Vladimir E. Orel and Sergei A. Starostin (1990) have proposed that Etruscian also be included in Dene-Caucasian, specifically as a stray offshoot of the East Caucasian (Nakh-Daghestan) family. This is no wonder since we know from the Bible (The Old Testament) that some Hamitic people traveled westward also into Europe: Amos 9:7 stating that the Philistines came from Caphtor (Crete). These early Hamitic tribes were probably the first settlers of continental Europe during the Ice Age. These are most likely the (Hamitic) tribes who lived in caves, known as 'Neanderthal Man' between 2,400 and 1,400 BC. |