Origins of the Maykop phenomenon
May 31, 2013
Origins of the Maykop phenomenon
Unfortunately this is in German, so I can only read it with a lot of effort and the help of Google Translate. Anyway, it seems to argue against the "Uruk expansion from Mesopotamia" hypothesis and point towards Central Asia, with the author finding parallels of the Maykop culture in the Kura valley and Lake Urmia area. That would certainly fit the bill of a more "eastern" PIE homeland as I mention in one of my posts below -if we accept, as many do- an IE identity for at least elements within the Maikop culture.
It would be great if ancient DNA was ever able to shed some light on archaeological controversies such as this. It has already done so in Europe, where the discovery of a Mediterranean-like TRB farmer in Sweden destroyed theories of "acculturation" in the diffusion of the Neolithic economy into that continent, and I'm sure that similarly interesting things were taking place during prehistory in other parts of the world.
More:
http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2013/05/origins-of-maykop-phenomenon.html
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