"This period extended over some 2,000 years of history and civilization
in the Near East, roughly from the late fourth to the late second
millennium bc. It was a period characterized by many great achievements
in the development of human society and civilization within the
region. Yet there was no sharp or sudden break with what had gone
before. In their earliest phase, many Bronze Age sites reflect no more
than a gradual and sometimes almost imperceptible cultural development
out of the preceding ‘Chalcolithic Age’. There was no major
cultural revolution,
no evident intrusion of newcomers into Anatolia,
except in the Cilician Plain, and very few signs of destruction of existing
communities. A number of the features of the Chalcolithic cultures
persisted in the ‘new age’ with little or no change."
Trevor Bruce i Mierop.
The origins of the Indo-Europeans are disputed. Homelands in the
east (eastern Anatolia, southern Caucasus, northern Mesopotamia), the
north (southern Russia, north of the Black Sea), and the west (central
Europe, the Balkans) have all been proposed, but no consensus has been
reached.12 Opinions also differ widely on when they came. Most
scholars believe that they arrived in Anatolia some time during the
third millennium. Some argue that the Luwians were the first, entering
Anatolia early in the third millennium, with the Nesites arriving towards
the end of the millennium.13 Others believe that the order should
be reversed, with the Nesites (and Palaians) representing the first phase
of Indo-European migration, and the Luwians arriving towards the end
of the millennium.14 Another view is that the Indo-Europeans arrived in
a single mass, subsequently dispersing within Anatolia some time after
their arrival.15 Yet another view is that Anatolia had already been the
home of Indo-European speakers for some 4,000 years before the
beginning of the Bronze Age—i.e. from c.7000 bc.16 While we still
cannot reach finality on the matter of the origins of the Indo-European
groups and the nature of their migration into Anatolia,17 there are
several important questions we should at this stage address.
Greater Anatolia and the Indo-Hittite Language Family: Papers presented
at a Colloquium hosted by the University of Richmond, March 18-19, 2000
Monograph No. 38 -- Edited by Robert Drews
http://www.billdarden.com/papers/darden_2001_anatolian_origin_indo-hittite.pdf