Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

crossing the carpathians
6.1 Satellite view of Eastern Europe showing clearly the great mountain ridge that separates the Carpathian
Basin from the Lower Danube. Compare with 6.2.
Oder. Steppe nomads who were curious to explore the west had several routes to
choose from.
Pre-Scythian Advances
The first major advance of steppe nomads into the Carpathian Basin began in about
2800 bc with the expansion and settlement of Yamnaya pastoralists moving along
the Lower Danube valley to settle on the steppe of the Great Hungarian Plain (above,
pp. 67–8). It was probably at about the same time that other steppe people moved
along the northern route into the North European Plain adding their distinctive
genes to the cultural mix. Current interpretations of recent studies of ancient DNA
suggests that considerable numbers of immigrants may have been involved. Later,
in the second millennium, many people from the steppe migrated to settle in the
coastal region from the mouth of the Dniester to that of the Danube but there is no
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