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The most ancient peoples of the world and their traditions. The most ancient peoples living today...

The ancient world was inhabited large number peoples who influenced the formation of later civilizations. Many of them have disappeared, but the culture they created makes us remember them to this day.

The Achaeans were at the origins of Ancient Greek civilization. In the Iliad, Homer calls all the Greeks of the Peloponnese Peninsula Achaeans. Historians disagree on how the Achaeans arrived in Greece. According to some, they originally lived on the banks of the Danube, others say that they came from the Northern Black Sea region. Having settled in Crete, the Achaeans became the founders of the Mycenaean civilization. The Mycenaean palaces discovered by archaeologists were radically different from those that previously existed on the island: they were real citadels. Apparently, the Achaeans were quite a warlike people - they not only expanded into neighboring states, but also fought among themselves. In the XV-XIII centuries BC. e. The Achaean states reach their peak. Having created a powerful fleet, the Achaeans began active colonization of Asia Minor and Southern Italy. The seafaring Achaeans developed a wide trading network throughout the Mediterranean, which, however, did not stop them from engaging in piracy.

According to Aztec legends, the Olmecs are the first civilized people of Central America. From about 1500 BC. e. The Olmecs settled on the Gulf Coast and occupied the territory of the modern states of Veracruz and Tabasco. In 1902, a Mexican peasant accidentally stumbled upon a jade figurine in a field depicting a priest in a mask with a duck's beak. Having studied the find, experts were very surprised: Mayan writings were found on it, but the dating of the figurine turned out to be noticeably older, and the place of its discovery was much further than is typical for artifacts of Mayan culture. The American archaeologist George Vaillant took up this issue. He knew very well the culture of the ancient peoples of Mexico - the Aztecs, Toltecs, Zapotecs, Mayans, but none of these cultures could be the author of the elegant jade figurines. Then the scientist decided to check the ancient legends about the “inhabitants of the land of rubber”, and indeed - everything archaeological finds exactly corresponded to the habitat of the Olmecs. So, in 1932, the ghost people found their place in history.

A tall and dark-skinned people - "foinikes" (purple ones), as the Greeks called the Phoenicians - lived in the territory of modern Lebanon and, according to Herodotus, came there from northwestern Arabia. Modern geneticists point to the kinship of the Phoenicians with the peoples of the Caucasus. The Greeks described the richest, vibrant Phoenician cities in enthusiastic terms. There you could buy everything that existed in the Ancient world: from exotic fruits to luxurious vases, from jewelry to works of art. Judging by historical documents, the Phoenicians were the first to circumnavigate the African continent. Having a powerful fleet, superior in quality and quantity to ships neighboring countries, the Phoenicians essentially became a trade monopolist in the Mediterranean region. Moreover, Phenicia very quickly turned into a powerful colonial power, but unlike European states, the Phoenicians did not wage wars of conquest, but settled exclusively in coastal regions for convenient trade. The Phoenicians are no less famous for abandoning the cumbersome Akkadian cuneiform script and creating their own linear script. The alphabet that emerged from linear writing became the basis for the writing of European and a significant part of the eastern peoples.

The Philistines are the most mysterious people in Biblical Canaan, which was fundamentally different from the Semitic population of that region. The Bible says that these people come from the island of Kaftor - translated from modern Hebrew as Crete. Egyptian manuscripts also testify to the Cretan origins of the Philistines. However, some scientists identify the Philistines with the Pelasgians, who, according to one version, are an Indo-European people. However, the Cretan-Mycenaean origin of the Philistines is confirmed by modern archaeological finds. According to archaeologists, the layer of material culture of the Philistines is completely different from the Canaanite one. Philistine pottery and weapons are much more similar to Cretan-Mycenaean artifacts. From about 1080 BC. e. The expansion of the Philistines into the interior of the country begins, subjugating the ancient Hebrew cities. Only 75 years later, Philistine hegemony was ended by King David. From this time on, the Philistines gradually assimilated with the Semitic tribes, and soon only the name remained of the powerful people.

