In a message dated 10/04/02 16:51:47 GMT Daylight Time,
glengordon01@... writes:

> Kartvelian is a Nostratic language, far removed from ND and HU.
> I place it initially in Central Anatolia until 5000 BCE, when
> it is pushed east into the Caucasus.

Can you explain why you believe Kartvelian to be a
Nostratic language, and how, when and where you think it
became detached from the rest of Nostratic?

> Oh yes, and the Caucasic family splits c.9000 BCE. The NEC stretch
> across the Caucasus by 8000 BCE while HU expands westward across
> Anatolia.

This sounds way too early to me. HU isn't enormously
more different from Nakh or Daghestanian than the two of
them are from each other in some respects. All other
things being equal, we'd be talking about a time depth
comparable with broad IE. On the other hand, the fact
the branches remain in close geographical proximity,
plus the effects of vertical geography, seasonal
migration and exogamy, would tend to lengthen the time
required for differentiation to take place compared with
the vast demic, or at least geographical, movements
associated with the breakup of IE.

As you know, I don't think Nakh's relationship with
Daghestanian is one of uncomplicated sisterhood, nor
perhaps is it a simple matter of HU and ND having
descended from a common ancestor, and that's the end of
the story. The tree model seems more or less to suit
Daghestanian itself, but the rest of the tree is pretty
problematic, and if there is something else going on, it
might indicate *less* time being involved.

We've already accounted for more than 3000 years'
difference between HU and ND, so even if nothing funny
is going on and there's a lot of continued contact
between the branches, another 8000 years still seems
a bit much.

I liked most of the rest of your story, though.


Ed.