L. Evidence for the AMT – A Summary


This section will merely list the evidence adduced by various scholars as a proof for the AMT. The details and validity of the same will be discussed in other web pages



Direct Literary Evidence: There is no direct evidence in the vast corpus of Vedic literature for the migration of Aryans from Central Asia/Afghanistan into the Indian Subcontinent. However, Witzel [1989:235; 1995a:320-321,339-340; 1997:xxiii, fn.60] claims that a late Vedic text namely Baudhayana Srautasutra 18.44 contains the most pregnant memory of these migrations. Communist historians Romila Thapar [1999] and R. S. Sharma [1999: 87, 89, 99] have accepted this claim uncritically although it has been the subject of a fierce controversy. I have summarized this controversy elsewhere [Agarwal 2000].
Indirect Literary Evidence: This is summarized by Witzel [1995a] etc. and is mostly deductive in nature.
Linguistic Evidence: This is summarized by numerous authors like Witzel [1995:101-109; 1999], Deshpande [1995] etc.
Archaeological Evidence: We have already mentioned that some ‘intrusive traits’ attested in the archaeological record that are sometimes taken as an archaeological proof for the migration of the Indo-Aryans into India. The evidence has been summarized recently by the Parpola [1994:142-159; 1995] and Astrophysicist Rajesh Kochhar [2000:180-207]. It is important to point out that this evidence is however rejected by archaeologists like Chakrabarti [1999:201] and Indo-Europeanists like Mallory [1998:192] as well, although for different reasons.
Genetic Evidence: Sometimes, genetic differences between the ‘upper caste’ and ‘lower caste’ Hindus are used to postulate their different geographical origins, with the former declared as descendants of Central Asians who migrated to India. Such evidence is often subject to divergent, even mutually contradictory conclusions.
Logical Arguments: Here, as an example, we can recall Allchin’s rejection of diffusionist/pure acculturation model (see above).


There are several other kinds of evidence are adduced to prove that the IA languages entered India from Central Asia, but these are not specific to migration scenarios and hence are left out here. Again, readers are advised to refer Bryant [2001], Sharma [1999] and Elst [1999] for divergent perspectives for the time being. There are some relevant articles in the volume [23] edited by Johannes Bronkhorst and Madhav M. Deshpande [1999]. To conclude, it must be emphasized here that correct understanding and interpretation of the archaeological traces left by supposed pre-historic migrations still eludes us, and there are several complex issues involved in this area including competing scenarios of diffusion and trade [Burmeister 2000].