Prehistoric origins
Author:
Petr Jandáček
Very recently some in our group of Venetologists began to challenge the old paradigm that Mesopotamia and Egypt were the cradle of Mesolithic and Chalcolithic revolutions (in ceramics/pottery, weaving and metals).
Indeed impressions of textiles, and ceramic primitive Venuses are found in "so called Paleolithic" (Gravettien) 22,000 year old sites in Pavlov and Dolni Vestonice in Southern Moravia, Czech Rep. Largely, the new hypothesis suggests that Slavoform - Indo-European speakers spread the use of copper, ceramics, and other Neolithic crafts from the Balkans to North Africa (Egypt) and to the Fertile Crescent. This hypothesis will remain problematic if it does not address the Semites in the region. The Jewish tradition and scripture maintains that the (h)APIRU (which translates as "The People Beyond The River" >> Habiru >> Hebrew Originated in the Fertile Crescent (Abraham) and spoke an Eastern Semitic Language. From what is today Iraq they migrated to Palestine (Philistine) land. From Palestine area some 12 families moved to Egypt (West Semite speaking territory) and after some centuries moved back to Palestine as 12 tribes. Subsequently they spent time in Babylonia (Iraq) and thereafter returned to Palestine from the Babylonian captivity. All of this represents less than 4,000 years. Our Group of Venetologists is interested more in the happenings BEFORE 5,000 years ago. While Iran speaks Indo-European Languages, Iraq speaks Semitic.
The old paradigms do not address very well the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern (largely Slavic) Europe. The Historical epicenter of Semites and Jewry is the Middle East and North Africa. But WHAT ABOUT THE PRE-HISTORIC??
There is ONE school of thought that suggests that the Ashkenazi Jews are the descendants of the Kurgan Kingdom which was being forced to become "A People of the Book" between Byzantine Christianity and Islam. And, NOT wanting to be allied with either and against the other----chose to convert to (neutral) Judaism. This view seems plausible since the Ashkenazi share little if any genetic material with the Sephardic Jews of North Africa and/or the Levant.
We know how well the Trinitarian Doctrine of Christianity worked well with the Slavic worship of TRIGLAV. If the Kurgans found Judaism so attractive, perhaps it was that Ukraine-Kurgans already had a PRE-Historic pagan-pre-Judaic connection to the Levant and that a prehistoric Diaspora may have taken place FROM UKRAINE TO THE MIDDLE EAST. Consider please that Rabbinic (Well Defined) Judaism may have dovetailed well into the animistic prototype of the YHWH followers.
The paradigm of Roman Times Diaspora into Central Europe is not supported by the genetic evidence {to the best of my knowledge} (Skulj would know better). Aught we not consider (as we we toy with the Slavic background of Egyptians) a parallel proto-Semitic Mesolithic migration of genes and ideas from Ukraine to the Levant some 6 to 10 thousand years ago??