Who Were The Real Aryans Before The Name Got Co-Opted By Racists?

Who Were The Real Aryans Before The Name Got Co-Opted By Racists?
The myth that became a powerful part of Nazi ideology is still with us, so who were the real Aryans before they got muddled in this nonsense?

Russell is a Science Writer with IFLScience and has a PhD in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology

DR. RUSSELL MOUL
Science Writer
Published
June 9, 2023

The idea of the “Aryan race” has been discredited for decades and is now synonymous with racism, notions of racial superiority, and hyper-nationalism. While many may reject it as a bygone designation for a supposed “type” of people, there are still plenty of misunderstandings associated with the term's origins and where it came from.

The “real” Aryans
A few thousand years before modern ideologies co-opted the term for their nationalist uses, around 1700 BCE, a group of nomadic peoples migrated into the Indian subcontinent from prehistoric Iran. The civilizations living in the area at the time, the Indus Valley civilizations, called these travelers ārya, the word from which we get “Aryan” today.

The Indus Valley civilizations (also known as Harappa or Sarasvati) were extremely advanced for their time. They had a written language, as well as farming capabilities, and lived in urban settlements. However, so the myth goes, when the Aryans arrived, they destroyed this ancient civilization and wiped out their culture. These invaders then went on to write the classic Indian literature and religious texts, such as the Vedas.

In reality, the Aryans were not an invading horde bent on destruction. There is no archaeological evidence to support this, and it seems that their migration was more gradual. The likely cause of the decline of the Indus Valley civilizations was due to environmental factors. In particular, floods and droughts probably disrupted their agricultural practices, which eventually collapsed their economy and social order. This allowed the Aryans to settle and pick up in their place.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/who-were-the-real-aryans-before-the-name-got-co-opted-by-racists-69333