20 most mysterious peoples in the world, the origin of which scientists argue today

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Despite all the attempts of historians and ethnographers to create a clear picture of the development of some peoples, many secrets and white spots still remain in the history of the origin of many nations and nationalities. Our review contains the most mysterious peoples of our planet - some of them have sunk into oblivion, while others live and develop today.

1. Russians

As everyone knows, Russians are the most mysterious people on Earth. Moreover, there is a scientific basis for this. Scientists still cannot come to a consensus about the origin of this people and answer the question of when the Russians became Russians. There is also controversy over where this word comes from. They are looking for the ancestors of the Russians among the Normans, Scythians, Sarmatians, Wends and even the South Siberian Usuns.

2. Maya

Nobody knows where these people came from or where they disappeared. Some scholars believe that the Maya are associated with the legendary Atlanteans, others suggest that their ancestors were the Egyptians.

The Maya developed an efficient agricultural system and had a deep knowledge of astronomy. Their calendar was used by other peoples of Central America. The Maya used a hieroglyphic writing system that was only partially deciphered. Their civilization was highly developed at the time of the arrival of the conquistadors. Now it seems that the Maya came out of nowhere and disappeared into nowhere.

3. Laplanders or Sami

The people, which the Russians also call the Lapps, are at least 5,000 years old. Scientists are still arguing about their origin. Some believe that the Lapps are Mongoloids, others insist on the version that the Sami are Paleo-Europeans. Their language is believed to belong to the group of Finno-Ugric languages, but there are ten dialects of the Sami language that are so different that they can be called independent. Sometimes the Lapps themselves have a hard time understanding each other.

4. Prussians

The very origin of the Prussians is a mystery. They were first mentioned in the 9th century in the records of an anonymous merchant, and then in Polish and German chronicles. Linguists have found analogues in various Indo-European languages and believe that the word "Prussians" can be traced back to the Sanskrit word "purusha" (man). Not much is known about the Prussian language, as the last native speaker died in 1677. In the 17th century, the history of Prussianism and the Prussian kingdom began, but these people had little in common with the original Baltic Prussians.

5. Cossacks

Scientists do not know where the Cossacks originally came from. Their homeland may be in the North Caucasus or on the Sea of Azov or in the west of Turkestan … Their lineage can go back to the Scythians, Alans, Circassians, Khazars or Goths. Each version has its own supporters and arguments. Cossacks today represent a multi-ethnic community, but they constantly emphasize that they are a separate nation.

6. Parsis

The Parsis are an ethno-confessional group of followers of Zoroastrianism of Iranian origin in South Asia. Today their number is less than 130 thousand people. The Parsis have their own temples and the so-called "towers of silence" for the burial of the dead (corpses that are laid out on the roofs of these towers are eaten by vultures). They are often compared to Jews who were also forced to leave their homeland, and who still cherish the traditions of their cults.

7. Hutsuls

The question of what the word "hutsul" means is still not clear. Some scholars believe that the etymology of the word is associated with the Moldavian "gots" or "guts" ("bandit"), others believe that the name comes from the word "kochul" ("shepherd"). Gutsuls are most often called Ukrainian highlanders, who still practice the traditions of molfarism (witchcraft) and who greatly honor their sorcerers.

8. Hittites

The Hittite state was very influential on the geopolitical map of the ancient world. These people were the first to create a constitution and use chariots. However, not much is known about them. The chronology of the Hittites is known only from the sources of their neighbors, but there is not a single mention of why and where they disappeared. The German scholar Johann Lehmann wrote in his book that the Hittites fled north and assimilated with the Germanic tribes. But this is only one of the versions.

9. Sumerians

This is one of the most mysterious peoples in the ancient world. Nothing is known about their origin or the origin of their language. The large number of homonyms allows us to assume that it was a polytonic language (like modern Chinese), that is, the meaning of what was said often depended on the tone. The Sumerians were very developed - they were the first in the Middle East who began to use the wheel, who created an irrigation system and a unique writing system. Also, the Sumerians had an impressive level of mathematics and astronomy.

