Slavic peoples

The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples currently living in Europe. They are defined by speaking Slavic languages and reside chiefly in Central and Eastern Europe, but are also found in Asia. The idea that the Slavic people have more in common than their origin, the origin of their languages and some cultural aspects is derived from romantic nationalism, the panslavism movement and the notion of race as a biological basis of nations.

The Slavic homeland debates

General argument

A common theory is that the Proto-Indo-Europeans, and also the later Proto-Slavs, originated from the steppes of Ukraine and southern Russia (see Kurgan hypothesis). However, other scholars believe that the Proto-Slavs had been in north-east Central Europe since very early times, and were the bearers of the Lusatian culture and later the Przeworsk culture (and were also part of the Chernyakhov culture). However, this latter theory does not contradict the Kurgan hypothesis.

Related Topics:
Kurgan hypothesis - Lusatian culture - Przeworsk culture - Chernyakhov culture

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There are thus two major historical theories that address the issue of the original homeland of Slavs:

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• the autochthonic theory assumes that Slavs had lived north of the Carpathian Mountains since the Lusatian culture (before 1000 BC).
• the allochthonic theory assumes that the Slavs came there in the 5th or 6th century AD.

Germans and different Slavic nations have employed either of these theories as tools of political propaganda, resulting in general confusion. Some scientists (such as Kazimierz God?owski or Zdenek Vana) consider both theories absurd: they think that Slavs as such appeared and differentiated themselves from other tribes some time after 1 AD.

Related Topics:
Germans - Propaganda - Kazimierz God?owski - Zdenek Vana - 1

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Many regions have been proposed as the hypothetical Slavic homeland. Suggestions include today's Poland, the marshes of Polesie, Volhynia, areas around the upper Dniepr river, and even Central Asia.

Related Topics:
Polesie - Dniepr - Central Asia

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Diverse theories

Around 500 BC, Celtic tribes settled along the upper Oder river (Odra), and Germanic tribes settled on the lower Vistula and the lower Oder rivers. The lands of the Elbe, Oder, and Vistula regions all came to be known as Magna Germania by ca. 100 AD. It has not been verified whether any Slavic tribes were settled in these regions at that time.

Related Topics:
Celt - Oder - Germanic tribes - Vistula - Elbe

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One theory suggests that two waves of Slavs existed: Proto-Slavs (called by these theorists "Venedes" or "Wenets"), and the Slavs proper; and that these two groups were mixed to become today's Slavs. However, the claim that the Venedes were a Slavic or even a proto-Slavic people is very controversial, and many scholars believe that the Venedes belonged to another Indo-European branch, rather than Slavic.

Related Topics:
Venedes

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The Chernoles culture is "sometimes portrayed as either a state in the development of the Slavic languages or at least some form of late Indo-European ancestral to the evolution of the Slavic stock" (James P. Mallory, "Chernoles Culture", Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997).

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Another recent theory, relying on the multiregional origin hypothesis claims an autochthonous Slavic origin from pre-glacial times. The Slavic homeland would thus have included areas described by Tacitus as Germania. This theory has little support among scientists.

Related Topics:
Multiregional origin hypothesis - Tacitus - Germania

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Still more confusion comes from the fact that some Slavic peoples have originated as a result of complete assimilation of non-Slavic peoples. Myth-weavers often seize upon this phenomenon (which happened in some cases) to create spurious pseudo-histories (see connection between Poles and Vandals).

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"Ukrainians as Aryans" theory

Finally, several new theories of the origin of Slavs were published, and found large numbers of followers, in the 1990s and 2000s, fueled by the rise of nationalism in Ukraine. Most of them attempt to establish a direct connection between the Slavs and Aryans. Some even claim that Slavs existed as an entity as early as the 7th to 5th millennium BC and were ancestors of the Sumerians. They say that the fabled Sumerian city of Aratta was located in Ukraine.

Related Topics:
1990s - 2000s - Ukraine - Aryans - 7th - 5th millennium BC - Sumerians - Aratta

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There is plenty of archeological evidence for settlements in northern Ukraine and Poland as far back as 3rd millennium BC (Trypillian, Tishinets, Peshevor, Zarubinets cultures). People who lived there supported themselves principally by means of agriculture; some of them had mastered the use of metal by the 8th century BC. The absence of a written language leaves it open for debate whether those people were in any way related to modern Slavs.

Related Topics:
3rd millennium BC - Trypillian - 8th century BC

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