Albanians, Romanians, and Slavs in the early Middle Ages. A linguistic and archaeological perspective By Florin Curta

https://www.academia.edu/144549096/Albanians_Romanians_and_Slavs_in_the_early_Middle_Ages_A_linguistic_and_archaeological_perspective?email_work_card=title The analysis in this paper is meant to be an interdisciplinary reworking of the discussion of what is conventionally called "ethnogenesis," in this case of Albanians, Romanians, and Slavs. The authors have recently published a book on the Slavs in the Migration period, so a broader perspective, however brief, is welcome. This perspective developes the ideas put forward 30 years ago by one of the authors (Sorin Paliga) and continues the approach to the history of southeastern Europe used by the other (Florin Curta). The two fields of research (linguistics, on the one hand, and archaeology, on the other) use completely different data and materials, which is why collaboration is not easy. It is often assumed that one of the two disciplines should be called upon when the other alone fails to provide plausible or acceptable explanations. In reality, only a rigorously historical perspective, using arguments from both disciplines, can provide an adequate framework for discussion. In other words, the reconstruction of the historical process should be the ultimate goal of any attempt at an interdisciplinary approach. Various theories on population movement in the second half of the first millennium are discussed and analyzed, while some words from the semantic sphere "chief, ruler" are paid close attention because of being relevant to the proposed approach. The various hypotheses concerning the origin of the Albanians (Illyrians? Thracians? Thraco-Illyrians?), as well as other scenarios concerning population movements, such as the supposed (though never proven) movement of the Romanian population from south to north of the Danube, are also discussed. If put into dialogue, archaeology and linguistics can complement and support each other, minimizing the number of possible errors. ...