo European language, I join the Alexeev listing and modifications by Arutiunov with the HOLLIS listings which also include modifications by Arutiunov. HOLLIS treats all languages, both extinct and contemporary as well as numerous dialects, as of equal stature. Alexeev, on the other hand, separates archaic and contemporary languages and does not include minor dialects. I think that when one deals with diachronic and synchronic relationships, a separate treatment of archaic and contemporary languages and the deletion of minor dialects best enables the student to comprehend the complex picture. Arutiunov also advises to separate the language from the people.
Thus in the following several chapters, I have attempted to resolve the major world language families by combining information from Alexeev, HOLLIS, and Arutiunov. I have listed languages and ethnic groups separately and have removed extinct languages as well as minor dialects from the two listings. However, I must state boldly that to establish a definitive structure for language or ethnic groups is a futile task simply because both groups are fluid and are in a constant state of flux.
[Obodrites, Polabian Slavs, Veletians, and Venedi are all extinct. So too are the Drygavichy Slavic People and Krivichi Slavic People]
[Yugoslavia is no longer a centralized country; the Yugoslavians have assumed their former ethnic identity]
Alexeev states that in eastern Europe there are other sub-families in addition to Slavic. In the area of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland is the Baltic sub-family consisting of three languages: 1) Latvian; 2) Lithuanian; and 3) East Prussian. East Prussian becomes extinct at the end of the seventeenth century.
The Baltic sub family in eastern Europe is easily resolved with Alexeev, Arutiunov, and HOLLIS concurring.
[Prussian is extinct]
[The Prussian people have assimilated since Prussia is no longer a country]
According to Alexeev, the German language is a sub-family of Indo-European. Until the late seventeenth century there were no German populations in Russia. However, Alexeev did not detail the Germanic language family.
This section on the Germanic sub family of the Indo European is most interesting. Alexeev did not detail the Germanic language family. HOLLIS lists the Germanic people, but they are all extinct. Arutiunov claims the Germanic people as known by Tacitus or Julius Caesar i.e. Allemani, Burgundi, Sicambri etc. have been extinct for some time having been transformed into the French or modern Germans. But, as per Arutiunov, there are Germanic peoples of today like the Germans, Dutch, Swedes, Afrikaaners, etc. as well as those Jews who still speak Yiddish who must be considered as Germanic since the criteria for being labelled Germanic is only a linguistic alignment. The English and Americans are also Germanic people since English is one of the Germanic languages. Thus, according to Arutiunov, we must differentiate between modern Germanic people, Germanic people of the medieval era, and the Germanic people of the Roman authors [note: the Germanic people of the medieval era and of ancient Rome will both be treated as extinct].
[Extinct German languages include: Old English, Gothic, Low German]
[Ancient Germanic people now extinct include the Alemanni, Bajuwarii, Bastarnae, Batavi, Chauci, Cimbri, Franks, Gepidae, Goths, Jutes, Lombards, Lygii, Quadi, Saxons, Suevi, Ubii, Vandals, Burgundi, and Sicambri]
The northern and eastern coasts of the Mediterranean are encircled by the romantic languages i.e. Romania. These include Spanish, Portuguese, Galician, Catalan, French, Italian, Romanian (with dialect of Moldavian), and local Rumanche dialects in Switzerland.
[Extinct Romance Languages include Latin, Faliscan, Oscan, ???Venetic]
Before World War I, Armenia had occupied a great area in eastern Turkey. Then one million Armenians were killed by the Turks. Armenian is a complicated language in origin and is thought of as a special language with correlations to some extinct Near East language. Armenian vocabulary differs from the vocabulary of other Indo-European languages. Linguistic research in the last 30-40 years places Armenian 12 in the Indo-European group but in a special case as an isolated language forming a specific sub-group. HOLLIS also lists Armenian as an Indo-European language and the Armenians as an Indo-European people. Of interest is the dispersal of Armenian people: from the Arab countries to Uruguay including Argentina, Central Asia, Australia, Azerbaidjan, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria ... Turkey, Uruguay etc. a true diaspora. HOLLIS has a separate category for the "Armenian Question" relating it to the Armenian massacres of 1894, 1896, 1909, 1915, and 1923 and highlights recent human rights violations in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan (see below, the Caucasus). HOLLIS relates the Armenian language to the Khayasa language. Arutiunov confirms that Khayasa was a small ancient kingdom located at the confluence of the Euphrates and Murat Rivers.
According to Alexeev, some linguists see Greek 13 in relationship to the Romance Language sub-family but this is not a realistic interpretation. HOLLIS lists four dialects for Greek: Aeolic Greek, Attic Greek, Doric Greek, and Ionic Greek. As per Arutiunov: "Greek is of course not Romance. And the Mediterranean Race extends from Spain to Greece".
The Indo-Iranian sub family of Indo-European is divided into three main branches: Iranian, Indo-Aryan, and Nuristani 14. As per Alexeev, the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subfamily of the Indo-European language consists of Osset (Ossetic), Tadjik, Pamir, and Kurd (Kurdic). Ossetic is spoken in southern Russia and in the Caucasus. Tadjik which is nearly similar to Farsi in Iran is spoken in Tadjikistan. The Parmir language is spoken in the Parmir Mountains area and Kurdish is spoken in northern Iraq, Afghanistan, south Caucasus, Turkmenistan, eastern Turkey, and somewhat in Iran and Syria.
