The Problem of Tocharian Origins: An Archaeological Perspective

SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS NUMBER 259  November 2015

This study explores the problem of Tocharian origins in a series of stages, beginning with the archaeological identification of the historical Tocharians, the immediate antecedents of the historical Tocharians, the potential for identifying a source for the Tocharian languages outside the Tarim Basin, and, finally, how proposed external origins might accommodate some of the various models of Indo-European expansion. The material culture that may be assigned to the proto-Tocharians on the basis of lexical-cultural analysis is also evaluated against the archaeological record of Xinjiang and adjacent regions.