Get the look: Yamnaya nomad (Indo-European) Bronze Age nomad

In this blog, we get acquainted with the major migration wave that swept into Europe 5,000 years ago. In just a few hundred years, the steppe peoples of the Yamnaya culture left their mark on the European landscape and culture. Their society was the cradle of dozens of Bronze Age cultures and laid the foundation for contemporary Europe. Almost 60% of our European DNA can be traced back to these steppe peoples. Virtually all languages spoken in modern-day Europe are descended from them.

Almost all other historical figures we discuss in our other blogs have these steppe peoples as their ancestors.

Migration Waves to Europe

Broadly, three major migration waves to Europe can be distinguished. DNA research indicates that these migration waves were always accompanied by violence and genocide against the indigenous population. It is likely that this is a characteristic of humans (Homo sapiens).

Out-of-Africa Exodus -

Archaeological findings reveal that several thousand Homo sapiens began the journey from Africa to Europe approximately 45,000 years ago, living as hunter-gatherers. The first European inhabitants followed migrating herds of antelopes, aurochs, and other large game and led a nomadic existence for 30,000 years.

Arrival of Anatolian Farmers -

Between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago, peoples from Anatolia gradually replaced the hunter-gatherers. This second migration wave led to the establishment of farming communities that cultivated the land and kept small amounts of livestock. With the ability to store grain and other crops, these farmers could better feed their population. In times of need, sheep, goats, or pigs were slaughtered. These were among the builders of Stonehenge and the ancestors of Ötzi the Iceman.

Invasion of the Yamnaya Culture (Kurgan Culture) -

About 5,000 years ago, the Neolithic era of farming ended when the nomadic Yamnaya tribes left the steppes of Russia and Ukraine and moved westward. Armed with bronze weapons, they brought with them a language from which almost all Europeans now speak a variant, Proto-Indo-European. The majority of Europeans are descended 60% or more from these peoples. They practiced agriculture to a limited extent and more extensively practiced animal husbandry.

The Emergence of the Yamnaya Culture

The name Yamna comes from the Russian Я́мная, an adjective derived from 'yama', meaning 'pit'. This refers to the tradition of how the culture buried their prominent dead. The deceased was interred in a rectangular 'pit' beneath a burial mound, covered with ochre. This is why the Yamnaya culture is also referred to as the Kurgan Culture or Ochre Grave Culture.

When we write about 'the Yamnaya culture' here, it is important to keep in mind that there probably was never a single uniform culture, and 'Yamnaya-related culture' would be a better designation.

The Yamnaya culture (3300-2600 BC) originated in the steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas, between the Dnieper River and the Ural Mountains. This fertile area had been inhabited since 7000 BC by hunter-gatherers from Siberia and farmers from Anatolia. These two population streams merged and formed a new culture, which later evolved into the Yamnaya culture and was likely also the source of the Corded Ware culture.

Wild horses grazed on the steppes, which the peoples managed to tame and learn to ride. They kept livestock for slaughter, as beasts of burden, and for milk, which was processed into butter and cheese. Around 4000 BC, they succeeded in breeding sheep with thicker wool, allowing them to use wool for clothing. Because the Yamnaya culture practiced animal husbandry, they needed less time to gather food, allowing them to expand their territory more easily. They did not settle in one place but led a nomadic existence.

The Yamna community was one of the first users of the wheel, allowing them to follow their herds with two- and four-wheeled carts, pulled by oxen. They learned to forge, first with copper and then with bronze, and held blacksmiths in high regard. They used axes, clubs, and copper and bronze swords for defense. They made high-quality, decorated pottery. Here they stored milk and possibly mead; analysis shows they drank very little water.

It is likely that only the elite were buried in a pit grave. These were mostly men, but some women were also buried in this distinctive manner. They were interred with jewelry, such as gold and silver rings. One individual was even buried with a large bronze vessel. Because such a grave gift required the involvement of the entire community, it is likely that the Yamnaya culture had a ruling elite class.

Proto-Indo-European

The story of the migration of the Yamnaya cultures is also the story of Proto-Indo-European: the language that formed the basis of most languages spoken in contemporary Europe, but also spread to parts of Asia.

From around 4000 BC, the first migration wave of the precursor to the Yamnaya culture passed through Bulgaria and the Danube region, circumvented the Black Sea, and crossed the Bosporus into Anatolia. The migrants brought their language, Archaic Proto-Indo-European, which formed the basis of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. Under this branch fall Hittite, Luwian, and Palaic.

