Ancestry

The Ancestry of the Vedic Aryans


Yamnaya Culture | 3500 to 2600 BCE

A group originating in the Pontic-Caspian steppe, within present-day Ukraine and southern Russia.

The root culture of modern Europeans, Iranians, and North Indians, they were polytheistic semi-nomadic pastoralist warriors who rode chariots. The Yamnaya migrated west into Europe and eastwards to Central Asia.

Afanasievo Culture | 3300 to 2600 BCE

Direct descendants of the Yamnaya who migrated eastwards to the Altai-Sayan region within Central Asia.

Sintashta Culture | 2100 to 1800 BCE

Descent from Afanasievo groups that split off into the southern Urals and northern steppes of Central Asia.

Andronovo Culture | 2000 to 900 BCE

Emerged from Sintashta groups within Central Asia, including parts of modern-day Kazakhstan, Russia, and western Siberia.

Proto Aryans | 2000 to 1500 BCE

An Andronovo descent group that migrated into Central and South Asia, forming the root of Indo-Iranian languages and cultures

The Aryans then split westwards to conquer the Iranian plateau and develop modern Iranian cultures and also split eastwards to conquer the northern Indian Subcontinent.

Vedic Aryans | 1500 to 500 BCE

After separating from the other Aryans, a separate and distinct culture was formed within Northern India with a well-established culture, language, and religions.