When people talk about Urartu, they usually picture a powerful Iron Age kingdom that rose suddenly around Lake Van and then “collapsed” just as suddenly in the 7th–6th centuries BCE. In most popular narratives, Urartu vanishes in a blaze: Cimmerians, Scythians, Medes, fire, destruction, the usual suspects. But if you follow the stones themselves,...
New Evidence for Indo-European Origins in Armenia
The quest to uncover the origins of the Indo-European language family has intrigued scholars for centuries, drawing together linguists, historians, and geneticists in a collaborative effort. In recent years, genetic and linguistic studies have made significant advances in analyzing the migrations of ancient populations linked to the Indo-European languages. Among the latest contributions is...
Who were the Urartians? – Highland Genetics – [Part 5]
Genetics of the Highland Another important tool we have at our disposal to asses population dynamics (both ancient and modern) is the study of genetics. When looking at the Armenian genetics the first and foremost evidence comes to us from the mere fact that Armenians are quite uniquely considered to be proper representatives of...
[VIDEO] Indo-European Homeland: The Revival of the Armenian Hypothesis
Because of recent developments in linguistics and especially archeaogenetics there has been a renewed interest in the Armenian Hypothesis. More and more credible evidence emerges suggesting that the first Indo-European language was spoken on the Armenian Plateau and spread east, west and north as people migrated from this central region. In this video I...
New DNA study rejects the Balkan origin of Armenians
Armenians are in many ways a unique ethnic group in the Near East. For one the Armenians speak a separate isolated branch within the Indo-European language family. Armenians are also genetic isolates showing little to no admixture since the Bronze Age collapse, and are considered one of the few ancient representatives of the Near...
Are Armenians Caucasians?
This is a subject that will certainly ruffle some feathers and potentially cost me more than a few subscribers. But I’m sitting home in quarantine with nothing better to do, so I thought to myself, it’s time for a good old fashioned digital controversy. All joking aside though, if you thought the “dolma wars”...
The Mushki; a lost Armenian tribe?
Guest entry – Author: Norgrmaya Russian historian Igor M. Diakonoff (in)famously suggested in his oft-cited 1968 work, “The Pre-history of the Armenian People” that the Armenian language was brought to the Armenian Highlands in the early 12th century BCE, following the Bronze Age Collapse (when the Hittite Empire fell, leaving a power vacuum in Asia...
New DNA study supports an Armenian origin of the Indo-Europeans
The Indo-European language family includes most of the European languages like English, Spanish, French, German, Greek, Russian, but also Armenian, Persian and Hindi. With over 400 languages (including dialects) it is by far the world’s largest language family and is spoken by almost 3 billion native speakers world wide. Armenian language is considered to...
New DNA Study On The Origins of The First Civilizations of Greece Reveals Armenian Traces
Some of Europe’s earliest traces of civilization are found in modern Greece along the Aegean sea. During the Bronze Age, two prominent archaeological cultures emerged in the Aegean. The culture of the island of Crete, sometimes referred to as ‘Minoan’, was Europe’s first literate civilization, and has been described as ‘Europe’s first major experience of...
The Milk Revolution: How people from the Armenian Plateau brought milk to Europe
The Armenian Highlands was an important center of early human technological and agricultural inventions. Situated at the crossroads between Europe, Middle East and Asia it served as a geographic conduit for the spread of technology and genetics into Europe during the Neolithic revolution when humans first abandoned hunting and gathering and started to settle down....
