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Chronological frameworks for Indo-European languages: Insights from linguistics, archaeology and genomics

European Journal of Human Genetics (2026)Cite this article

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We thank Dr. Ramakrishnan Sitaraman for his interest in our work and for engaging in this important discussion about the chronology of Indo-European languages in South Asia in a correspondence titled “The absolute chronology of the presence of Indo-European/Indic languages in the Indian subcontinent”. Constructive dialogue such as this helps refine understanding across fields, including linguistics, archaeology, and population genetics.

We respectfully clarify that our statement regarding the arrival of Indo-European languages into the Indian subcontinent being no earlier than the second millennium BC reflects the predominant consensus within contemporary Indology and historical linguistics. This dating is not based solely on any single scholar’s earlier proposals but rather on a broad and continually updated body of scholarship encompassing:

  • Comparative Indo-European linguistics

  • Archaeological cultural sequences from the Eurasian steppe through BMAC into South Asia

  • Hydrological and paleoenvironmental reconstructions

  • Early textual chronology and stratigraphy

  • Ancient DNA evidence informing demographic movements

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Funding

The study was funded by Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) Seed Grant to Dr. Ranajit Das (YU/Seed Grant/093-2020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Bern, Länggassstrasse, Bern, Switzerland

    George van Driem

  2. Department of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri, Karnāṭaka, India

    Jaison Jeevan Sequeira & Mohammed Shafiul Mustak

  3. Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (deemed-to-be) University, Mangalore, Karnāṭaka, India

    Swathy Krishna & Ranajit Das

Authors
  1. George van Driem
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  2. Jaison Jeevan Sequeira
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  3. Swathy Krishna
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  4. Mohammed Shafiul Mustak
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  5. Ranajit Das
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Contributions

GvD and RD contributed in conceptualisation. GvD wrote the first draft of the correspondence. JJS, MSM, SKM, and RD revised the correspondence. The correspondence was finalized by RD. All authors approved the final version.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to George van Driem or Ranajit Das.

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van Driem, G., Sequeira, J.J., Krishna, S. et al. Chronological frameworks for Indo-European languages: Insights from linguistics, archaeology and genomics. Eur J Hum Genet (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41431-025-01998-4

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