HOLLIS lists 14 additional sub-families for the Iranian language: Avestan, Baluchi, Dari, Ephthalite, Gilaki, Hazara, Old Persian, Persian, Pushto (Pashto), Talysh, Tat, Wakhi, Yaghnobi, and Yueh Chih. [Arutiunov states that Yueh Chi and Ephthalite are probably the same and might be Tokharic but are not Iranian 15 ] HOLLIS, as listed above, includes Yueh Chi and Ephthalite as members of the Iranian language family. As per Arutiunov, Dari, Modern Persian, and Tadjik are three slightly different standards of one language, Farsi.
Iranian languages in more detail: Avestan is one of the two ancient languages comprising Old Iranian and that in which the sacred books of the Zoroastrian religion were written and as an ancient language is extinct; Baluchi is spoken by an Indo-Iranian people of the Irano-Afghan type in Baluchistan; and Dari is the literary language still used in Afghanistan. The Ephthalites were a member of the western branch of the Yueh Chih Tokharians who ruled Western Turkistan and northwestern India in the fifth and sixth centuries AD (also called the White Huns) and spoke a Tokharian language; Gilaki was spoken by a forest people of northern Persia inhabiting the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea; Hazara is the language spoken by the Hazaras, a Mongoloid people of Afghanistan; and Old Persian is the other language composing Old Iranian and known from cuneiform inscriptions from the sixth and fifth century BC but is now extinct.
Persian is one of the ancient Iranian people who under Cyrus became the dominant people in Asia; today the people of Iran (Persia) speak Farsi. Parthian is an ancient language spoken by inhabitants of Parthia, an ancient country located southeast of the Caspian Sea. Pashto (Pushtu or Pushto) is the Iranian language of the Pathan people (Pathans, a Hindi word, refers to an Iranian people living in Afghanistan and in colonies scattered throughout Pakistan and India) and the chief vernacular language of eastern Afghanistan, northern Baluchistan, and the northwestern frontier province of Pakistan. The Tajiks are dispersed among populations of Afghanistan and Turkistan and speak Tajiki, a veriety of modern Persian. Talysh are a people of the region around Lenkoran, Azerbaijan who speak a dialect related to Talishi. The Tat are an agricultural people living in scattered groups throughout Transcaucasia and possibly allied to the Tajiks; they speak a Tat language. The Wakhi are an Indo-European people living on the northern slope of the Hindu Kush who speak Wakhi and Wama. The Yueh Chih (Tokharian) were people of advanced culture dwelling in Central Asia during the ?first millennium AD until overrun by the Uighurs [the Uighurs were a Turkic people from Mongolia who spoke a Turkic language]. The Yueh Chih spoke a Tokharian language, a branch of the Indo European language.
HOLLIS lists the following Iranian People : Alani, Indo Iranians (Indo Aryans & Iranians), Indo Scythians (Saka & Yueh Chih), Kurds, Ossetes, Parthians, Pushtuns, Saka, Sarmatians, Scythians, Tajiks.
Iranian people in more detail: the Alani (see lecture 14) are an Iranian people who migrated from Central Asia to the northern Caucasus. The Ossetes who today still live in the central Caucasus are related to the Alani (Alans).
The Indo Iranians consist of the Indo Aryans whom HOLLIS relates to the Parya Indic People and the Iranians. The Indo Scythians are related to the Saka, a nomadic people of the steppelands north of the Iranian plateau, and to the Yueh Chih (also known as Tocharian) a people in Central Asia (Xingjang) during the ?first millennium AD until overrun by Uighurs. [According to Arutiunov: "the Indo Scythians are Saka who migrated to India; Saka are the eastern Scythians. Western Scythians were succeeded by Sarmatians, later Alans, and finally Ossetes; they are all descendants of each other"] The Kurds are a pastoral and agricultural people inhabiting a large mountainous plateau region in adjoining parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria as well as in Armenia and Azerbaijan. [As per Arutiunov: "In religion in Armenia, the Kurds are Zoroastrian; in Azerbaijan they are Muslim. The Ossetes likely immigrated from the Eurasian Steppes to the central Caucasus and are descendants of the Alani (Alans)"]
Parthia is an ancient country to the south east of the Caspian Sea. Parthians are inhabitants of the ancient country of Parthia and many historical references describe the Parthians as warriors on horseback armed with bow and arrow. Pushtun (Pushtu/Pashto) is the Iranian language of the Pathan people, an Iranian people living in Afghanistan and in colonies scattered throughout Pakistan and India; it is the chief vernacular of eastern Afghanistan, northwest frontier province of Pakistan, and northern Baluchistan. The Saka, as listed above, are nomadic people of the steppelands north of the Iranian plateau. Sarmatia is an ancient region north of the Black Sea; the language of the Sarmatians was likely Iranian; the Sarmatians were succeeded by the Alans. The term Sarmatia has on occassion been used to reference "Russia". Scythia is an ancient country lying partly north and northeast of the Black Sea and partly east of the Aral Sea. The origins and dispersal of the Scythians have occupied historians from Herodotus to contemporary scholars (see lecture 14). The Tajiks are Iranian people speaking an Iranian language who are dispersed among the populations of Afghanistan and Turkistan including Tajikistan.
Alexeev did not detail the Indo Aryan branch of the Indo Iranian language. The Indo Aryan branch of the Indo Iranian subfamily of Indo European language, as per HOLLIS, includes Dardic, Palic, Prakrit, Sanskrit, and Vedic.
The Dardic people or Dards were a stocky, broad shouldered moderately fair people living in the upper valley of the Indus and spoke Dardic. The complex of languages spoken by the Dards included Shina, Khowar, Kafiri, Kashmiri, and Kohistani. Palic is an Indic language found in the Buddhist canon and used as the liturgical and scholarly language of Hinayana Buddhism. Prakrit is a catch all category including any or all of the ancient Indic languages or dialects other than Sanskrit. Sanskrit, meaning cultivated or refined, is the ancient classical language of India and of Hinduism. Vedic is the language that the Vedas, the most ancient and sacred writing of the Hindus, is written.
