Get the look: Jamna (Indo-European) bronze Age nomad

In this blog, we become acquainted with the great migration wave that entered Europe 5,000 years ago. In just a few hundred years, the steppe peoples of the Yamna culture left their mark on the European landscape and European culture. Their society was the cradle of dozens of Bronze Age cultures and was at the birth of modern Europe. Almost 60% of our European DNA descends from these steppe peoples. Virtually all languages spoken in modern Europe are derived from them.

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

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

• Exodus from Africa - Archaeological findings reveal that several thousand Homo sapiens began their migration from Africa to Europe about 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 began to replace the hunter-gatherers. This second wave of migration led to the establishment of farming communities that cultivated the land and kept livestock to a small extent. The ability to store grain and other crops allowed these agrarians to better feed their populations. In times of need, sheep, goats, or pigs were slaughtered. These were, among others, the builders of Stonehenge and the ancestors of Ötzi the Iceman. 
• Invasion of the Yamnaya culture (Pit Grave culture) - About 5,000 years ago, the Neolithic farmers era 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 60% or more descended from these peoples. They engaged in agriculture to a small extent and more in livestock farming. 

The name Yamnaya comes from the Russian Я́мная, an adjective derived from 'yama,' which means 'pit.' This refers to the tradition of how the culture buried their prominent dead. The deceased was buried in a rectangular 'pit' under a burial mound and covered with ochre. Hence, the Yamnaya culture is also referred to as the Pit Grave culture or Ochre Grave culture.

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

The Yamnaya culture (3300-2600 BCE) originated in the steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas, between the Dnieper River and the Ural Mountains. This fertile area was inhabited from 7000 BCE by hunter-gatherers from Siberia and farmers from Anatolia. These two population streams merged and formed a new culture, which later developed 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 learned to ride. They kept livestock for slaughter, as pack animals, and for milk, which was processed into butter and cheese. Around 4000 BCE, they succeeded in breeding sheep with thicker wool, allowing them to use wool for clothing. Because the Yamnaya culture kept livestock, they needed less time to gather food, making it easier for them to expand their territory. They did not settle in one place but led a nomadic existence.

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

Probably only the elite were buried in a pit grave. These were usually 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 commitment of the entire community, it is likely that the Yamnaya culture had a ruling elite class.

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

From 4000 BC, the first wave of migration of the precursor to the Yamnaya culture moved via Bulgaria and the Danube region around the Black Sea, crossing the Bosporus into Anatolia. The migrants brought their language with them, the Archaic Proto-Indo-European. , which formed the basic of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. This branch includes Hittite, Luwian, and Palaic.

The Hittites settled around the 2nd millennium BC in central Turkey, and the Hittite empire encompassed most of Anatolia, the Levant, and Mesopotamia in the 14th century BC. They frequently came into conflict 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 split off in the Don region to southern Siberia, where the Afanasievo culture emerged. They spoke early Proto-Indo-European, which developed 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 area. The Proto-Indo-European of the Yamnaya culture formed the cradle of 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.

By comparing the various modern, ancient, and extinct Indo-European languages, linguists can reconstruct words in the Proto-Indo-European language. For example, by comparing the Greek word for mother, méter, with the Latin mater and the Sanskrit matar, linguists have determined that the Yamnaya called their mother *méhter.

Phonetic changes occur in a systematic way, but by 'back-calculating', researchers can reconstruct how related languages sounded, even if there are no written sources.

From 3000 BC, the Yamnaya culture migrated to Europe. This was likely due to climate change: the steppes became colder and drier, and the forests gradually disappeared. It is possible that the Yamnaya peoples had to search for better fields for their cattle to graze, but also that the region became overpopulated due to relative prosperity.

During this time, most of the deceased in Europe were buried in mass graves. The spread of the characteristic Yamnaya burial mounds (kurgans) can trace the advance of the Yamnaya culture, and DNA analyses can also be used for this purpose.

By using ox carts, they were significantly more mobile than their contemporaries. They could carry larger amounts of food, allowing them to travel longer distances. Although they could theoretically ride horses, most horse bones from Yamnaya finds are local, meaning they did not bring their horses from the steppes and likely walked alongside their carts. Thanks to woolen clothing, they were well protected against the harsh conditions of the open plains, away from the sheltered river valleys. 

