SLAVIC EXPANSION, IRANIAN EXPANSION —“A more eastern extension of the Corded W

SLAVIC EXPANSION, IRANIAN EXPANSION

—“A more eastern extension of the Corded Ware culture produces the would-be Proto-Indo-Iranians. Their proximity to the would-be Slavs explain their close genetic relationship. The Slavs expand southward during the Middle Ages when the Huns create a power vacuum in the Balkans, allowing them to impose their language and culture on the indigenous Balkanites. The Balkanites in turn migrate southward and induce an increase in Slavic ancestry in Greeks.

As for the Proto-Indo-Iranians, you probably already know what happened to them. They re-migrated back to the Steppe, crossed the Iranian plateau and created groups such as Medes and Persians. Their legacy perseveres in the sense that your average Iranian has 5-15% Steppe ancestry today, with the rest being indigenous Elamite ancestry (Iran_Neolithic).

Fractions of the Western Scythians, who unlike their Eastern counterpart did not mix with East Asian groups, probably assimilated into the Slavic peoples living near the Black Sea. The rest of the Scythians either got mixed away in India or contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Proto-Turks, who pack a good amount of Steppe ancestry.”—Alexander Zavialov