10. Etruscans

They went down in history quite unexpectedly and that is how they disappeared. Archaeologists believe that the Etruscans lived in the northwest of the Apennine Peninsula, where they created a fairly developed civilization. The Etruscans founded the first Italian cities. Theoretically, they could move to the east and become the founders of the Slavic ethnos (their language has much in common with the Slavic ones).

11. Armenians

The origin of the Armenians is also a mystery. There are many versions. Some scientists believe that the Armenians descended from the people of the ancient state of Urartu, but the genetic code of the Armenians contains a component not only of the Urarts, but also of the Hurrians and Libyans, not to mention the proto-Armenians. There are also Greek versions of their origin. Most scientists, however, adhere to the mixed-migration hypothesis of Armenian ethnogenesis.

12. Gypsies

According to linguistic and genetic studies, the ancestors of the Gypsies left the territory of India in numbers that did not exceed 1000 people. Today, there are about 10 million Roma around the world. In the Middle Ages, Europeans believed that the gypsies were Egyptians. They were called the "Pharaoh's tribe" for a very specific reason: Europeans were amazed at the gypsy tradition of embalming their dead and burying with them in crypts everything that might be required in another life. This Gypsy tradition is still alive.

13. Jews

This is one of the most mysterious peoples and many secrets are associated with the Jews. At the end of the VIII century BC. five-sixths (10 out of 12 of all ethnic groups forming the race) of the Jews disappeared. Where they went is a mystery to this day.

Connoisseurs of female beauty will definitely like 25 photos of Jewish beauties from around the world.

14. Guanches

The Guanches are indigenous to the Canary Islands. It is not known how they appeared on the island of Tenerife - they did not have ships and the Guanches did not know anything about navigation. Their anthropological type does not correspond to the latitude where they lived. Also, many disputes are caused by the presence of rectangular pyramids in Tenerife - they are similar to the Mayan and Aztec pyramids in Mexico. Nobody knows when or why they were erected.

15. Khazars

Everything that people today know about the Khazars was taken from the records of their neighboring peoples. And practically nothing remained of the Khazars themselves. Their appearance was sudden and unexpected, just like their disappearance.

16. Basques

The age, origin and language of the Basques are a mystery in modern history. The Basque language, Euskara, is believed to be the only remnant of the Proto-Indo-European language that does not belong to any language group that exists today. According to a 2012 National Geographic study, all Basques have a set of genes that are significantly different from other peoples living around them.

17. Chaldeans

The Chaldeans lived in the late II - early I millennium BC on the territory of southern and central Mesopotamia. In 626-538. BC. the Chaldean dynasty ruled Babylon, founding the New Babylonian empire. The Chaldeans are still associated with magic and astrology today. In ancient Greece and Rome, priests and Babylonian astrologers were called Chaldeans. They predicted the future for Alexander the Great and his successors.

18. Sarmatians

Herodotus once called the Sarmatians "lizards with human heads." M. Lomonosov believed that they were the ancestors of the Slavs, and the Polish nobles considered themselves their direct descendants. The Sarmatians left behind many secrets. For example, this nation had a tradition of artificial skull deformation, which allowed people to make themselves an egg-shaped head.

19. Kalash

A small nation living in the north of Pakistan, in the Hindu Kush mountains, is notable for the fact that their skin color is whiter than that of other peoples of Asia. Disputes about the Kalash have subsided for more than a century. People themselves insist on their connection with Alexander the Great. Their language is phonologically atypical for the area and has a basic Sanskrit structure. Despite attempts at Islamization, many Kalash adhere to polytheism.

20. Philistines

The modern term "Philistines" comes from the name of the area "Philistia". The Philistines are the most mysterious people mentioned in the Bible. Only they and the Hittites knew the technology of steel production and it was they who laid the foundation for the Iron Age. According to the Bible, the Philistines came from the island of Caphtor (Crete). The Cretan origins of the Philistines are confirmed by Egyptian manuscripts and archaeological finds. It is not known where they disappeared, but it is most likely that the Philistines were assimilated by the Eastern Mediterranean peoples.