Indo-European Origins: Steppe Hypothesis, Not Azerbaijan

The claim that Indo-European languages originated in Azerbaijan is not supported by mainstream linguistics.

The prevailing Kurgan/Steppe hypothesis places the Proto-Indo-European homeland in the Pontic-Caspian steppe (modern Ukraine, southern Russia, western Kazakhstan) around 4500–2500 BCE. Evidence includes archaeology (Yamnaya culture), ancient DNA, and linguistic paleontology (wheel, wool, horse vocabulary).

Azerbaijan lies south of the Caucasus, a zone of later Indo-European presence (e.g., Armenian), not the primary urheimat.