According to Arutiunov, Sanskrit and Vedic are very closed; only Sanskrit is the written standard, Vedic is not. Vedic is older than Sanskrit. Palic is one of the Prakrits (in medieval India there were several Prakrits). Kashmiri is one of the Dardic group.
The Nuristani branch of the Indo Iranian subfamily of the Indo European language family was not detailed by Alexeev. HOLLIS lists Nuristani as a subgroup of Indo Iranian along with Indo Aryan and Iranian. As per Arutiunov, Nuristan (land of light) was formerly Kafiristan and was renamed after being forcefully converted to Islam around the 1890's. As per HOLLIS, Nuristan encompasses Afghanistan and the Chitral district of Pakistan (Kafiristan region of Pakistan) 27. HOLLIS equates Nuristani with Dardic 28, with Bashgali 29, and with the Kafiri languages 30 (Bashgali, Dardic, and Nuristani are languages of Afghanistan). A Kafir 31 is defined as a member of a group of southern African Bantu speaking people; a south African of negroid ancestory. The term, however, usually is used disparingly. A "caffer" is defined as one who is not a Muslim, again used disparingly. There also appears to be a relationship between the Bashgali and Kafir languages 32 and the Kafir and Xhosa languages 33. HOLLIS relates the Kafir language to the Bantu Afrikaans language 34; however, Arutiunov says this is nonsense:
"Nuristani used to be called Kafirs, i.e. 'infidels'. Bantu were called the same by Arabs, hence 'caffres'. Bashgali has nothing in common with Bantu. There are descendants of Black African slaves in India but they have not preserved their language". [and when I ran the listings for Bantu in HOLLIS, neither Bashgali nor Kafir appeared]
As per Arutiunov, Bashgali, Wakhi, and Wama are all Nuristani (Kafiristani) languages. However, HOLLIS relates the Wakhi to the Ghalchah languages (Wakhi and Sarikoli) 35, HOLLIS relates the Ghalchah languages to the Pamir languages, and for the Pamir languages, HOLLIS includes: Munji language and Yazghulami language and 7 dialects. For Wama, HOLLIS relates the Akurio Indians of Surinam (South America) 36 and the Wamakua African people (Makua African people) 37. Thus, that Wakhi and Wama are Nuristani languages cannot be substantiated by HOLLIS.
HOLLIS has no listing for the Nuristani people. However, Nuristani is spoken in Afghanistan along with Bashgali, Brahui, Dardic, Dari, Munji, Turkmen, Uighur, Wotapuri Katarquali, and Yazghulami. HOLLIS does have a listing for the Kafiristani people and includes: Kafirs African people (Xhosa, Zulu), Kafirs Afghanistan people, Kafirs of the Hindu Kush, and the Kafir region of Pakistan.
Nuristani People (Kafiristani) - as per HOLLIS [includes people of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Xhosa, Bantu, and Zulu of Africa] (Arutiunov claims this is wrong)
[To assume that languages and people can be fully resolved is a precept of structuralism. Languages disappear when people become assimilated into different cultures. Ethnic identity when void of religious identity changes to embrace the new geography.
However, when religious identity becomes of paramount concern, then the ethnic identity takes on a religious identity and fuses into one. As well, many people speak more than one language and many embrace a new language and forget the original]
[Extinct languages: Avestan, Gilaki, Old Persian, Parthian, Yueh Chih (Ephthalite)]
Since Alexeev only detailed Indo European language families in the former Soviet Union, I have turned to the HOLLIS listings and "Britannica" for the languages and people of Eurasia. Commentary by Arutiunov is in Bold Face. HOLLIS lists the following Indo European Languages: Albanian, Anatolian, Armenian, Baltic, Celtic, Germanic, Greek, Illyrian, Indo Iranian, Italic, Macedonian, Phrygian, Proto Indo European, Slavic, Thracian, Tokharian, and Venetic.
The Albanian language is spoken by the Albanians and is a branch of the Indo European that contains only Albanian. However, Arutiunov does not agree claiming that Albanian is the last remnant of Illyric.
HOLLIS lists the following Anatolian languages: Caria, Hittite, Hurrian, Luwian, Lycian, Lydian, Palaic, Phrygian, and Urartian. Arutiunov's comments are in Bold Face. Further information: Caria, a word derived from Latin and Greek, is an ancient division of Asia Minor and populated by the Carian people. Several recent publications reference Carian inscriptions in Sakkara, Egypt and Buhen, Sudan. Hittite is a word from the Hebrew. The language of the Hittites is Indo European or Indo Hittite and is known from cuneiform texts from Bogazkoy in central Asia Minor. These texts are both pictographic and phonetic. Recent research has related Hittite inscriptions with the Luwian language and with the Yazilikaya site in Turkey. HOLLIS relates the Luwian and Palaic languages to Hittite.
Continuing with the Anatolian languages ... Hurrians are an ancient non Semitic people of northern Mesopotamia, Syria, and eastern Asia Minor circa ?1500 BC and possibly identical with the Horites (the Horites are an ancient people of the biblical period prior to Abraham that inhabited the Dead Sea region of the eastern Mediterranean). Recent research relates the Hurrian and Akkadian languages (according to Arutiunov this is wrong. The Hurria and Akkadian are not related) and relates both to the ancient city of Nuzi in Iraq. Luwian (Luian) is the Anatolian language of the Luwi who live in Luya. This language is known from quotations in Hittite documents and from ancient scripts from Crete and Cyprus. Recent research connects the Luwian language to Hittite hieroglyphs, and relate Luwian inscriptions from the Yazilikaya site in Turkey and to the Hittite religion .
