Laura Spinney

And we know because, again, back to the genetics from the ancient DNA, we can trace people in different kergans under these burial mounds and different step cemeteries. And then in cemeteries further afield, we can trace genetic links. And we can see from the ancestry that the Yamnaya carried and cross-referencing that with that of their descendants. We can see that they moved vast distances.

And we know because, again, back to the genetics from the ancient DNA, we can trace people in different kergans under these burial mounds and different step cemeteries. And then in cemeteries further afield, we can trace genetic links. And we can see from the ancestry that the Yamnaya carried and cross-referencing that with that of their descendants. We can see that they moved vast distances.

For example, we know that, this is one of my favorite stories, at least one group of Yamnaya, but probably many groups over hundreds of years, crossed the entire Eurasian steppe, thousands of kilometers, from what is now Ukraine to the Altai Mountains. And they did so quite near the beginning, around 5,000 years ago.

For example, we know that, this is one of my favorite stories, at least one group of Yamnaya, but probably many groups over hundreds of years, crossed the entire Eurasian steppe, thousands of kilometers, from what is now Ukraine to the Altai Mountains. And they did so quite near the beginning, around 5,000 years ago.

For example, we know that, this is one of my favorite stories, at least one group of Yamnaya, but probably many groups over hundreds of years, crossed the entire Eurasian steppe, thousands of kilometers, from what is now Ukraine to the Altai Mountains. And they did so quite near the beginning, around 5,000 years ago.

And that's thought to be the root of the Tocharian branch, which is one of the early branches of the Indo-European languages, according to linguists. And Tocharian is now a dead language that was spoken the furthest east of all these languages on the doorstep of China. And...

And that's thought to be the root of the Tocharian branch, which is one of the early branches of the Indo-European languages, according to linguists. And Tocharian is now a dead language that was spoken the furthest east of all these languages on the doorstep of China. And...

And that's thought to be the root of the Tocharian branch, which is one of the early branches of the Indo-European languages, according to linguists. And Tocharian is now a dead language that was spoken the furthest east of all these languages on the doorstep of China. And...

We know from studying the corpus of literature that's come down to us from the Takarian speakers that it was an Indo-European language, that it has undeniable similarities with the under-European languages. So how do we explain that related languages are spoken so far apart?

We know from studying the corpus of literature that's come down to us from the Takarian speakers that it was an Indo-European language, that it has undeniable similarities with the under-European languages. So how do we explain that related languages are spoken so far apart?

We know from studying the corpus of literature that's come down to us from the Takarian speakers that it was an Indo-European language, that it has undeniable similarities with the under-European languages. So how do we explain that related languages are spoken so far apart?

And we also now have archaeological evidence that people of very similar cultures were living on either side of that, of the Eurasian landmass, and now genetic evidence showing that people crossed that border. huge expanse of steppe.

And we also now have archaeological evidence that people of very similar cultures were living on either side of that, of the Eurasian landmass, and now genetic evidence showing that people crossed that border. huge expanse of steppe.

And we also now have archaeological evidence that people of very similar cultures were living on either side of that, of the Eurasian landmass, and now genetic evidence showing that people crossed that border. huge expanse of steppe.

There's a fascinating story that you can now, in that one case, cross-reference archaeology, genetics, and language to say that there was probably some huge trek across the steppe at some point by people who had wagons, may have ridden horses, that's another question, but probably most of them were walking. They crossed thousands of kilometers of steppe. Then, of course, you have to ask why.

There's a fascinating story that you can now, in that one case, cross-reference archaeology, genetics, and language to say that there was probably some huge trek across the steppe at some point by people who had wagons, may have ridden horses, that's another question, but probably most of them were walking. They crossed thousands of kilometers of steppe. Then, of course, you have to ask why.

There's a fascinating story that you can now, in that one case, cross-reference archaeology, genetics, and language to say that there was probably some huge trek across the steppe at some point by people who had wagons, may have ridden horses, that's another question, but probably most of them were walking. They crossed thousands of kilometers of steppe. Then, of course, you have to ask why.

But from a linguistic point of view, it does at least explain why an Indo-European language has spoken thousands of kilometers to the east near China 5,000 years ago.

But from a linguistic point of view, it does at least explain why an Indo-European language has spoken thousands of kilometers to the east near China 5,000 years ago.

But from a linguistic point of view, it does at least explain why an Indo-European language has spoken thousands of kilometers to the east near China 5,000 years ago.