"The geolexical analysis of the Proto-Bulgaro-Turkic lexemes leads to the reconstruction of a water-rich ecozone with deciduous woods and particularly beavers, located in the temperate climate near grassland away from arid steppeland and sand deserts.
This seems to exclude any areas around the Aral Sea and the lower part of the Turan Depression, most parts of southern Kazakhstan, and most arid areas located to the south of the Eurasian Barrier, such as Dzungaria, the Taklamakan Desert (West China), the Dzungarian Gobi, the Gobi Desert (Inner Mongolia, China), the Great Lakes Depression (West Mongolia), the Alashan Desert (China), the Ordos Desert (China), etc.
The reconstructability of the beaver ecozone seems to exclude mountain areas along the northern Tian-Shan.
Most of the Mongolian territory may be excluded with some 80% probability based on its cold, dry environment with deforested steppeland and mountainous areas, which contradicts the requirement for multiple species of deciduous trees; beavers; ponds and rivers that should not freeze to the bottom in wintertime. Moreover, unlike the Ural Mountains, northern Kazakhstan and the Irtysh basin, all of which have high outputs of wheat, millet, barley, oats, southern Mongolia is only barely suitable for crop cultivation.
The Ob and Yenisei demoregions cannot be completely excluded as they share environment comparable with the Tobol-Ishim-Irtysh demoregion. Nevertheless, the Yenisei demoregion can be regarded as a much less likely candidate based on the relative scarcity of salt deposits, and the prevalence of taiga forests and the taiga fauna, which is hardly reflected in the reconstructed vocabulary above. This means that the Proto-Bulgaro-Turks might have been unfamiliar with dense woodland, or at least such environment was rather uncommon.
The reconstructed description of the Proto-Bulgaro-Turkic environment
As an additional result of the geolexical analysis above, we can make the following conclusions concerning the ethnological description of the Proto-Bulgaro-Turkic people:
They lived on the border of the deciduous woodland and open steppe that included some bushland of juniper, mugwort and various flower plants; not too far from the highlands with mineral deposits, though not necessarily in the direct vicinity of the highlands. Stone wastelands could be typical in the area.
The winters must have been snowy, severe and windy, but the summers were relatively hot as well, as characteristic of the continental climate.
Various deciduous trees with soft wood abounded, such as willow, aspen, linden, though the birch-tree was among the most notable ones.
The PBT environment was mostly inhabited with relatively small steppeland or grassland fauna such as mice, snakes, stoats, badgers, foxes; sparrows, larks. Birds of prey were common near the highlands, so the Proto-Bulgaro-Turkic people were probably familiar with falconry. In the riparian woods near lakes, beavers were the usual inhabitants.
Rivers and streams were usually rather small or intermittent, whereas lakes and ponds were much more common (especially after the eastern migration of Proto-Turkic); some of them could be saline.
They must have practiced fishing by using nets and sometimes probably building dams.
The lakes were frequently visited by cranes and wild geese. It is logical to assume that the Proto-Bulgaro-Turkic people hunted beavers, stoats, and foxes for fur to make winter clothing, which is confirmed, for instance, by the Baraba Tatars' similar hunting activities.
Marshland regions were situated somewhere nearby. On the contrary, sand dunes were probably atypical, and the dense taiga forest was most likely unknown, either. Generally speaking, beavers and birch-trees must have been among the most distinguished features of the local environment.
The Proto-Bulgaro-Turks bred cattle, horses, and probably goats, though there is no direct geolexical evidence for sheep. Cf. the domesticated animals ratio for the Baraba Tatars from 1889: horses: 40% , cattle: 30%, sheep: 30%, [see Myagkov (2009)]. The Proto-Bulgaro-Turks probably used horse-drawn sledges in winter; and apparently were well-familiar with horse riding, saddle and stirrup making, probably availing themselves to cowboy-style nomadism in summer, but living in houses during the wintertime, either keeping the animals in stalls (as the Baraba Tatars do) or letting them out in the open to let them dig the grass from under the snow (as the Kazakhs do). They fed on a variety of diary products, such as sour cream and quark. They practiced crop cultivation, including barley, Spelt, millet, oats, and possibly flax (necessary in fabric making).
They used copper metallurgy (evidently, bronze) and were probably familiar with iron, as well as with silver and gold jewelry.
2.5 Conclusions about the position of the Proto-Bulgaro-Turkic Urheimat
By exclusion, we must conclude that the area consistent with the principle of the maximum diversity, the demographic analysis and the geolexical analysis may have been situated somewhere within the following three closely interconnected geographic areas, largely coinciding with the Tobol-Ishim-Irtysh or Ob or Yenisei demoregions.
The Tobol-Ishim-Irtysh demoregion, which forms a sort of a fertile crescent, seems to meet nearly all the criteria stipulated by the reconstructed geographical lexemes. The location of the PBT Urheimat along the middle course of the Irtysh seems to be particularly likely.
The Yenisei demoregion is much less likely due to the possible partial exclusion of certain reconstructed lexemes and much too eastern location, which is in contradiction with the principle of maximum diversity. However, the Ob demoregion could not be entirely dismissed at the present stage and should be kept in mind for additional consideration."
Türkiye
Urheimat and migrations of turkic people(against both turanist and steppist theory)
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Originally Posted by Ryuk
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