Lycia, a word derived from the Greek, is an ancient district in southern Asia Minor. Lycian is an Anatolian language known from a small body of inscriptions from southwestern Asia Minor dating to the ?fifth-fourth centuries AD. Recent researches show Greek inscriptions in Lycia, Greek inscriptions in Turkey, and Lycian inscriptions in Turkey.
Lydia is an ancient country in western Asia minor and Lydian, a word derived from the Greek, is an Anatolian language known from a small body of inscriptions dating from the ?fourth century BC or earlier. Lydian inscriptions are related to the goddess Cybele and to idols and images of Turkey.
Palaic is an Anatolian language known from quotations in Hittite documents. Hollis relates the Palaic language with both the Luwian and Hittite languages. Phrygia is an ancient country in west central Asia Minor and the language of the Phrygians is assumed to be Indo European. The Urartian language known from cuneiform inscriptions and is related to Hurrian According to Arutiunov, this is true but they both are related to Dagestanic, not Anatolian).
The Armenian and Baltic languages are discussed above.
The Germanic and Greek languages are detailed above.
The Illyrian language is the language of Illyria, an ancient country on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea and is poorly attested and not certainly classified. According to HOLLIS, the Illyrian languages include the Messapian and Venetic language. The Venetic language is spoken by the Veneti Italic people also known as the Venetians who settled in the Aegean Islands of Greece and Turkey, in Greece, Slovenia, and Italy. As per Arutiunov, the only remnant of Illyrian is Albanian.
The Indo Iranian languages are detailed above.
The Italic languages and dialects according to HOLLIS are related to the Faliscan, Latin, and Venetic languages and have a grammar comparable to Armenian and Etruscan. However, Arutiunov claims that this information regarding Venetic languages is wrong. Also, according to HOLLIS, the ancient city of Italica is is Spain, likely Seville. However, as per Arutiunov, this information regarding the ancient city of Italica is doubtful 38.
Ancient Macedonia, a region in the central Balkan Peninsula, was occupied by Macedonians whose language is generally assumed to be Indo European. The modern Macedonian people speak a Slavic language. As per Arutiunov, Old Macedonian was Illyric; New Macedonian is Slavic.
Phrygians speak one of the Anatolian languages (as per Arutiunov, Phrygian is extinct and the Phrygians spoke Armenian rather than Anatolian).
The Proto Indo European language is a theoretical construct which attempts to locate an origin for Indo European. Some scholars trace its origin to the Nostratic Mega Language Family 39 and others see a relationship between the Indo European vocabulary and Old Chinese. Arutiunov claims this is wrong. [NOTE: The publication on Indo European vocabulary in Old Chinese is detailed in the endnote] 40. Perhaps the best definitive study on the reconstruction of a Proto-language is by Tamaz Gamqrelize 41.
The Slavic language is detailed above.
Thracian, the language of Thrace in the eastern Balkans, is generally assumed to be Indo European. Thraco-Illyrian is generally related to Thracian, Albanian, and Illyrian while Thraco Phrygian is a catch all catagory for the Balkan and Asia Minor languages which do not fit in other catagories. HOLLIS relates the Thracian language to Dacian.
The Tokharian language is synonymous with Yueh Cheh. HOLLIS relates the Yueh Chih to the Ephthalites or Hunas in India and the Kushans in Afghanistan (Bactria). The Tokharian (Yueh Chih) have been regarded as the "first" Indo-Europeans with their homeland in China.
The Venetic language is spoken by the Veneti Italic people also known as the Venetians who settled in the Aegean Islands of Greece and Turkey, as well as in Greece, Slovenia, and Italy. A dialect of the Venetic language is spoken by a people in the Rio Grande Do Sol area of Brazil (Arutiunov claims that this information regarding the Venetic language is a confusion).
Alexeev does not separate the Indo European People from the Indo European language; as well, he only lists Indo European in the former Soviet Union. Thus I will defer to the HOLLIS listing for Indo European People with commentary by Arutiunov in Bold Face. For Indo Europeans (peoples), HOLLIS lists: Albanian, Armenian, Balts, Celts, Germanic, Hittites, Illyrians, Indo Iranians, Latin people, Luwian, Slavs, Thracians, and Tokhari.
The Albanian people live on the western littoral of the Balkan Peninsula in an area of an extremely complex mountain system enabling many groups to exist, even today, in an isolated fashion. One group, the Ghegs, are known as the "giant" north Albanian mountain people.
The Armenians are detailed above.
The Balts Indo European People (Baltic People) are detailed above.
The Celts are an early Indo European people of pre Roman Europe who ranged from the British Isles and Spain to Asia Minor (as per Arutiunov, the Celts migrated to Asia Minor but are not native to it) and in part were absorbed into the Roman Empire as Britons, Gauls, Boii, Galatians, or Celtiberians. HOLLIS also relates Celts to the Boii, Britons, and Gauls but in addition also to the Carvetii, Cenomani Celtic People, the Druids, the Helvetii Celtic People, the Picts, and the Welsh.
Germanic people are detailed above.
