List of ancient Baltic peoples and tribes

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The following is a list of ancient Baltic peoples and tribes.

Background[]

This is a list of the ancient Baltic peoples and tribes. They spoke the Baltic languages (members of the broader Balto-Slavic), a branch of the Indo-European language family, which was originally spoken by tribes living in area east of Jutland peninsula, southern Baltic Sea coast in the west and Moscow, Oka and Volga rivers basins in the east, to the northwest of the Eurasian steppe. Modern descendants are the Lithuanians and Latvians (they themselves assimilated other related Baltic tribes).

List of ancient Baltic peoples and tribes (table)[]

^†Extinct

Ancestors[]

Map 1: Indo-European migrations as described in The Horse, the Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony

• Proto-Indo-Europeans (Proto-Indo-European speakers)
  • Proto-Balto-Slavs (common ancestors of Balts and Slavs) (Proto-Balto-Slavic speakers)
    • Proto-Balts (Proto-Baltic speakers)

List of Ancient Baltic peoples and tribes (kinship tree)[]

Map 2: Distribution area of Baltic hydronyms. This area is considered the urheimat of the Balts.

Map 3: Baltic archaeological cultures in the Iron Age from 600 BC to 200 BC.

  Sambian-Nothangian group

  Western Masurian group (Galindians?)

  Eastern Masurian group (Yotvingians)

  Lower Neman and West-Latvian group (Curonians)

  Brushed Pottery culture

  Milograd culture

  Plain-Pottery culture, AKA Dnepr-Dvina culture

  Pomeranian culture

  Bell-shaped burials group

Map 4: Eastern Europe in 3-4th century CE with archeological cultures identified as Baltic-speaking in purple. Their area extended from the Baltic Sea to modern Moscow region.

Map 5: During the Migration Period in 5-6th century CE, the area of archeological cultures identified as Baltic is becoming more fragmented.

Map 6: By the 7th–8th century CE, only Eastern Galindians remain in the east within the Slavic territory.

Map 7: Distribution of the Baltic tribes, circa 1200 CE. The Eastern Balts are shown in brown hues while the Western Balts are shown in green. The boundaries are approximate.

• Balts
  • Eastern Balts
    • Eastern Galindians
    • Eastern (Middle) Balts
      • Latgalians (Latgaļi / Letgaļi / Leti) (they lived in Latgalia - Latgola)
        • Latvians (they were formed by the merger of Latgalians, as the main component, with the Selonians, Semigallians, Curonians and Livonians, the last ones are a Baltic-Finnic people and not a Baltic Indo-European one) (they live in Latvia)
      • Transitional Balts (between Latgalians and Lithuanians)
        • Selonians (they lived in Selonia - Sēlija)
        • Semigallians (they lived in Semigallia - Zemgale)
        • Curonians (they lived in Curonia or Courland)
          • Curonian Kings (Kuršu Koniņi) (a distinct Latvian cultural group of Curonian ancestry) (they live in seven villages between Kuldīga and Aizpute in Courland)
          • Kursenieki (although they adopted a Latvian dialect, with Curonian substrate, they keep a distinct Curonian ethnic identity and name) (they lived in the Curonian and Vistula Spits)
      • Lithuanians (Lietuviai) (they were formed by the merger of Aukštaitians and Samogitians along with their smaller tribes) (they live in Lithuania)
        • Aukštaitians ("Highlanders")
        • Samogitians ("Lowlanders") (Žemaitē)
        • Prussian Lithuanians or Small Lithuanians - Lietuvininkai (they lived in Lithuania Minor, northeastern Prussia)
  • Western Balts
    • Scalovians (Skallawai) (they lived in Scalovia - Skallawa)
    • Prussians (Old Prussians, Baltic Prussians) (Prūsai) (they lived in Prussia, Old Prussia or Baltic Prussia)
      • Bartians (Bartai) (they lived in Bartia - Barta)
      • Lubavians (Lubawai) (they lived in Lubavia - Lūbawa)
      • Nadruvians (Nadrāuwai) (they lived in Nadruvia - Nadrāuwa)
      • Natangians (Natangai or Notangiai) (they lived in Natangia - Nātanga or Notangi)
      • Pogesanians (Paguddiai) (they lived in Pogesania - Paguddi)
      • Pomesanians (Pameddiai) (they lived in Pomesania - Pameddi)
      • Sambians (Sembai) (they lived in Sambia - Semba)
      • Sasnans (Sasnai) (they lived in Sasna)
      • Warmians (Wārmiai) (they lived in Warmia - Wārmi)
    • Western Galindians (Galindai) (they lived in Western Galindia - Galinda)
    • Yotvingians (they lived in Yotvingia)

Hypothetical Ancient Baltic peoples and tribes[]

• Eastern Balts
  • • Dniepr Balts
• Western Balts
  • Pomeranian Balts

Notes[]

External links[]

• Gimbutas, Marija (1963). The Balts. London, New York: Thames & Hudson, Gabriella. Archived from the original on 20 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-06. E-book of the original.
• Baranauskas, Tomas (2003). "Forum of Lithuanian History". Historija.net. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
• Sabaliauskas, Algirdas (1998). "We, the Balts". Postilla 400. Samogitian Cultural Association. Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
• Straižys, Vytautas; (1997). "The Cosmology of ancient Balts". www.astro.lt. Retrieved 2008-09-05.