Re: time-depth of language families

Daniel Andreasson wrote:


>Um, excuse this natlangy question, but the Arda-Lang thingy
>and a discussion on another list got me thinking on the
>time-frame of language families. Do we know -- or at least
>have a good clue -- as to when the different families split
>up? When did Bantu split off? When did PIE and Uralic take
>different paths? Etc, etc.

Conservative opinion I think generally says 3-5000 BCE for most present day
families.
Do you read the postings at Cybalist (an IE group on Yahoo, very good)?
Those who speculate on such things now feel that the Black Sea flood ca.
5500 BCE might well have been the impetus for the break-up of IE.  I think
some have said that IE/Uralic would have been together around 10,000 BCE;
"Nostratic" (Afro-Asiatic, IE, Uralic, maybe Elamo-Dravidian or who knows
what else) was perhaps a unit around 18,000 BCE-- in the Sahara, when it was
still a savannah.

Fascinating speculations, but....