The Hittites, a word from the Hebrew, were the aboriginal population of the kingdom of Khatti in eastern Asia Minor. Physical characteristics include a sloping forehead and large aquiline nose as preserved in the Hittite and Egyptian reliefs. The Hittite Empire of the second millennium BC rivaled that of the Babylonians and Egyptians. Current research on the Hittites relate the Hittites to the ancient city of Zippalanda and to recent excavations in Turkey. The Hittites are also related to the Aegean civilization 42.
Illyrians lived in an ancient country on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea; the term is derived from Greek and Latin. Illyria is populated by the Illyrians whom HOLLIS relates to the Venetic Italic people of the Venetian Republic or Venice, Italy (this relationship according to Arutiunov is not correct).
The Indo Iranians are the Iranians, the Indo Aryans, and the Nuristani and are detailed above.
HOLLIS relates the Latin peoples to Africa, the Black Sea region, and to America. It is here that the controversial elements of race arise. Mostly from older publications, topics such as Mediterranean race, Teutonic race, Anglo-Saxon superiority and international competition in terms of trade and war are listed. In the international competition category, earlier publications i.e. 1899 are concerned with the superiority of peoples; recent publications deal with agriculture and technology on a global basis.
Luwian or Luian or Luwi are an ancient people who lived on the southern coast of Asia Minor in and around Luya. The Luwian populations also existed in Lycia and Cilicia Aspera during the Hellenistic period and in Crete at a similar time period. The Luwian religion is related to that of the Hurrian (however, the Luwian and Hurri languages are not related, according to Arutiunov) 43.
Thrace (Thracians), a Greek word, is a region of the eastern Balkan Peninsula (Thracians were probably part of Illyric, as per Arutiunov). Thraco-Illyrian is generally related to Thracian, Albanian, and Illyrian. HOLLIS relates the Thracians to areas of Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and the Black Sea lowlands of the Ukraine as well as to Denmark, Egypt, eastern Europe, and Moldova (as per Arutiunov, Moldova yes! The rest [Denmark, Egypt, eastern Europe] is dubious). Recent archaeology in the Sveshtari region of Bulgaria reveals a Thracian tomb near the village of Sveshtari, and a recent congress examined Thracians as related to the Mycenaean civilization 44.
The Tokhari (Tochari) are also known as the Yueh Chih (see above) and are a member of a people of advanced culture dwelling in Central Asia during the ?first millennium AD until overrun by Uighurs. HOLLIS relates the Yueh Chih to the Ephthalites and the Kushans. The Ephthalites are the Hunas (Safeta Hunas/White Huns) in India and the Kushans are in Afghanistan (Bactria). The Tokharian (Yueh Chih) have been regarded as the "first" Indo-Europeans with their homeland in China 45.
[Extinct Indo European Languages: Carian, Hittite, Hurrian, Luwian, Lycia, Lydia, Palaic, Phrygian, Urartian, Illyrian, Thracian, Tocharian, ???Venetic]
[Extinct Indo European People include Hittite, Illyrian, Luwian, Thracian, Tokhari]
A second great family is that of Finno Ugric 46. Alexeev lists the following sub groups of the Finno Ugric sub family: Ugric group = Mansi, Khant (Khantic), and Hungarian; Finnic group = Lapp (Lappic), Nenet (Nenetic) [to be changed from Finno Ugric to Samodic (obsolete Samoyedic) in lecture 10], East Finnic, and extinct Estonian. Alexeev also divides Finno-Ugric into the two sub families of Finnic and Ugric.
According to Alexeev, Finnic is a sub-family of Finno Ugric and is widely distributed. In Finland on the coast of the Barentz Sea and in eastern Norway and Sweden, Lapps live. The forerunners of the Laps played an important role in Russia. East of Finland in an area in northern Siberia live the Nenet (Netic) people. In the Upper Volga Basin east of Moscow are several different groups who speak the East Finnic language [HOLLIS does not list an East Finnic language]. Estonian belongs to the Finnic subfamily of Finno-Ugric. In the seventeenth century the Estonians separated from the Finnic of Finland. Writing Estonian is very difficult.
Alexeev lists the Ugric as a subfamily that is geographically distributed in two areas in the Soviet Union and in one area in Hungary. In the Soviet Union in the Ob Valley of Western Siberia, Mansi is spoken. Khanty (Khantic) is spoken north of the Mansi area in northern central Siberia. Hungarian is spoken in Hungary which is quite far from both Mansi and Khanty. [HOLLIS has no listing for Ugric and instead references Hungarian]
HOLLIS lists two languages for the category Finno Ugric languages: Finnic and Hungarian. For Finnic languages, HOLLIS lists the following related headings: Baltic Finnic, Lapp, Mari, Mordvin, and Permic. For Baltic Finnic Languages, a sub category of Finnic languages, HOLLIS lists = Estonian, Finnish, Ingrian, Karelian, Livonian, and Veps. For Permic languages, another sub category of Finnic languages, HOLLIS lists = Komi language and Udmurt language. For the Hungarian language HOLLIS doesn't list any related headings although dialects for Hungary are listed by geographic regions include Moldavia, Oberwart Austria Bezirk, Ormansag, and Transylvania (Romania), Szamos Valley, Szamoshat, Szeged, and Ukraine.
Arutiunov also divides the Finno Ugric subfamily into two groups: Finnic group and Ugric group. For the Finnic group, Arutiunov establishes four divisions: Western (Baltic) consisting of Finnish, Estonian, Karelian, Ingrian, and Vote; Eastern (Permian) consisting of Komi-Zyrian; Komi-Permian, and Udmurt; the Southern (Volgaic) consisting of Mordvian (Erzia and Moksha dialects), and Mari (Meadow and Highland dialects); and Northern consisting of Lapp (Saami). For Ugric, Arutiunov includes: Mansi, Khanti, and Hungarian.