For a long time history is silent about the Sumerians. Neither the Greeks, nor the Romans, nor more ancient civilizations report anything about them. Only in the middle of the 19th century did scientists prove that in Mesopotamia there existed a state whose age reaches 6 thousand years. It was from him that Babylon and Assyria inherited their culture. The Sumerians proved to be pioneers in many fields. They were the first to invent writing known as cuneiform and created the prototype modern libraries. It was the Sumerians who were the authors of the earliest extant literary works. Sumer owns the oldest medical text: we can say with confidence that this is the first pharmacopoeia in the history of mankind containing a description medicines. In Sumerian medical reference books you can find information not only about therapeutic methods treatment, but also details surgical intervention, such as limb amputation or cataract removal. The inhabitants of Ancient Sumer learned to produce bronze, and with the ratio of copper and tin, which are still used today. The Sumerians had a much more extensive understanding of petroleum products than subsequent civilizations. And the Sumerians’ knowledge of mathematics and astronomy still amazes us.

The ancient Etruscan people suddenly arose in human history, but also suddenly dissolved in it. According to archaeologists, the Etruscans inhabited the northwestern part of the Apennine Peninsula and created a fairly developed civilization there. The Etruscans influenced culture in many ways Ancient Rome: arched vaults, gladiator fights, chariot races, funeral rites - this is an incomplete list of what Rome inherited from its predecessors. Moreover, historians argue that Roman numerals should rightfully be called Etruscan. It was the Etruscans who founded the first cities in Italy. There are several hypotheses about the fate of the Etruscans. According to one of them, the Etruscans moved to the east and became the founders of the Slavic ethnic group. Some scientists argue that the Etruscan language is very close in structure to the Slavic ones.

It has always been fashionable to “extend” your history. Therefore, every nation strives to demonstrate its ancestry, starting with ancient world, or better yet, from the Stone Age. But there are peoples whose antiquity is beyond doubt.

Armenians (2nd millennium BC)

Among ancient peoples Armenians are perhaps the youngest in the world. However, there are many blank spots in their ethnogenesis. For a long time, until late XIX century the canonical version of the origin Armenian people their origin was from the legendary king Hayk, who came from Mesopotamia in 2492 BC to the territory of Van. He was the first to outline the borders of the new state around Mount Ararat and became the founder of the Armenian kingdom. It is believed that it is from his name that the self-name of the Armenians “hai” comes from. This version was replicated by the early medieval Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi. He mistook the ruins of the state of Urartra in the area of Lake Van for early Armenian settlements. Today's official version says that the proto-Armenian tribes - the Mushki and the Urumeans - came to these territories in the second quarter of the 12th century. BC e., even before the formation of the Urartian state, after their destruction of the Hittite state. Here they mixed with the local tribes of the Hurrians, Urartians and Luwians. According to historian Boris Piotrovsky, the beginnings of Armenian statehood should be sought during the time of the Hurrian kingdom of Arme-Shubria, known since the 1200s BC.

Jews (II-I millennium BC)

There are even more mysteries with the history of the Jewish people than with the history of Armenia. For a long time it was believed that the concept of “Jews” was more cultural than ethnic. That is, that “Jews” were created by Judaism, and not vice versa. There are still fierce discussions in science about what the Jews originally were - a people, a social class, religious denomination. According to the main source ancient history Jewish people - Old Testament, Jews trace their origins to Abraham (XXI-XX centuries BC), who himself came from the Sumerian city of Ur in Ancient Mesopotamia. Together with his father, he moved to Canaan, where his descendants subsequently captured the lands of local peoples (according to legend, the descendants of Noah’s son Ham) and called Canaan “the land of Israel.” According to another version, the Jewish people were formed during the Exodus from Egypt. If we take the linguistic version of the origin of the Jews, then they separated from the Western Semitic-speaking group in the 2nd millennium BC. e. Their closest “language brothers” are the Amorites and Phoenicians. Recently, a “genetic version” of the origin of the Jewish people has emerged. According to it, the three main groups of Jews - Ashkenazi (America - Europe), Mizrahim (Middle East and North Africa) and Sephardim (Iberian Peninsula) have similar genetics, which confirms their common roots. According to the Abraham's Children in the Genome Era study, the ancestors of all three groups originated in Mesopotamia. 2500 years ago (approximately the reign of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar) they split into two groups, one of which went to Europe and North Africa, the other settled in the Middle East.

