For centuries, the origin of the Indo-European language family, a linguistic tapestry woven across continents and spoken by nearly half the world’s population, has remained shrouded in mystery. Now, a study analyzing ancient DNA has potentially unearthed the missing link, rewriting the history of these languages and our own ancestral roots.
The Indo-European language family, boasting over 400 languages including major groups like Germanic, Romance, Slavic, Indo-Iranian, and Celtic, traces back to a common ancestor: Proto-Indo-European (PIE). While linguists and historians have long investigated the origins and spread of PIE, a significant knowledge gap persisted – until now.
A team of researchers, led by Ron Pinhasi from the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna, in collaboration with David Reich’s ancient DNA laboratory at Harvard University, has published its findings in the journal Nature. The study analyzed ancient DNA from 435 individuals unearthed from archaeological sites across Eurasia, spanning a period from 6,400 to 2,000 BCE.
Previous genetic research had established the Yamnaya culture (3,300-2,600 BCE) of the Pontic-Caspian steppes, north of the Black and Caspian Seas, as a major player. Beginning around 3,100 BCE, the Yamnaya people expanded both into Europe and Central Asia, leaving their genetic mark across Eurasia. This “steppe ancestry,” dating from 3,100 to 1,500 BCE, is widely considered the most significant demographic event in Europe in the last 5,000 years and is believed to be a key vector for the dispersal of Indo-European languages.
However, one branch of the Indo-European family tree remained an enigma: the Anatolian languages, including Hittite. This branch, likely the first to diverge from PIE, uniquely preserves linguistic features lost in other Indo-European languages. Intriguingly, previous studies had failed to detect steppe ancestry among the Hittites.
This new study offers a compelling explanation. The researchers argue that the Anatolian languages descended from a language spoken by a previously uncharacterized group: the Eneolithic population of the steppes between the North Caucasus Mountains and the lower Volga, dating from 4,500 to 3,500 BCE. This newly identified group is referred to as the Caucasus-Lower Volga (CLV) population.
Crucially, when the genetics of the CLV population are used as a reference point, the study reveals CLV ancestry in at least five individuals from Anatolia, dating before or during the Hittite era. This discovery bridges the gap that previously separated the Anatolian languages from the rest of the Indo-European family.
The study further reveals that the Yamnaya population derived approximately 80% of its ancestry from the CLV group. Moreover, the CLV population contributed at least one-tenth of the ancestry of Bronze Age central Anatolians, the speakers of Hittite. “The CLV group therefore can be connected to all IE-speaking populations and is the best candidate for the population that spoke Indo-Anatolian, the ancestor of both Hittite and all later IE languages,” explains Ron Pinhasi.
The researchers suggest that the integration of the proto-Indo-Anatolian language, shared by both Anatolian and Indo-European peoples, reached its peak among the CLV communities between 4,400 and 4,000 BCE.
“The discovery of the CLV population as the missing link in the Indo-European story marks a turning point in the 200-years-old quest to reconstruct the origins of the Indo-Europeans and the routes by which these people spread across Europe and parts of Asia,” concludes Ron Pinhasi.
This research, while providing significant insights, also opens new avenues for exploration. Future studies will undoubtedly delve deeper into the cultural practices, social structures, and migratory patterns of the CLV population, further illuminating the complex history of the Indo-European language family and its speakers. The study, titled “The genetic origin of Indo-Europeans,” was published in the journal Nature on February 5, 2025.