Indo-European, instead of a "daughter", but Anatolian is generally
regarded as an early offshoot of the Indo-European language group.[2]
The Indo-Hittite hypothesis postulates a common predecessor for both
the Anatolian languages and the other Indo-European languages, called
Indo-Hittite or Indo-Anatolian.[2] Although PIE had predecessors,[4] the
Indo-Hittite hypothesis is not widely accepted, and there is little to
suggest that it is possible to reconstruct a proto-Indo-Hittite stage that
differs substantially from what is already reconstructed for PIE.[41]
Anthony (2019) suggests a derivation of the proto-Indo-European
language mainly from a base of languages spoken by Eastern European
Hunter-Gatherers living at the Volga steppes, with influences from
languages spoken by northern Caucasus hunter-gatherers who
migrated from the Caucasus to the lower Volga basin, in addition to a
possible later and lesser influence from the language of the Maikop
culture to the south (which is hypothesized to have belonged to
the North Caucasian family) in the later Neolithic or Bronze Age
involving little genetic impact.[31]
Phylogenetic analyses
Lexico-statistical studies aimed at showing the relationship between
the various branches of Indo-European languages began in the late
20th century with work by Dyen et al. (1992) and Ringe et al
(2002).[42] Subsequently a number of authors performed
a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of the IE languages (a mathematical
method used in evolutionary biology to establish relationships between
species).[43] A secondary aim of these studies was to attempt to
estimate the approximate dates at which the various branches
separated from each other.