Kurgan hypothesis

The Kurgan hypothesis (also known as the Kurgan theory or Kurgan model) is the most widely accepted, but still disputed proposal of several solutions to explain the origins and spread of the Indo-European languages. It postulates that the people of an archaeological "Kurgan culture" in the Pontic steppe were the most likely speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language. The term is derived from kurgan , a Turkic loanword in Russian for a tumulus or burial mound.