The Hittites settled in central Turkey around the 2nd millennium BC, and the Hittite Empire encompassed most of Anatolia, the Levant, and Mesopotamia in the 14th century BC. They frequently clashed with the emerging Egyptian empire. However, it is not certain if these Hittites are the same as the biblical people of the same name.

Around 3300 BC, a branch of the Repin culture in the Don region split off into southern Siberia, where the Afanasevo culture emerged. They spoke early Proto-Indo-European, which evolved into Tocharian, spoken in the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, China.

Around 3000 BC, two streams moved from the steppes towards Europe, speaking late Proto-Indo-European: the Yamnaya culture towards the Danube and the Corded Ware culture towards the Baltic Sea region. The Proto-Indo-European of the Yamnaya culture laid the foundation for the later proto-Celtic and proto-Italic languages. From the Proto-Indo-European spoken by the Corded Ware culture, Proto-Germanic and Proto-Balto-Slavic developed.

The eastern branches of the Corded Ware culture influenced the Sintashta culture in the southern Urals (2100-1800 BC), from which the Indo-Iranian languages developed, including Sanskrit, Nepali, and Persian.

Between 3000 and 2900 BC, the Yamnaya reached the mouth of the Danube, which they followed through modern-day Romania, Serbia, and Hungary. These are the outer limits of what we now call the Yamnaya culture, but they did not stop here: their migration through the rest of Europe gave rise to many new, similar but distinct cultures.

They spread rapidly: research shows that it took only 50 years for the peoples from Czechia to reach present-day Netherlands and Jutland, Denmark. Wherever they went, they burned forests to make space for their semi-agricultural practices - with a limited number of crops, mostly barley, and animal husbandry such as oxen and sheep.

It is highly debated whether the Yamnaya peacefully integrated with the indigenous populations in their new areas or conquered them by force. Today, the latter is suspected.

Most graves are of male individuals. This could indicate that mainly young men ventured into the world, perhaps in search of fame, wealth, and territory. This principle of the kóryos, or warrior band, is also known from later Indo-European cultures, such as the Old Irish fian or the Norse berserker. However, the abundance of male graves could also mean that these special graves were reserved for the elite, which was predominantly male.

DNA research on more than 5,000 skeletons, however, provides more conclusive evidence of the mode of takeover. In Northern and Eastern Europe, it appears that the original hunter-gatherer population disappeared completely within a few hundred years and was replaced by a mixed DNA of Yamnaya and East European Neolithic farmers. The Yamnaya peoples were stronger and more robustly built and also had copper and bronze weapons, unlike the European Stone Age population.

It seems that the Yamnaya in Southern Europe merged with the indigenous population in a more peaceful manner: DNA samples from this region show less significant dominance of Yamnaya DNA. This suggests that there was more intermingling than conquest.

How did the Yamnaya look?

It seems that nowadays as much as 60 percent of all Europeans carry Yamnaya genes. When the Yamnaya conquered Europe, they had a very homogeneous DNA, which was a mixture of hunter-gatherers from the Volga region (EHG, Eastern Hunter-Gatherers) and hunter-gatherers from the Caucasus (CHG, Caucasian Hunter-Gatherers). This genetic mix is also called Western Steppe herder (WSH). There was also a small influence of WHG (Western Hunter-Gatherers) and EEF (Eastern European farmers), Neolithic farmers like Ötzi, but these came later into the gene pool.

It is likely that there is more Yamnaya DNA in Northern Europe than in Southern Europe. These genes originally protected us against animal-borne infectious diseases, but they have serious consequences for the modern world. Additionally, Yamnaya DNA may have contributed to North Europeans being more prone to high cholesterol and generally taller. This people were partially lactose tolerant and could therefore drink milk, reducing the need for water.

It appears that the Yamnaya originally had a predisposition for brown eyes, dark hair, and fair to medium-dark skin tone. The tendency for blond hair and blue eyes likely comes from genes of the Eastern European Hunter-Gatherers (EHG). It's possible that the Yamnaya and later Bronze Age peoples saw this as ideal, leading individuals with these traits to reproduce more quickly. Nowadays, Yamnaya DNA is often found in people with blond hair and blue eyes.

