I have a question on who wrote the Vedas. But before that, some background.
Some years ago, Harvard geneticist David Reich and many other researchers wrote a highly influential paper entitled “The Genomic Formation of South and Central Asia”. [www.biorxiv.org]
This paper outlined the complex ancestry of modern South Asians;
• AASI (Ancient Ancestral South Indians): Indigenous hunter-gatherers of South Asia (~65,000 years ago), with genetic links to modern isolated groups like the Andaman Islanders
• Iran Agriculturalists: Early farmers (~9,000 years ago) from the Fertile Crescent, contributing to the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Indus Periphery: A mix of AASI and Iranian Agriculturalists (~5,000–4,000 years ago), representing the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Steppe Pastoralists: Migrants from the Eurasian Steppe (~2,000 BCE), linked to the Yamnaya culture, who introduced Indo-European languages and shaped northern populations.
One question that I have is which of these groups wrote the Vedas. Conventional wisdom says that the Steppe Pastoralists brought the Vedas with them. I have my doubts. I think that the Vedas were written by the people of the Indus Valley Civilization (Indus Periphery). What do you all think?
Some years ago, Harvard geneticist David Reich and many other researchers wrote a highly influential paper entitled “The Genomic Formation of South and Central Asia”. [www.biorxiv.org]
This paper outlined the complex ancestry of modern South Asians;
• AASI (Ancient Ancestral South Indians): Indigenous hunter-gatherers of South Asia (~65,000 years ago), with genetic links to modern isolated groups like the Andaman Islanders
• Iran Agriculturalists: Early farmers (~9,000 years ago) from the Fertile Crescent, contributing to the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Indus Periphery: A mix of AASI and Iranian Agriculturalists (~5,000–4,000 years ago), representing the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Steppe Pastoralists: Migrants from the Eurasian Steppe (~2,000 BCE), linked to the Yamnaya culture, who introduced Indo-European languages and shaped northern populations.
One question that I have is which of these groups wrote the Vedas. Conventional wisdom says that the Steppe Pastoralists brought the Vedas with them. I have my doubts. I think that the Vedas were written by the people of the Indus Valley Civilization (Indus Periphery). What do you all think?