Changes

[[File:From Corded Ware to Sintashta.jpg|thumb|The Indo-European languages spread across northern Europe due to a mass migration of the Corded Ware people that occurred around 2900 BC. In a second wave of migration, the Bell Beaker people, an offshoot of the Corded Ware, moved further west to settle as the Celts. The Yamnaya, meanwhile, migrated through the Balkans to Anatolia, where they settled as the Hittites.]]

[[File:Map of Aryan migration into India.gif|thumb|The Aryans entered India from Central Asia. They went through the Khyber Pass, which cuts through the Hindu Kush mountain range.]]

The '''Aryans''', Sanskrit ''Ārya'', were a group who invaded India from the north around 1500 BC as recorded in the ''Rigveda'', the earliest Indian literary work.

The '''Aryans''', Sanskrit ''Ārya'', were a group who invaded India from the north around 1500 BC as recorded in the ''Rigveda'', the earliest Indian literary work.

==Yamnaya and Corded Ware cultures==

==Yamnaya and Corded Ware cultures==

Genetic studies show that the Brahmin caste, the highest Indian caste, has a higher portion of DNA related to the Yamnaya Culture found north of the Black Sea.<ref>Daniyal, Shoaib, "[https://scroll.in/article/936872/two-new-genetic-studies-upheld-aryan-migration-theory-so-why-did-indian-media-report-the-opposite Two new genetic studies upheld Indo-Aryan migration. So why did Indian media report the opposite?]"</ref> The Yamnaya flourished from 3300–2600 BC. They are thought to have spoken Proto-Indo-European, the ancestral language of the Indo-European language family.

Genetic studies show that the Brahmin caste, the highest Indian caste, has a higher portion of DNA related to the Yamnaya Culture found north of the Black Sea.<ref>Daniyal, Shoaib, "[https://scroll.in/article/936872/two-new-genetic-studies-upheld-aryan-migration-theory-so-why-did-indian-media-report-the-opposite Two new genetic studies upheld Indo-Aryan migration. So why did Indian media report the opposite?]"</ref> The Yamnaya flourished from 3300–2600 BC. They are thought to have spoken Proto-Indo-European, the ancestral language of the Indo-European language family.

The Yamnaya and related peoples on the eastern European steppe were pastoralists who conquered various farming peoples of eastern Europe. They likely slaughtered the men of the farming communities and married, raped, or enslaved the women, as their Y-DNA is dominant in Europe. This resulted in the creation of the Corded Ware culture, which lasted from 2900 – 2350 BC.

The Yamnaya and related peoples on the eastern European steppe were pastoralists who conquered various farming peoples of eastern Europe. They likely slaughtered the men of the farming communities and married, raped, or enslaved the women, as their Y-DNA is dominant in Europe. This resulted in the creation of the Corded Ware culture, which lasted from 2900 – 2350 BC.

[[File:Yamna Man.jpg|thumb|left|A reconstruction of a Yamnaya man. The Yamnaya are thought have been speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language]]

[[File:Yamna Man.jpg|thumb|right|A reconstruction of a Yamnaya man. The Yamnaya are thought have been speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language]]

The two cultures are easily distinguished archeologically because the Yamnaya entombed their dead in mounds while the Corded Ware people dug pits. Reconstructions based on skeletal remains suggest that the Yamnaya had black hair and olive skin, like modern southern Europeans. The Corded Ware people had blonde hair and lighter pigmentation. That is to say, these features are a result of intermarriage between the Yamnaya and the Neolithic farming community. The Sintashta and Andronovo peoples had even lighter pigmentation.

The two cultures are easily distinguished archeologically because the Yamnaya entombed their dead in mounds while the Corded Ware people dug pits. Reconstructions based on skeletal remains suggest that the Yamnaya had black hair and olive skin, like modern southern Europeans. The Corded Ware people had blonde hair and lighter pigmentation. That is to say, these features are a result of intermarriage between the Yamnaya and the Neolithic farming community. The Sintashta and Andronovo peoples had even lighter pigmentation.