Since Alexeev did not separate language and people, I will list Finno Ugrians people, as per HOLLIS, with comments by Arutiunov in Bold Face. Finno Ugrians: the Bulgars Turkic People or Bulgarians [Arutiunov states that Turkic is not Finno Ugric], Estonians, Finns, Hungarians, Karelians, Khanty, Komi, Livonians, Mansi, Mari, Mordvins, Permians, Sami European People (Lapps), Udmurts, Veps, and Votes people.
The Bulgars Turkic People speak Bulgarian with different dialects spoken in Bulgaria in Boboshtice, Ikhtiman, Silistrenski Okrug, Sofia, and Tihomir as well as in Macedonia, Pontikia, Greece, Romania, Russia, and Thrace. [According to Arutiunov, Turkic Bulgars were Turkic, not Finno Ugric; they were assimilated by Slavs on the Danube; the dialects listed above are of Slavic Bulgarians]. Modern Bulgarians speak a Slavic language.
The Estonians speak Estonian, the Finns speak Finnish (with perhaps the greatest number of dialects), the Hungarians speak Hungarian, the Karelians speak the Karelian language, the Khanty speak the Khanty language (with 4 dialects), and the Komi speak the Komi language.
The Livonians, from a small area in Latvia, speak the Livonian language, the Mansi of the Ob Valley in Siberia and the Tavda Valley in Russia speak the Mansi language, the Mari speak the Mari language, and the Mordvins speak the Mordvin language with dialects of Erzya and Moksha. The Permians speak the Permian (Permic) languages [consisting of 1) Udmurt, 2) Komi-Zyrian, and 3) Komi-Permian as per Arutiunov], and the Sami European People speak a Lapp language. The Udmurts speak the Udmurt language in the Vyatka River region, the Veps speak the Veps language, and the Votes people speak a Vote language.
That in some instances a different language exists in each valley is perhaps well illustrated by the Finnish language with dialects in Finland including: Anjala, Hameen Laani, Helsinki, IItti, Jaala, Jyvaskyla, Kainuu, Karkku, Kemi, Kiihtelysvaara, Kuusamo, Kymen Laani, Kymenlaakso, Lahti, Lapin Laani, Mikkelin Laani, Nurmijarvi Uudenmaan Laani, Lolun Laani, Pohjanmaa, Pohjois Karjala, Pori, Satakunta, Savo, Somero, Suomussalmi, Tammela, Tampere, Tornio, Turku, Turun Ja Porin Laani, Tyrvaa, Utsjoki, Uudenmaan Laani, Vaasan Laani, Vaskevesi, Viljakkala, and Virrat; with dialects in Russia including Karelian Isthmus, Kurgolovo Peninsula, Ladoga Lake Region, Leningradskaia Oblast, and Olonets; with dialects in Sweden including Norrbotten and Vottangi; and with dialects in the Torne River Valley of Sweden and Finland.
* to be changed by Alexeev from Finno Ugric to Samodic (obsolete Samoyedic)in Lecture 10
In comparing the HOLLIS listings for the Finno Ugric languages with the listings by Alexeev (as modified by Arutiunov), the following comparisons can be made. HOLLIS lists the Bulgars Turkic people as Finno Ugric and lists Bulgarian in the following regions: Boboshtice, Ikhtiman, Silistrenski, Okrug, Sofia, Tihomir as well as areas in Macedonia, Pontikia, Greece, Romania, Russia, and Thrace. Arutiunov, however, states that the Turkic Bulgars were Turkic, not Finno Ugric, that they were assimilated by the Slavs on the Danube, and that the dialects listed above are Slavic 47.
HOLLIS divides Finno Ugric: Finnic and Hungarian whereas the Russians have created the heading "Ugric" which encompasses Hungarian, Khanty, and Mansi. HOLLIS relates Khanty to Tungus 48 and relates Mansi 49 to Hungarian and Magyars (Hungarians, Palocs, Szeklers). Two groups listed by HOLLIS but not included by the Russians are Livonians 50 and Veps 51. Livonian is a district in Latvia and the Veps are a Finnish people of Russia.
[no extinct Finno Ugric languages]
[no extinct Finno Ugric people]
In the Caucasus the mountains are greater than five kilometers high. There are some individual language families but Professor Alexeev will only speak of the great families. Armenian 52 will be excluded because of its complexity. According to Alexeev, Kartvelian 53 is spoken in the western Caucasus. Kartli is the name of an ancient kingdom in the first century AD. Georgian is spoken in Georgia proper and Megrelian (Mingrelian) is spoken in western Georgia. Svanian is spoken in the central mountain region north of the Megrelian area. Georgian, Megrelian, and Svanian belong to the Kartic = Kartvelian Family. HOLLIS adds the Laz language to the Kartvelian group. Arutiunov comments that Laz and Megrelian are two dialects of a single language arbitrarily called Zanic.
Information on language families in the Caucasus, as per Alexeev, is quite brief; information from HOLLIS on languages in the Caucasus is quite disjointed; confusion surrounds the usage of the terms: Abhazian, Abazian, Abazin, Abhazho-Abazian, Abaza, Abkhazians, Abkhaziia, and Abkhaz. Thus for the authoratative voice on languages and people of the Caucasus, I will defer to Arutiunov:
"The North Causasian family stretches from the Black Sea Coast along the Caucasus Mountain Range (north slopes mostly) to the Caspian Sea. The North Caucasian Family is divided into two sub families: Abkhazo-Adigian and Nakh-Dagestanian. The Abkhazo-Adigian sub family consists of Adigian (two literary standards: Adigian proper in the Republic of Adigea and Kabardin-Circassian in theRepublics of Karachai-Circassia and Kabardin-Balkaria), Abkhazian (spoken in Abkhazia), Abazin (closely resembling Abkhazian; spoken in small pockets in Karachai-Circassia), and Ubykh (Peh), nearly extinct, spoken in an area between Abkhazian and Adigian."
