> Concerning the language families listed below, you and I voted in a
> similar fashion except for Etruscan & Basque. Why did you NOT include
> them as close relatives of PIE? Gerry
Dear Gerry,
I voted only for the Nostratic families. Why? To explain I have to start from
far, sorry.
I'm convinced that such global events as spreading of large linguistic families
can't be caused by combination of accidental factors. If people speaking
languages of a family (or of a superfamily) systematically pressed their
neighbours they had to have a fundamental advantage. I believe that the most
important step (up to now) in the history of H. sapiens sapiens was the
"Neolithic revolution" (fire was obtained by earlier Hominids). Thereafter from
the ecological point of view a serious difference between people and other
animals appeared (still not ultimate then). This event happend independently in
7 or 8 places of the world from about 12 to 7 millenia ago.
I think that every such a place with its unique set of initially domesticated
plant and animal species (except dogs - it's a special story) strictly
corresponds to one superfamily:
TIME(mill.ago)-PLACE-PLANTS-ANIMALS-SUPERFAMILY(Families included)
12 - SE Asia - vegetables,rice - ? - Austric SF (Austroasian+Austronesian+Tai)
10 - Near East - emmer/einkorn,barley - goats/sheep - Nostratic SF + ? (North
Caucasian+Sumerian+Pre-IE European lang.)
8 - China - chinese millet - pigs - Sino-Tibetian family
8 - Sahara - millet - cattle - Sindsch SF (Niger-Kordofan + Nilo-Saharan)
8 - New Guinea - veget. - NG pigs - TransNG family (I have not learned it
properly yet)
10 - Peru - veget., potato - llama - "Andean" SF (Quechumaran+Araucan+Chimu)
9 - Mexico - veget., maize - no anim. - "Mesoamerican" SF
(Oto-Manguean+Uto-Aztecan+Hocaltecan+Siou+Algonkian)
7 - S.America - cassava - Guinea pig ? - "Amazonian" SF
(Mayan+Arawak+Chibcha+Caribean+Tupi+Ge+...)
(3 American superfamilies are my own "invention" not proved and even not
discussed yet)
(Racial correlations also can be found here)
What remains? Some unattested languages (like Basque or Burushaski) and
languages of folks which had not passed the "Neolithic revolution" (mainly very
small groups except Na-Dene Indians and Australian aborigenes).
Formally following the scheme I should vote for all the families listed as you
did, because all of them no doubt belong to wheat/barley/sheep/goats zone.
However Near East Neolithic center seems to be a double (or mayby even a triple
?) one. Two different species of wheat appeared domesticated almost
simultaneously in adjacent regions (Palestine - emmer and North Mesopotamia -
einkorn). Plus barley. Sheep and goats also are animals practically of the same
kind (when we are speaking only about meat). Soon all the communities of the
Near East had possessed all the species mentioned, but there was an early phase
when the couples were divided and the correlation of emmer+barley+goats contrary
to einkorn and sheep existed.
I must say, a lot is still unclear here. At the moment it seems to me the most
probable that the line with initial emmer+barley+goats can be attested as
Nostratic (IE+Kartvelian+Afroasiatic+Uralic+Altaic+Dravidian). Other Neolithic
groups (einkorn+sheep initial line) either genetically independent from them or
is related at an earlier stage (could call it a "hyperfamily").
Basque language has nether linguistic nor archaeological reasons to be
classified as a Nostratic one. So I did not vote for it.
Etruscan. This language is not enough investigated yet. I heard some scholar's
meanings that this language could be the most close relative to IE. Up to now I
belived that Kartvelian family was the last which parted with PIE. I know that
in early Bronze Age there was a mighty movement from Eastern Anatolia to Aegean
region (and maybe further to Balkans). To my mind they formed early Cycladic,
Helladic and Cretan cultures of the Bronze Age. I thought they might speak
Northwestcaucasian languages.
However they (or a part of them) could be Kartvelian-speaking. If it were so I'd
vote for Etruscan with my both hands.
You see, there is a great lot of speculations in my considerations. New facts
are needed to clear up the picture.
I'm also interested what did you mean when voting for all the families from the
list offered.
Best regards,
Alexander