General Lines
The framework of PCT is laid out by Alinei in four main assumptions:
- Continuity is the basic pattern of European prehistory and the basic working hypothesis on the origins of IE languages.
- Stability and antiquity are general features of languages.
- The lexicon of natural languages, due to its antiquity, may be "periodized" along the entire course of human evolution.
- Archaeological frontiers coincide with linguistic frontiers.
The continuity theory draws on a Continuity Model (CM), positing the presence of IE and non-IE peoples and languages in Europe from Paleolithic times and allowing for minor invasions and infiltrations of local scope, mainly during the last three millennia.
Arguing that continuity is "the archeologist's easiest pursuit," Alinei deems this "the easiest working hypothesis," putting the burden of proof on competing hypotheses as long as none provide irrefutable counter-evidence. Alinei also claims linguistic coherence, rigor and productivity in the pursuit of this approach.
Read more about this topic: Paleolithic Continuity Theory
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