Indo-Iranians

"[T]he ' and ' agreed that the essence of their shared parental Indo-Iranian identity was linguistic and ritual, not racial. If a person sacrificed to the right gods in the right way using the correct forms of the traditional hymns and poems, that person was an Aryan."

"Apart from the time-space expectations, there is not much in the archaeological material that could be taken as tags for tracing the Indo- Iranians/ Indo-Aryans."

"But, in fact, very little of the illustrative archaeological material actually exhibits specific Indo-European or Indo-Iranian traits; a question therefore arises: what is the relevance of archaeological material if any sort of assemblage present at the expected or supposed time/space spot can function as the tag of a linguistic group?"

"The hypothesis proposing a steppe origin for the Indo-Iranians is inconsistent with: (1) the pattern of cultural development in the steppe during the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age; (2) the model of dialectal division among Indo-Iranian languages; and (3) the complete absence of steppe materials, not only in Iran and India, but even in regions adjacent to them. Furthermore, it is internally contradictory. Its prolonged acceptance may be explained by the absence of critical scrutiny, much like the scenario realized by the child in Andersen’s fairy tale about the Naked King."

"Passages from the Avesta and the Rigveda are quoted by different authors to support the Indo-Iranian identity of both the BMAC and the Andronovo. The passages are sufficiently general to permit the Plains Indians of North America an Indo-Iranian identity."

"Ethnicity and language are not easily linked with an archaeological signature, and the identity of the Indo-Iranians remains elusive."