-In the year 1994, Norwegian anthropologist, explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl discovered Viking inscriptions in the South Caucasian country of Azerbaijan.
-Many peoples of the Caucasus, especially from isolated areas resemble modern Scandinavians or even look identical to them; Lezgins being a prime example. I know that appearance is not always a correct method when comparing races, but there is more to it.
-According to Heyerdahl, a hypothetical Nordic/Viking migration from the Caucasus coincides with Viking mythology of an exodus to Scandinavia from a region far south east of it, which is no other than the Eurasian steppes and the Caucasus mountain region.
-The indigenous languages of the Caucasus are the native Caucasian language families, not Indo-European as in the case of most modern Scandinavian populations whom today mainly speak Northern Germanic languages, with Finnish and Lappish being amongst the main exceptions.
The non-Caucasian languages of the Caucasus mainly Altaic and Indo-European were brought through migration and possible conquest. Both haplogroup studies and cultural practices of the Caucasus attest to this.
-The strongest point I have is the presence of the Nordic Haplogroup I in the Caucasus region. What most readers may not know is that the haplogroup associated with Indo-European populations is Haplogroup R, not the Nordic Haplogroup I.
Aside from these points, there are a few other things that readers should know. Firstly, the finding of Haplogroup I in other parts of Africa and the Middle East are due to various conquests by Nordic peoples, most notably during the Crusades.
Even today many Arab speaking populations of North Africa and the Middle East can be found with Nordic features as a result of Nordic genes spread in those regions.
Though I'm not too familiar with Caucasian mythology (as in mythology of the Caucasus peoples), I found other possible cultural links between Viking/Germanic cultures and Caucasian cultures.
Compare the Georgian cross seen in Georgian culture which is most notable in the Georgian flag to the Viking cross.
Or compare this Viking sun cross with the Georgian symbol below it:
Their strong resemblance could be coincidental or maybe not. Due to genetic evidence and other evidence that I have mentioned above.
Based on all this, I want to go back to my original points:
-With the native languages of the Caucasus being non-Germanic, thus non-Indo-European and evidence of a Viking migration from this region, the only plausible answer would be that the Vikings in their earlier form were a Caucasian/Proto-Caucasian speaking peoples at some point in history before or after their migration to Scandinavia.
The most likely and plausible scenario would be that the Vikings were originally Caucasian speakers and bred with Indo-European populations which is where they may have picked up their Indo-European language(s).
Haplogroup R1A is actually very commonly found amongst Nordic populations present day. Even R1B in some Scandinavian areas actually appears to as much and sometimes even less than R1A. Haplogroup R1A is actually associated with Eastern European populations as well as Indo-European populations outside of Europe whereas R1B is designated as of West European origin.
-So far no evidence goes against this widely accepted hypothesis except for linguistic distinction. The only possibility is if a Viking-Caucasian connection is fully established, that indeed the Vikings were non-Indo-European speakers in the beginning and at some point adopted/developed the early Germanic dialects as a result of contact and/or integration with ancient Indo-European populations.
-Not all Scandinavian people speak Germanic languages most notably the Finns.
The Finns are most likely descendants of Viking tribes that integrated with early Finno-Ugric tribes which shows in some Finns having more Asiatic features (ie. higher cheek bones etc.) but the strongest trait is found in their Uralic language.
If one were to combine my points with the evidence, my theory seems like the only logical explanation as to why the people of Scandinavia speak non-Caucasian languages or why native Caucasian populations do not speak Germanic languages- unless further research in the future can construct an alternate scenario.
Here are some important links discussing the hypothetical Viking-Caucasian connection:
http://www.gnosticliberationfront.com/scandinavian_ancestry____tracing.htm
http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/31_folder/31_articles/31_thorazerconn.html
http://www.donsmaps.com/gobustan.html
C'mon, man. Haplogroup I isn't the "Nordic" haplogroup, it's the indigenous Cromagnon/paleo-European haplogroup that was displaced in most parts of Europe by the Indo-European invasion, but was retained in the Germanic countries and in Croatia to a great extent (and everywhere else in Europe to a lesser extent).
ReplyDeleteIt stayed in Croatia because of the relative isolation that the mountains provided. It stayed with the Norse because the Balto-Slavs (R1a) and Italo-Celts (R1b) expanded into that area around the same time. Being technologically matched they were less inclined for conquest-oriented warfare, which worked out to the advantage of the indigenous population (I).
This is all attested by linguistic and genetic evidence. Northern Germans and Scandinavians have a pretty balanced mix of R1a, R1b and I haplogroups. The Germanic language also has affinities with both the Italo-Celtic and Balto-Slavic branches, as well as peculiar traits possibly derived from the original linguistic substratum.
The vikings were Germanic. All evidence points to that. The inscriptions in Azerbaijan were not viking ones, thought I'm not surprised a guy named Thor might think so. And the "swastika" symbol is a simple geometric design that, like the cross, popped up in many unrelated cultures, like in the Americas.
Sorry, but I think your hypothesis is just based on too many incorrect assumptions. Peace.
Tell that to the anthropologists who discovered the inscriptions and studied Viking mythology which backtracks to this region. As for the swastika well vikings went as far as Newfoundland and some natives went to the Mediterranean so you seem to be the one making false assumptions by suggesting it's an international geometric symbol carved out of coincidence. And what of Lezghins? with most of them resembling modern nordic peoples and they may even be of the same haplogroup. That's coincidence too? Note as stated in my article lezghins are kartvelian speakers not Indo-European speakers
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