Ethiopians (3rd millennium BC)

Ethiopia belongs to East Africa, the oldest region of human origin. Her mythological story begins with the legendary country of Punt (“Land of the Gods”), which the ancient Egyptians considered their ancestral home. Mentions of it are found in Egyptian sources of the 3rd millennium BC. n. e. However, if the location, as well as the existence of this legendary country, is a controversial issue, then the Nubian kingdom of Kush in the Nile Delta was a very real neighbor Ancient Egypt, who have repeatedly called into question the existence of the latter. Despite the fact that the heyday of the Kushite kingdom occurred in 300 BC. – 300 AD, civilization began here much earlier, back in the 2400s BC. along with the first Nubian kingdom of Kerma. For some time, Ethiopia was a colony of the ancient Sabaean kingdom (Sheba), whose ruler was the legendary Queen of Sheba. Hence the legend of the “Solomon Dynasty,” which claims that the Ethiopian kings are direct descendants of Solomon and the Ethiopian Makeda (the Ethiopian name for the Queen of Sheba).

Assyrians (IV-III millennium BC)

If the Jews came from the western group of Semitic tribes, then the Assyrians belonged to the northern. By the end of the 3rd millennium BC, they achieved dominance in the territory of Northern Mesopotamia, but, according to the historian Sadaev, their separation could have occurred even earlier - in the 4th millennium BC. The Assyrian Empire, which existed from the 8th to 6th centuries BC, is considered the first empire in human history. Modern Assyrians consider themselves to be direct descendants of the population of Northern Mesopotamia, although this is a controversial fact in the scientific community. Some researchers support this point of view, while others call the current Assyrians descendants of the Arameans.

Chinese (4500-2500 BC)

The Chinese people or Han make up 19% of the total world population today. It originated on the basis of Neolithic cultures that developed in the 5th-3rd millennia BC. in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, in one of the centers of world civilizations. This is confirmed by archeology and linguistics. The latter distinguishes them into the Sino-Tibetan group of languages, which emerged in the middle of the 5th millennium BC. Subsequently, numerous tribes of the Mongoloid race took part in the further formation of the Han, speaking Tibetan, Indonesian, Thai, Altai and other languages, very different in culture. The history of the Han people is closely connected with the history of China, and to this day, they constitute the bulk of the country's population.

Basques (possibly XIV-X millennium BC)

A long time ago, in the 4th millennium BC, the migration of Indo-Europeans began, who settled most of Eurasia. Today, the languages of the Indo-European family are spoken by almost all the peoples of modern Europe. All, except Euskadi, are more familiar to us by the name “Basques”. Their age, origin and language are some of the main mysteries modern history. Some believe that the ancestors of the Basques were the first population of Europe, others say that they had a common homeland with the Caucasian peoples. But be that as it may, the Basques are considered to be one of the ancient populations Europe. The Basque language, Euskara, is considered the only relict pre-Indo-European language that does not belong to any existing language family. As for genetics, according to a 2012 study by the National Geographic Society, all Basques contain a set of genes that significantly distinguish them from other peoples around them. According to scientists, this speaks in favor of the opinion that the proto-Basques emerged as a separate culture 16 thousand years ago, during the Paleolithic.

Khoisan peoples (100 thousand years ago)

A recent discovery by scientists gave first place in the list of the oldest peoples to the Khoisans, a group of peoples South Africa speaking so-called "clicking tongues". These include, among others, hunters - Bushmen and cattle breeders - Hohenthots. A group of geneticists from Sweden found that they separated from the common tree of humanity 100 thousand years ago, that is, even before the exodus from Africa and the settlement of people around the world. About 43 thousand years ago, the Khoisan people split into a southern and northern group. According to the researchers, part of the Khoisan population has retained its ancient roots; some, like the Khwe tribe, interbred for a long time with the alien Bantu peoples and lost their genetic identity. The DNA of the Khoisan people is different from the genes of other peoples of the world. “Relict” genes were found in it that are responsible for increased muscle strength and endurance, as well as high vulnerability to ultraviolet radiation.

