Proto-Indo-European origins

The Proto-Indo-European homeland (or Indo-European homeland) was the prehistoric urheimat of the Indo-European languages – the region where their reconstructed common ancestor, the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE), was originally spoken. From this region, its speakers migrated and went on to form the proto-communities of the different branches of the language family.

The most widely accepted proposal to identify the Proto-Indo-European homeland is the steppe hypothesis, which puts the PIE homeland in the Pontic-Caspian steppe around 4,000 BC. A minority support the Anatolian hypothesis, which puts it in Anatolia around 8,000 BC. A notable, though unlikely, third possibility is the Armenian hypothesis which situates the homeland south of the Caucasus. Several other explanations have been proposed, including the Neolithic creolisation hypothesis, Paleolithic Continuity Theory, and Indigenous Aryans or "Out of India" theory. These are not widely accepted, or are considered to be fringe theories.

The search for the homeland of the Indo-Europeans began in the late 18th century with the discovery of the Indo-European language family. The methods used to establish the homeland have been drawn from the disciplines of historical linguistics, archaeology, physical anthropology and, more recently, human population genetics.

The Steppe theory and the Anatolian hypothesis are "the two leading competitors" for the Indo-European homeland. The steppe hypothesis, a revised version of the "Kurgan hypothesis", places the PIE homeland in the Pontic steppe around 4000 BC. The majority of Indo-European specialists support the steppe hypothesis, though critical issues remain to be clarified.

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