Bell Beakers probably didn't even speak Indo-European.

[Token]

Nowadays, steppe admixture is the only reason that keep us believing the Beakers spoke an Indo-European language.
However, everything seems to be pointing to the contrary. IE languages spoken in present-day western Europe can be easily explained by later Unetice (Italo-Celtic) and Battle Axe phenomenons, both derived from Corded Ware. Basques, Iberians (the real ones, the Iberii) and Etruscans are and were pure descendants of the local Bell Beaker populace while later IE speakers of these areas shows clear post-Beaker Central European ancestry. And, above all, there is no concrete evidence of a Bell Beaker language anywhere in western Europe.

So what are your reasons to continue believing Bell Beakers spoke Indo-European?

[Dna8]

I like your threads.

May long they keep being founded.

[Token]

Where are the West Euros of this forum?

[Dna8]

Where are the West Euros of this forum?

[Rædwald]

Of what consequence is it of what language they spoke?

[Token]

Of what consequence is it of what language they spoke?

Southern Bell Beakers fairly certainly spoke something related to Etruscan and Basque, since they are their purest descendants. I've heard there are some similarities between the two languages, but i should take a closer look into it.
But the question that remains is, did they get their non IE languages from the locals or were they non IE from the beginning? There are no signs of non IE languages in northwestern Europe. Maybe we will never know for sure.

[vbnetkhio]

Nowadays, steppe admixture is the only reason that keep us believing the Beakers spoke an Indo-European language.
However, everything seems to be pointing to the contrary. IE languages spoken in present-day western Europe can be easily explained by later Unetice (Italo-Celtic) and Battle Axe phenomenons, both derived from Corded Ware.

wasn't Unetice derived from an eastwards expansion of Bell Beaker into CW territorry? and proto-Germanics were a 50/50 mix of Battle axe and Bell Beaker?

[Grace O'Malley]

Southern Bell Beakers fairly certainly spoke something related to Etruscan and Basque, since they are their purest descendants. I've heard there are some similarities between the two languages, but i should take a closer look into it.
But the question that remains is, did they get their non IE languages from the locals or were they non IE from the beginning? There are no signs of non IE languages in northwestern Europe. Maybe we will never know for sure.

Didn't Southern Bell Beakers take local women? So the languages were influenced by the women. Northwestern European had full Bell Beaker and there is no evidence of non-Indo-European so I think it's fairly obvious that in Southern Europe the women influenced the language.

[vbnetkhio]

Southern Bell Beakers fairly certainly spoke something related to Etruscan and Basque, since they are their purest descendants. I've heard there are some similarities between the two languages, but i should take a closer look into it.
But the question that remains is, did they get their non IE languages from the locals or were they non IE from the beginning? There are no signs of non IE languages in northwestern Europe. Maybe we will never know for sure.

Based on toponyms it's considered that a Basque related population migrated to Sardinia at one point and replaced some even older language. and Sardinians have (almost) no steppe admixture, unless i'm out of date on genetic research again, so original Basque speakers didn't spread steppe admixture with them?

maybe that's connected with the megalithic culture spreading to Sardinia?

and Etruscan has no similarities to Basque as far as i know, not a single one.
could the Etruscan language be related to the North African admixture found in some Etruscan samples?

[Creoda]