It has always been fashionable to “extend” your history. Therefore, every nation strives to demonstrate its ancestry, starting it from the ancient world, or even better, from the Stone Age. But there are peoples whose antiquity is beyond doubt.

Armenians (2nd millennium BC)

Among the most ancient peoples of the world, Armenians are perhaps the youngest. However, there are many blank spots in their ethnogenesis. For a long time, until the end of the 19th century, the canonical version of the origin of the Armenian people was their origin from the legendary King Hayk, who came from Mesopotamia in 2492 BC to the territory of Van. He was the first to outline the borders of the new state around Mount Ararat and became the founder of the Armenian kingdom. It is believed that it is from his name that the self-name of the Armenians “hai” comes from. This version was replicated by the early medieval Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi. He mistook the ruins of the state of Urartra in the area of Lake Van for early Armenian settlements. Today's official version says that the proto-Armenian tribes - the Mushki and the Urumeans - came to these territories in the second quarter of the 12th century. BC e., even before the formation of the Urartian state, after their destruction of the Hittite state. Here they mixed with the local tribes of the Hurrians, Urartians and Luwians. According to historian Boris Piotrovsky, the beginnings of Armenian statehood should be sought during the time of the Hurrian kingdom of Arme-Shubria, known since the 1200s BC.

Jews (II-I millennium BC)

There are even more mysteries with the history of the Jewish people than with the history of Armenia. For a long time it was believed that the concept of “Jews” was more cultural than ethnic. That is, that “Jews” were created by Judaism, and not vice versa. There are still fierce discussions in science about what the Jews originally were - a people, a social class, a religious denomination. If you believe the main source on the ancient history of the Jewish people - the Old Testament, Jews trace their origins to Abraham (XXI-XX centuries BC), who himself came from the Sumerian city of Ur in Ancient Mesopotamia. Together with his father, he moved to Canaan, where his descendants subsequently captured the lands of local peoples (according to legend, the descendants of Noah’s son Ham) and called Canaan “the land of Israel.” According to another version, the Jewish people were formed during the “Exodus from Egypt.” If we take the linguistic version of the origin of the Jews, then they separated from the Western Semitic-speaking group in the 2nd millennium BC. e. Their closest “language brothers” are the Amorites and Phoenicians. Recently, a “genetic version” of the origin of the Jewish people has emerged. According to it, the three main groups of Jews - Ashkenazi (America - Europe), Mizrahim (Middle East and North Africa) and Sephardim (Iberian Peninsula) have similar genetics, which confirms their common roots. According to the Abraham's Children in the Genome Era study, the ancestors of all three groups originated in Mesopotamia. 2500 years ago (approximately the reign of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar) they split into two groups, one of which went to Europe and North Africa, the other settled in the Middle East.

Ethiopians (3rd millennium BC)

Ethiopia belongs to East Africa, the oldest region of human origin. Its mythological history begins with the legendary country of Punt (“Land of the Gods”), which the ancient Egyptians considered their ancestral home. Mentions of it are found in Egyptian sources of the 3rd millennium BC. n. e. However, if the location, as well as the existence of this legendary country, is a controversial issue, then the Nubian kingdom of Kush in the Nile Delta was a very real neighbor of Ancient Egypt, which more than once called the existence of the latter into question. Despite the fact that the heyday of the Kushite kingdom occurred in 300 BC. - 300 AD, civilization began here much earlier, back in the 2400s BC. along with the first Nubian kingdom of Kerma. For some time, Ethiopia was a colony of the ancient Sabaean kingdom (Sheba), whose ruler was the legendary Queen of Sheba. Hence the legend of the “Solomon Dynasty,” which claims that the Ethiopian kings are direct descendants of Solomon and the Ethiopian Makeda (Ethiopian name for the Queen of Sheba).

