Paeonian language

The Paeonian language is an extinct and poorly attested Indo-European language spoken by the ancient Paeonians, a people inhabiting the region of Paeonia north of Macedon in the central Balkans during the first millennium BCE.^[1] This territory, roughly corresponding to parts of modern-day North Macedonia, eastern Serbia, and western Bulgaria, served as a cultural and linguistic bridge between the Hellenic world to the south and other Balkan groups to the north and east.^[2] Due to the scarcity of surviving evidence—limited to a few proper names (such as *Aμυδών from *ambi-udon), tribal designations (like Aγριάνες suggesting a centum-type Indo-European form *agro-), and one gloss (μονάμοϛ or μον(ωψ meaning "wisent," possibly linked to Indo-European *mon- "neck")—the language's precise classification remains debated among linguists.^[1] It is often grouped among the Paleo-Balkan languages, potentially within a broader Hellenic branch alongside Greek, Phrygian, and others, though some theories propose a Phrygian origin, as suggested by ancient sources like Strabo who described the Paeonians as Phrygian colonists (Φρυγών άποικοι).^[1]^[3] Later influences from neighboring Thracian and Illyrian languages appear in onomastic material, possibly as a superstratum, while earlier connections to Phrygian or even Mysian elements have been hypothesized based on shared roots in names and glosses.^[3] Ancient historians like Herodotus and Thucydides distinguished Paeonian speech from Thracian, underscoring its distinct identity despite regional interactions.^[1] The Paeonians themselves emerge in historical records as early as Homer's Iliad (ca. 8th century BCE), depicted as allies of the Trojans with curved bows, and their kingdom, centered around cities like Amydon, minted coins from the 6th century BCE onward, reflecting growing Hellenistic ties.^[2] By the 4th century BCE, Paeonia was conquered and integrated into the Macedonian empire under Philip II, leading to Hellenization; the language likely persisted in some form until Roman times but vanished by late antiquity amid broader cultural shifts.^[2]

Historical and Geographical Context

Location and Extent of Paeonia

Ancient Paeonia was situated in the southern Balkan Peninsula, bordered by the kingdom of Macedonia to the south, Dardania to the north, Illyria to the west, and Thrace to the east, encompassing the upper valleys of major rivers and surrounding highlands.^[4] This territory roughly corresponds to modern-day North Macedonia, northern Greece, and southwestern Bulgaria, with its core in the fertile riverine lowlands and mountainous interiors that facilitated both settlement and strategic control.^[4] According to Strabo, Paeonia lay east of certain Macedonian tribes and west of the Thracian mountains, positioned north of the core Macedonian lands. Key geographical features defined Paeonia's landscape and influenced its toponyms and resource use, including the Axios (modern Vardar) River, which formed a central axis through the western part of the territory, and the Strymon (modern Struma) River, along whose upper course and eastern valley Paeonian tribes settled.^[4] The Axios basin, particularly its upper reaches around sites like Stoboi and Bylazora, served as a vital corridor for trade and migration, while the Strymon marked the eastern frontier, with Paeonian groups like the Doberes inhabiting areas near Mount Pangaion.^[4] Lake Prasias, located east of the Strymon, was a prominent wetland feature supporting Paeonian lake-dwelling communities in stilt houses, as described by Herodotus, highlighting the region's marshy environments conducive to fishing and semi-aquatic lifestyles.^[4] The extent of Paeonia varied significantly across historical periods, reflecting interactions with neighboring powers. In the late Bronze and early Iron Ages (circa 12th–8th centuries BCE), as referenced in Homer's Iliad, Paeonian control extended broadly from the lower Axios valley at Amydon westward to Pelagonia (modern Bitola area) and eastward across Pieria to the Strymon and Nestos headwaters near Mount Rhodope.^[4] By the 7th–6th centuries BCE, Macedonian expansion under the Argead dynasty displaced Paeonian groups from lower Macedonia, confining them to the upper Axios and Erigon (modern Crna) valleys, the Monastir basin, and upland areas like the valleys of the Pontos (modern Stumnitsa) and Astibos (modern Bregalnica) rivers.^[4] During the 4th century BCE, Paeonia coalesced into a more unified kingdom under rulers such as Agis, Lykkeios, and later Patraus, achieving greater autonomy and territorial stability despite Macedonian influence; this period saw Paeonian forces aiding Philip II in campaigns, though specific expansions under Audoleon (ruling circa 315–285 BCE) are noted more for diplomatic engagements than major conquests.^[4] Thucydides describes how, by the 5th century BCE, Macedonian control of the lower Axios had already limited Paeonian access to coastal areas, prompting northward migrations of eastern tribes.^[4] Following the Macedonian defeat at the Battle of Pydna in 168 BCE, Roman forces fully incorporated Paeonia into the province of Macedonia, dividing it into the second and third administrative districts and marking the end of its independent extent, as recorded by Livy.^[4] Environmental factors shaped Paeonian society and resource exploitation, with wetlands around Lake Prasias enabling unique adaptations like stilt-house villages, and montane regions such as Mount Messapion supporting hunting of large fauna.^[4] Notably, Paeonian hunters targeted the European bison (Bison bonasus, known in Greek as monapos), using skins and fenced enclosures for capture; King Dropion (mid-3rd century BCE) dedicated a bronze bison head at Delphi, underscoring the animal's cultural and economic significance in the region's diverse ecosystems.^[4] These features, including riverine fertility and upland biodiversity, provided the backdrop for Paeonian communities as a distinct ethnic group in the ancient Balkans.^[4]

