The Anatolian Hypothesis

The Anatolian Hypothesis suggests that the spread of Indo-European languages stems from early farmers in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) around 7000 to 6000 years ago. As these early agricultural communities migrated into Europe and surrounding regions, they carried their language with them. This theory contrasts with the idea that language spread primarily through military conquest. It emphasizes that the expansion of farming practices played a key role in the diffusion of these languages. In essence, the hypothesis links the origin of many Indo-European languages to ancient farming communities in Anatolia who gradually dispersed across Europe and Asia.