Assyrians (IV-III millennium BC)

Chinese (4500-2500 BC)

Basques (possibly XIV-X millennium BC)

A long time ago, in the 4th millennium BC, the migration of Indo-Europeans began, who settled most of Eurasia. Today, the languages of the Indo-European family are spoken by almost all the peoples of modern Europe. All, except Euskadi, are more familiar to us by the name “Basques”. Their age, origin and language are one of the main mysteries of modern history. Some believe that the ancestors of the Basques were the first population of Europe, others say that they had a common homeland with the Caucasian peoples. But be that as it may, the Basques are considered to be one of the oldest populations in Europe. The Basque language, Euskara, is considered the only relict pre-Indo-European language that does not belong to any existing language family. As for genetics, according to a 2012 study by the National Geographic Society, all Basques contain a set of genes that significantly distinguish them from other peoples around them. According to scientists, this speaks in favor of the opinion that the proto-Basques emerged as a separate culture 16 thousand years ago, during the Paleolithic.

Khoisan peoples (100 thousand years ago)

A recent discovery by scientists has given first place in the list of the most ancient peoples to the Khoisan, a group of people in South Africa who speak the so-called “clicking languages”. These include, among others, hunters - Bushmen and cattle breeders - Hohenthots. A group of geneticists from Sweden found that they separated from the common tree of humanity 100 thousand years ago, that is, even before the exodus from Africa and the settlement of people around the world. About 43 thousand years ago, the Khoisan people split into a southern and northern group. According to the researchers, part of the Khoisan population has retained its ancient roots; some, like the Khwe tribe, interbred for a long time with the alien Bantu peoples and lost their genetic identity. The DNA of the Khoisan people is different from the genes of other peoples of the world. “Relict” genes were found in it that are responsible for increased muscle strength and endurance, as well as high vulnerability to ultraviolet radiation.

Unknown tribes

There are a lot of assumptions about which ancient people really appeared first. The right to be the oldest is claimed by the Chinese, Jews, long-gone Sumerians and Egyptians.

Archeology cannot give an exact answer to this question. If we take into account the age of surviving cultural monuments and written sources, the Jewish people can be called the most ancient. However, written sources mentioning the first Jew also say that at that time more than 70 peoples lived on Earth. Consequently, it is not the Jews, but unknown tribes who left no architectural monuments behind them, who should be considered the most ancient.

Khoisan peoples

The recent discovery probably made it possible to identify such a people, one of the oldest on the planet. In the south of the African continent live the Khoisan peoples, who, judging by existing research, appeared more than 100,000 years ago. years

back. They are a group of small tribes that use a special clicking language to speak. In particular, among these tribes are Bushmen hunters and Hottentot herders, who survived on the territory of such African states as, for example, South Africa.

By the way, the origin of the Khoisan peoples is a special scientific mystery. It is still unknown where the peculiar clicking language used by the tribes came from. Such speech has not been found in any other culture. Moreover, even neighboring tribes living in close proximity to the Khoisan peoples speak completely different languages.

Recently, a group of scientists led by Caroline Schlebusch from Sweden offered the world scientific community evidence of the primacy of the Khoisan tribes. Having deciphered their genome and compared it with the genomes of other representatives of the African continent, Caroline Shebush came to the conclusion that the Khoisan are the most ancient people.

100,000 years ago

The genomes of 220 volunteers recruited from 11 Hottentot and Bushmen tribes were studied. Their blood samples were thoroughly analyzed. To calculate the kinship of tribes with other peoples, 2,200,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified, the differences between which were only one “letter”.

It turned out that the Khoisans separated from a single tree more than 100,000 years ago. years back before the migration of humanity from Africa to other continents began. The division of the people into northern and southern groups occurred approximately 43,000 years

back. At the same time, a small part of the population retained its roots, and other representatives, like the Khe tribe, lost their ethnic characteristics, interbreeding with the alien Bantus.

It is curious that the Khoisan genome has characteristic differences. Special genes, which are still carried by Bushmen, provide endurance and muscle strength. In addition, representatives of these tribes are highly vulnerable to ultraviolet radiation.

Khoisan genome

This discovery caused confusion among archaeologists. It turns out that humanity did not originate from a single group, as previously assumed, but from several. This significantly complicates the search for the homeland of the first people who theoretically arose in Africa. Of course, not all scientists were happy about this discovery, since it casts doubt on their merits.