"There are more than thirty Nakh-Dagestani languages. Hurritic and Urartian also belonged to this group. Circassian (Cherkessi) is a Russian term; Adyge (Adigi) is self-denomination".
Alexeev mentions that the Ubykhian people also belong to the Abkhazo-Adigian but live in eastern Turkey; Arutiunov comments that the Ubykhians emigrated from Abkhazia in the 1860's and by now have shifted to Turkish.
Arutiunov continues:
"There is a Middle Eastern or Near Eastern racial type claimed by M. Abdushelishvili and recognized generally by Alexeev. This type includes Jews of Palestine, Armenians, Lowland Caucasians, and its more massive Caucasionic variation of Caucasian highlanders. Linguistically Kartic = Southern Caucasian family".
According to HOLLIS: Circassians are related to the Adygei and are geographically identified with the Adygeiskaia Avtonomnaia Oblast Russia. HOLLIS further relates the Circassians to Europe, Israel, and Jordan. In a keyword listing for a publication on the Adygi 54, Hollis lists Karachay Turkic people and Balkar Turkic people as well as Circassians and Caucasus. A listing on the Circassian languages retrieves the related headings of "Adygei language" and "Kabardian language".
Alexeev continues: in drawing this ethnic map, we have the Adigian people on the Black Sea coast. Inland, and directly east, in a small area we have Balkarian (Balkar) 55 and a small pocket of Karachaian (Karachay) 56 both of which are to the north of the Svanians (both Balkarian and Karachaian belong to the Turkic family). To the east of the Svanians are the Ossets (from the Iranian sub-family); to the east of the Ossets is the Nakhs family 57; and to the east of the Nakhs and bordering the Caspian Sea are the Dagestanian people. The Dagestan language family contains some languages which only are spoken in one village 58. Comprising the Nakhs family are the Chechenian and Ingushian 59. [HOLLIS adds the Bats (Batsbi) language to Chechen and Ingush languages related to the Nakhs language; Arutiunov concurs with HOLLIS]
As per Alexeev, four families that don't correspond to any other are located in an area in Azerbaijan which is directly south of the Dagestanian people. The Azerbaijan language belongs to the Turkic family (as do Balkarian and Karachaian).
Alexeev does not list a Caucasian language family because he claims that there is no such thing; that the evidence does not substantiate one. HOLLIS has the following listing for Caucasian Languages 60: Abazin, Abkhaz, Abkhazo Adyghian, Bats, Chechen, Daghestan, Georgian, Ingush, Kartvelian, Nakh, Nakho Daghestan, Tapanta dialect, and Ubykh. Arutiunov comments: "Americans also should abandon as utterly incorrect, politically and scientifically, a usage of Caucasian as designating the 'white' or Europoid race. Caucasians are either native inhabitants of the Caucasus area (including Armenians, Azeris, Ossetians and other Turkic and Indo European speakers) or, linguistically, the people who speak Caucasian languages. However, if we adhere to a linguistic definition i.e. people who speak Caucasian languages, then the above must be excluded and the term would cover only Georgians or Kartwelic, Abkhazo-Adyghean and Nakh-Daghestanic. Racially or physically, the term Caucasionic should instead be used. This term was introduced by the Georgian antrhropologist M. Abdushelishvili 61".
LANGUAGE FAMILIES IN THE CAUCASUS - As per Alexeev with additions in Bold Face by Arutiunov
(some of these languages only are spoken in one village; there are 29 languages as per Arutiunov)
Caucasian People as per HOLLIS (HOLLIS has no listing for Caucasian People; rather the listing for Caucasians retrieves "Caucasian Race" and includes: Indo Europeans, Mediterranean Race, Semites, Teutonic Race, Whites, and Working Class Whites)
For Caucasian Languages, Arutiunov's directions are, for the most part, followed. Dialects are eliminated, as is true for all the language families listed above. The Caucasian People, other than referring to those people who live in the Caucasus, will be eliminated and recommendation will be made to those in the Harvard Library System that the entries for Caucasian Race need attention - HOLLIS's listing for Caucasian Race includes a mixture of race, language, and class and for the most part is pejorative.
[No extinct languages in the Caucasus]
[no extinct people in the Caucasus]
According to Alexeev, the Turkic language family is one of the most complicated of families. Turkic occupies a great area in Eurasia yet it does not form a continuous area i.e. there are no common borders.
HOLLIS lists Turkic languages in Central Asia, China (Xingjiang Uighur Autonomous region), Caucasus, Khurasan Province in Iran, Siberia, and Volga Valley. HOLLIS lists the following Turkic languages: Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Bulgaro Turkic, Chagatai, Chuvash, Gagauz, Kara Kalpak, Kazakh, Khakass, Khalaj, Nogai, Oghuz, Turkic languages northwest, Turkic languages southeast, and Turkic languages southwest. For the Turkic languages northwest, HOLLIS lists: Bashkir, Cara Kalpak, Kazakh, Kuman, Kyrgyz, Nogai, and Tatar. For the Turkic languages southeast, Hollis lists: Chagatai, Khorezmian Turkic, Salar, Uighur, and Uzbek. For the Turkic languages southwest, HOLLIS lists: Azerbaijani, Gagauz, Oghuz, Turkish, and Turkmen. Arutiunov comments that the northwest = Kypchak group; southwest = Oghuz group; southeast = Karluk group; and northeast = Altain, Khakass, Touvinian, Shor, and Yakut.
