Home and Spread of Indo-European Tribes in the Light of Name Research

Abstract

Today, large parts of Europe are populated by speakers of Indo-European languages. People have long wondered where they came from, where their original home was. Archeology has long been trusted to provide a solution to the problem. This has now been abandoned. Today there is a great deal of trust in the results of genetic research, which can certainly contribute to important findings. However, one should not forget an important aspect: when one looks for the speakers of Indo-European languages, one is not looking for specific material finds (devices, weapons, etc.) or for the carriers of certain genetic peculiarities, but for the speakers of languages. Their homeland and distribution can only be determined using linguistic methods. The languages alone are crucial. And at this point a scientific discipline that is based on languages comes into view: it is place name research. Place and river names are firmly anchored in the original region. They often pass on their names to changing populations and are therefore undoubtedly the most important witnesses to the history of peoples and languages. And another scientific discipline must be included: agricultural science, because early settlements were based on good and productive soils that enabled continuous settlement. With the help of geographical names and the distribution of Europe's good soils, the study determines the original settlements of the Slavs on the northern slope of the Carpathians, the Germanic tribes north of the Harz and those of the Celts on the western edge of the Carpathians. River names that can be assigned to Old European, i.e. Indo-European, hydronymy also show that old ones come from almost all settlement areas. There is evidence of connections to the Baltics and the Baltic languages. The Baltics are therefore the center of Indo-European names and there is no reason not to consider them as the starting area and home of Indo-European expansions. A homeland outside of Old European hydronymy, be it in southern Russia or in Asia Minor or in the Caucasus, as is often assumed today, especially on the basis of genetic studies, is excluded.