Soon, Caroline Schlebusch plans to open access to information about the Khoisan genome. This will help make more effective research anthropologists and paleogeneticists interested in this topic. Maybe, general work will allow us to get closer to solving the riddle of how, over the course of 100,000 years

the genome of individual branches of humanity changed.

The question of the ancient people still remains open. Any theory can be challenged by new facts. It is unknown what other surprises science will present to humanity in the future.

Armenians (2nd millennium BC)

This version was replicated by the early medieval Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi. He mistook the ruins of the state of Urartra in the area of Lake Van for early Armenian settlements. Today's official version says that the proto-Armenian tribes - the Mushki and the Urumeans - came to these territories in the second quarter of the 12th century. BC e., even before the formation of the Urartian state, after their destruction of the Hittite state. Here they mixed with the local tribes of the Hurrians, Urartians and Luwians.

According to historian Boris Piotrovsky, the beginnings of Armenian statehood should be sought during the time of the Hurrian kingdom of Arme-Shubria, known since the 1200s BC.

Jews (II-I millennium BC)

Jews trace their origins to Abraham (XXI-XX centuries BC), who himself came from the Sumerian city of Ur in Ancient Mesopotamia.

Together with his father, he moved to Canaan, where his descendants subsequently captured the lands of local peoples (according to legend, the descendants of Noah’s son Ham) and called Canaan “the land of Israel.” According to another version, the Jewish people were formed during the Exodus from Egypt.

If we take the linguistic version of the origin of the Jews, then they separated from the Western Semitic-speaking group in the 2nd millennium BC. e. Their closest “language brothers” are the Amorites and Phoenicians. Recently, a “genetic version” of the origin of the Jewish people has emerged. According to it, the three main groups of Jews - Ashkenazi (America - Europe), Mizrahim (Middle East and North Africa) and Sephardim (Iberian Peninsula) have similar genetics, which confirms their common roots. According to the Abraham's Children in the Genome Era study, the ancestors of all three groups originated in Mesopotamia. 2500 years ago (approximately the reign of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar) they split into two groups, one of which went to Europe and North Africa, the other settled in the Middle East.

Ethiopians (3rd millennium BC)

For some time, Ethiopia was a colony of the ancient Sabaean kingdom (Sheba), whose ruler was the legendary Queen of Sheba. Hence the legend of the “Solomon Dynasty,” which claims that the Ethiopian kings are direct descendants of Solomon and the Ethiopian Makeda (Ethiopian name for the Queen of Sheba).

Assyrians (IV-III millennium BC)

Modern Assyrians consider themselves to be direct descendants of the population of Northern Mesopotamia, although this is a controversial fact in the scientific community. Some researchers support this point of view, while others call the current Assyrians descendants of the Arameans.

Chinese (4500-2500 BC)

Basques (possibly XIV-X millennium BC)

The Basque language, Euskara, is considered the only relict pre-Indo-European language that does not belong to any existing language family. As for genetics, according to a 2012 study by the National Geographic Society, all Basques contain a set of genes that significantly distinguish them from other peoples around them. According to scientists, this speaks in favor of the opinion that the proto-Basques emerged as a separate culture 16 thousand years ago, during the Paleolithic.

Khoisan peoples (100 thousand years ago)

A recent discovery by scientists has given first place in the list of ancient peoples to the Khoisan, a group of people in South Africa who speak so-called “clicking languages”. These include, among others, hunters - Bushmen and cattle breeders - Hohenthots.

A group of geneticists from Sweden found that they separated from the common tree of humanity 100 thousand years ago, that is, even before the exodus from Africa and the settlement of people around the world.

About 43 thousand years ago, the Khoisan people split into a southern and northern group. According to the researchers, part of the Khoisan population has retained its ancient roots; some, like the Khwe tribe, interbred for a long time with the alien Bantu peoples and lost their genetic identity.

The DNA of the Khoisan people is different from the genes of other peoples of the world. “Relict” genes were found in it that are responsible for increased muscle strength and endurance, as well as high vulnerability to ultraviolet radiation.

Alisa Muranova

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