As per Alexeev, in the Caucasus is the Azerbaijan language family located in several areas. HOLLIS lists an Azerbaijani language with dialects in Shaki, Azerbaijan; the Dmanisi region of the Georgia republic; and Tabriz, Iran. Alexeev states that Balkarian and Karachaian are sub-families of Azerbaijan.
HOLLIS lists Balkarian as Balkar Turkic people and Karachian as Karachay Turkic people. HOLLIS lists the Lezgian languages as related to Azerbaijani and relates the Balkar Turkic people and Karachay Turkic peoople with the Kabardian language (related to Adygei) and to the Circassian languages.
Arutiunov states that the above information from HOLLIS, beginning with the fourth sentence is absolutely wrong! He continues:
"Karachai and Balkar are in the Kypchak group and Azerbaijani is in the Oguz group. Karachai and Circassians live in the Carachai-Circassian Republic; Balkars and Kabardins live in the Kabardin-Balkarian Republic. This is the political and geographical distribution. However, Karachai and Balkar are very close Turkic languages. Circassian and Kabardin are close dialects of Adigian language. Adigian and Turkic are NOT mutually related".
HOLLIS relates the Circassian languages to the Adygei language and the Kabardian language 62. Of importance is that for the Balkar Turkic people, HOLLIS also includes a recent publication on civil rights infractions and crimes against minorities 63.
As per Alexeev, Turkic is also located in the Upper Volga Valley where East Finnic is distributed. South of the East Finnic groups are two sub families speaking Turkic: the Chuvashian [Chuvash] and the Bashkirian [Bashkir]. The Tatarian [Tatar] language is also located in the Volga Valley. Tatar language dialects, according to HOLLIS, are located in China (Manchou), Crimea, and the Russia Federation in ten different locales.
Alexeev continues: in Central Asia there are five groups who speak Turkic located in four geographical areas. Turkmenian [Turkmen] is spoken in the western part of Central Asia (in Turkmenistan), Uzbeian [Uzbek] is spoken in the desert area near the Aral Sea i.e. in Uzbekistan. Uzbek, according to HOLLIS, is also spoken in Afghanistan, the Aral Sea region of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Khorezm, Namangan, Shakhrisyabz, Tajikistan, and nine different locations in Uzbekistan], Kara-Kalpakian [Kara-Kalpak] is the northern population of Uzbekistan, Kirgiz = Kirgizian [Kyrgyz] (are in Kirghizistan), and Kazakh or Kazah [Kazakh] (in Kazahkstan) i.e. spoken along the borders of China.
Alexeev continues: Turkic is also spoken in eastern Siberia both in the mountains and flats. Altai-Kizi is spoken in the Altai and to the east in the Yenissei Valley is Khakassian [a republic in Siberia, as per Arutiunov]. In eastern Siberia in the Lena Valley, Yakutian is spoken. In the Tanno-Tuva region in the mountain area on the Yenisei River, Tuvinian (in Tuva) is spoken. Tuvinian is classic Mongolian. [Arutiunov comments: "this is wrong; Tuvinian is Turkic; Mongolian is Mongolic"] In western Siberia, in the south areas, a west Siberian Tatarian language is spoken. This language is also spoken in the Volga Valley (along with Chuvashian and Bashkirian).
As per Alexeev: in Turkey, classic Turkish is spoken. [For the Turkish language, HOLLIS lists dialects in Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria (Turgovishtki Okrug and Vidin), Cyprus, Gaziantep, Turkey, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Vevsehir, Uzbekistan, and twelve different geographic locations in Turkey, and Yugoslavia (Prizren Serbia)]. Alexeev concludes: Classic Turkish is similar to Azerbaijan. Turkmens also live in eastern Iran and Afghanistan. Some Turkic groups live in western Mongolia.
TURKIC (FAMILY) - as per Alexeev with additions by Arutiunov in Bold Face
The Turkic language family, as per Alexeev, and the Turkic language as per HOLLIS exhibited a direct relationship, and with Arutiunov adding the finer points, the Turkic language appears to be reaching a point of resolution. Likewise for the Turkic people. However, it again should be emphasized that both language and people are fluid; languages become extinct and people become assimilated into different geographic, religious, and political groups.
[Extinct Turkic people: Bulgars Turkic, Huns, Pecheneg Turkic][Extinct Turkic people: Bulgars Turkic, Huns, Pecheneg Turkic]
The origin of the Turkic people is most difficult. Professor Alexeev feels that the origin of Turkic should be dated no earlier than the first millennium BC. Colin Renfrew 65 dates the origins of the Turkic people at 8-7 millennium BC and relates their origins to the origins of agriculture. According to Alexeev, there is no evidence at such an early period. This has been checked out by two Russians: Ivanov and Gamkrelidze 66. According to Alexeev, Renfrew's dating suggests a strong feeling of racism.
Carlton Coon authored several books on racism 67; his work has been criticized by many people. Frederick Hulse 68 is another scholar who describes racial types. The Revolution of 1917 stopped racism in the USSR. Racism reappeared in 1949 when Stalin eliminated western influences. According to Arutiunov, what Stalin attempted to do, as was done in Tsarist time, was to channel the discontent of the masses against the Jews and some other minorities. Stalin toyed with a Russian chauvinist feeling to elicit more political support.
[This is the end of Lecture 9]
Lecture 10 can be found on the Downloads page