Appearance Composition

How people in the Yamnaya culture dressed is largely subject to creative interpretation. There are virtually no remains of clothing found. Possibly, the Chinese Tarim mummies from 1800 BC can provide an indication. Additionally, a wool fragment was found in Hallstatt from 1500-1200 BC. However, this is much later than the Yamnaya culture. We know that the Yamnaya culture used wool and kept sheep and goats. Furthermore, the anthropomorphic stones such as those from Kernosivsky give a small insight into how this culture dressed.

We know more about the jewelry they wore. But the Yamnaya culture is hidden in the mists of time and receives little attention from living history and reenactment. As a result, we have hardly any reconstructed jewelry that is suitable for this period. The result of this is a somewhat more all-round Western steppe herder who is as suitable for the Yamnaya culture as for, for example, the Funnel Beaker culture.

We call the character Kauti̯os, which is a reconstructed name from Claudius.

Kauti̯os is a middle-class man. By comparing the different cultures derived from the Proto-Indo-European culture, we know that the Yamnaya culture probably had a clear patriarchal class system. Kauti̯os is part of the fighting class that can be compared to the Old Irish Bóaire and the Viking karl. In his younger years, he was part of a warrior band (kóryos). To be able to do this, Kauti̯os had to attack a pack of wolves entirely naked, only wearing a belt and his spear. After this heroic victory, he set out with the kóryos in search of fame and possessions.

With his kóryos, he moved to a new area already inhabited by Neolithic farmers. Encouraged by the heroic stories of his ancestors, he attacked these farmers and claimed an area for himself. By now, Kauti̯os has left the kóryos and married a local woman. This way, neighboring Neolithic farming families hope to keep peace with him. He still has a deep bond with the other members of the kóryos. They still live in his immediate vicinity. Kauti̯os has now had his first child. It's a son whom he will raise in the tradition of his ancestors. When the child is old enough, he too will enter a kóryos and claim an area for himself.

Tunic

Kauti̯os typically wears a woolen tunic made from the wool of his own sheep. His woolen clothing keeps him warm and enables him to sleep outside if necessary.

In this composition, we have used a brown cotton tunic.

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/tunic-erik-brown.html

Trousers

Kauti̯os also wears woolen trousers. This is not a Proto-Indo-European invention, as even Ötzi the Iceman, who had no Indo-European ancestors, wore some form of leggings. For Kauti̯os, trousers were very comfortable because they keep his legs warm during horse riding. When Kauti̯os rides his horse, he appears even more imposing. The Neolithic neighbors sometimes view this as intimidating.

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/thorsberg-hose-fenris-dark-gray.html

Fur

Kauti̯os was skilled in hunting. During his time in the kóryos, he and his friends lived off hunting (and cattle raiding). Kauti̯os was familiar with fur, and it's possible that he also wore it.

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/fur-vambrace-jarl.html

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/fur-collar-tyra.html

Hat

It's possible that Kauti̯os wore a hat.

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/wool-viking-hat-ulf-yellow.html

Footware

Kauti̯os likely wore this type of footwear, or he was barefoot.

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/medieval-sandals-with-rubber-sole.html

Belt strap

Kauti̯os was familiar with leather, but it's not clear for what purposes leather was used. We assume that Kauti̯os also wore a belt. However, we are not aware of any belt buckles. Therefore, we have opted for a belt band that is fastened by tying the belt closed at the front.

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/leather-belt-20-mm-180-190-cm.html

Weapons

Weapons were Kauti̯os's most important possessions. With them, he asserted his status in a world full of violence. If neighboring tribes wanted to take away his possessions, only the strength of Kauti̯os, his weapons, his relationships with neighboring residents, and his relationship with his old kóryos kept him alive.

Clubs

We have chosen an axe handle as a club. This is based on the image from Kernosivsky.

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/axe-handle.html

Spear

The spear is probably the oldest type of weapon, alongside the club. Spears are also very efficient. Kauti̯os owns a spear with a bronze spearhead. This is the only item he inherited from his parental home. The spear has a name: 'Trito', named after the hero whose myth of cattle raiding originated.

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/long-greek-spear.html

Bow

Kauti̯os was also skilled in archery. The bow is likewise an ancient primal weapon that has played such a significant role in human evolution. Kauti̯os uses a longbow.

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/marksman-bow-re-enactment-larp-58-147-cm-light-bro.html