Between 3000 and 2900 BC, the Yamnaya reached the mouth of the Danube, which they followed through present-day Romania, Serbia, and Hungary. These are the outermost boundaries of what we now call Yamnaya culture, but they did not stop here: through their migration across the rest of Europe, many new, similar yet distinct cultures emerged.

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

It is highly questionable whether the Yamnaya peacefully integrated with the indigenous population in their new territories, or conquered them by force. It was likely a mix of both.

Most graves are of male deceased. This may indicate that primarily young men ventured into the world, perhaps in search of fame, wealth, and territory. This principle of the kóryos, or war 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 may also mean that these special graves were designated for the elite, who were predominantly male.

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

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

It seems that nowadays as much as 60 percent of all Europeans possess Jamna genes. When the Jamna conquered Europe, they had very homogeneous DNA, which was a mix between hunter-gatherers from the Volga region (EHG, Eastern Hunter-Gatherers) and hunter-gatherers from the Caucasus (CHG, Caucasian Hunter Gatherers). This gene 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 only entered the gene pool later.

Likely, there is more MS in Northern Europe than in Southern Europe, due to the Jamna genes. These genes originally protected us against infectious diseases from animals, but have severe consequences for the modern world. Additionally, the Jamna DNA may have led to Northern Europeans having higher high cholesterol and generally being taller. This people was partially lactose tolerant and could therefore drink milk, eliminating the need to search for water.

It seems that the Jamna peoples originally had a predisposition for brown eyes, dark hair, and a fair to medium-dark skin tone. The predisposition for blond hair and blue eyes likely comes from genes of the Eastern European Hunter-Gatherers (EHG). It is possible that the Jamna and later bronze Age peoples saw this as an ideal, leading to faster reproduction among people with these traits. Nowadays, a lot of Jamna DNA is found in people with blond hair and blue eyes. 

How people in the Yamna culture dressed is largely a matter of creative interpretation. Almost no remnants of clothing have been found. The Chinese Tarim mummies from 1800 BC may provide an indication. Additionally, we have found a wool fragment in Hallstatt from 1500-1200 BC. However, this is much later than the Yamna culture. We know that the Yamna culture used wool and kept sheep and goats. Furthermore, anthropomorphic stones like those from Kernosivsky give a small insight into how this culture dressed.

We know more about the jewelry they wore. But the Yamna culture is shrouded in the mists of time and receives little attention from living history and reenactment. As a result, we have virtually no reconstructed jewelry that fits this time period. The result is a more all-around Western steppe herder who is roughly as suitable for the Yamna culture as for, for example, the Funnelbeaker culture.

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

Kauti̯os is a middle-class man. By comparing the different cultures that emerged from the Proto-Indo-European culture, we know that the Yamna culture probably had a clear patriarchal class system. Kauti̯os is part of the warrior class that can be compared to the Old Irish Bóaire and the Viking karl. In his younger years, he was part of a war band (kóryos). To be allowed to join, Kauti̯os had to attack a pack of wolves completely naked, only dressed with 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 tales 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, the neighboring Neolithic farmer families hope to maintain peace with him. He still has a deep bond with the other members of the kóryos, who still live in his immediate vicinity. Kauti̯os has since had his first child. It is a son whom he will raise in the tradition of his ancestors. When the child is old enough, he too will join a kóryos and claim an area for himself. 

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

In this composition, we used a brown cotton tunic.

Kauti̯os also wears a woolen trousers. This is not a Proto-Indo-European invention because Ötzi the ice mummy, who had no Indo-European ancestors, also wore a type of chausses. For Kauti̯os, a trousers was very pleasant because it kept his legs from getting cold while riding. When Kauti̯os rides his horse, he is extra imposing. The Neolithic neighbors sometimes find this intimidating.

Kauti̯os could hunt. During his time in the kóryos, he and his friends lived off hunting (and cattle raiding). Kauti̯os was familiar with fur and possibly wore it as well. 

Possibly, Kauti̯os wore a cap.

Probably, Kauti̯os wore this type of shoes, or he was barefoot.

Kauti̯os was familiar with leather. However, it is not clear for which applications leather was used. We assume that Kauti̯os also wore a belt. But we are not aware of any belt hooks. Therefore, we have chosen a belt band that is closed by tying the belt at the front. 

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

We have chosen an axe shaft as mace. This is based on the image of Kernosivsky. 

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

Kauti̯os could also archery. The bow is also an ancient primal weapon that has played such an important role in human evolution. Kauti̯os uses a longbow.