Ancient Roots of Belarus and its People

Belarus is a country of rich history and ancient culture. Man first appeared here at the end of the glacial epoch 100-40 thousand years ago. During the Bronze Age, i.e. four thousand years ago, people living on its territory were engaged in field husbandry and live-stock breeding. And 7-6 centuries before our era they learnt to use iron and make agricultural tools and implements.

The ethnic origin of the Belarusians is subject to controversy. The earlier theory that these people are of pure Slavic stock has been challenged by proponents of the so-called Baltic-substratum theory which claims that Belarusians represent a fusion of Slavs and Balts. This view, first outlined in the 1890s, has gained wide acceptance since the late 1960s, after the publication of Valentin Sedov’s monograph “The Slavs of the Upper Regions of the Dnieper and Dvina Rivers”. It has been accepted by most of the authoritative Belarusian scholars that, as a result of Slavicization of the Baltic population and merger with it, preconditions were created for the development of the Belarusian language and nationality. This process took a long time – from the beginning of the 8^th to the end of the 13^th centuries.

The name “Belarus” originated in the 13^th century but did not refer to the country of today. Only since the 16^th century have some eastern Belarusian territories been so named. For several hundred years, the term “Belaya Rus” applied to various parts of present-day Russian territories. From the mid-17^th century on, it referred to Vitsebsk and Mahilyow regions, including western parts of Smolensk region, while the lands of present-day central and western Belarus were called Litva. In some cases the entire area of contemporary Belarus was referred to as Litva (Lithuania), because it had been part of the territorial core of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Belarusians were known as “litsviny”.

II. Answer the questions:

1. When did man first appear on the territory of Belarus?

2. Why is the ethnic origin of the Belarusians subject to controversy?

3. What created preconditions for the development of the Belarusian language and nationality?

4. When did the name “Belarus” originate?

5. What territories of contemporary Belarus were called “Litva”?

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