Paeonians in Ancient Sources

The Paeonians appear in early Greek historiography as a distinct people inhabiting the region north of Macedonia, along the upper courses of the Axius and Strymon rivers. Herodotus describes them as subjects of the Persian Empire in the early 5th century BCE, noting their surrender to Darius I around 512 BCE during his Scythian campaign, after which some Paeonian tribes, including the Paeoplae and Siriopaeones, were deported to Phrygia but later returned to Paeonia amid the Ionian Revolt (499–494 BCE). He also recounts their involvement in conflicts, such as an oracle-prompted attack on Perinthus around 600 BCE, portraying them as a warlike group with ties to Trojan legends.^[5] Thucydides further depicts the Paeonians during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE), identifying the Strymon River as their boundary with the Thracians and highlighting their temporary subjugation under the Odrysian king Sitalces, who controlled Paeonian tribes like the Agrianes from 431 to 424 BCE as part of his alliance with Athens against Sparta. This account underscores their strategic position and role as intermediaries in regional power struggles, with Paeonian forces contributing light infantry to broader Thracian campaigns.^[5] Later Roman sources provide additional insights into Paeonian society. Strabo, drawing on earlier Greek traditions, locates the Paeonians east of Illyrian tribes and west of the Thracian mountains, emphasizing their Phrygian origins and cultural similarities to Macedonians, including shared tonsure styles, language, and attire like the short cloak. He describes their customs, such as royal bathing rituals in the Astibus River, and notes their prowess as horsemen and warriors, who were integrated into Macedonian armies after conquest. Pliny the Elder briefly mentions Paeonian tribes like the Paroraei and Eordenses as neighbors to Macedonia beyond the Axius River, alongside references to local fauna such as the bonasus bull in Paeonia, reflecting their rugged, inland territory.^[6] The historical timeline of the Paeonians traces their independence from the Archaic period through the Classical era, maintaining autonomy until Philip II of Macedon's campaigns subdued them between 359 and 357 BCE, incorporating Paeonia into the expanding Macedonian kingdom and exploiting its resources, including gold mines. Following Alexander the Great's conquests, Paeonian contingents served as auxiliaries in his army, marking deeper military integration. The region persisted as a distinct administrative unit under the Hellenistic successors and Roman rule, with Paeonia annexed to the province of Macedonia in 148 BCE, though ethnic traces endured into late antiquity until the 4th–5th centuries CE amid Slavic migrations.^[6]^[5]^[7] Post-conquest assimilation is evident in accounts of cultural and linguistic blending with Macedonians and Thracians. Strabo notes linguistic affinities between Paeonians and Macedonians, suggesting bilingualism in Greek dialects alongside native tongues, while their incorporation facilitated the adoption of Macedonian military tactics and Thracian religious practices, such as cults of Dionysus (as Dyalus) and Bendis. By the Roman period, Paeonian identity had largely merged into the broader Macedonian-Thracian amalgam, with remaining communities absorbed through intermarriage and urbanization.^[6]^[5]^[8]

Linguistic Classification

Evidence and Challenges

The Paeonian language is attested through an extremely sparse corpus, consisting of fewer than 20 words and names, almost exclusively preserved in Greek sources, with no full texts, continuous narratives, or extended compositions available.^[1] This limited material underscores the language's status as one of the most poorly documented among the ancient Indo-European tongues of the Balkans.^[4] Primary sources for Paeonian vocabulary include glosses recorded by Greek authors, such as Aristotle's mention in Historia Animalium (IX, 45) of μώνυμος or μώνυψ (mōnymos or mōnyps), denoting the wisent or European bison, a term tied to local fauna.^[1] Hesychius of Alexandria's lexicon provides another rare gloss: Αυαλος (Aualos), identified as the Paeonian name for Dionysus.^[1] Coin legends and brief inscriptions supplement this, featuring royal names like Lykpeios, Patraos, and Audoleon, with one tetradrachm bearing the Greek inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΥΔΩΛΕΟΝΤΟΣ ("of King Audoleon").^[4] Two dedicatory inscriptions from Delphi and Olympia reference King Dropion, son of Leon, offering further onomastic evidence.^[4] The dating of this evidence clusters in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, corresponding to the height of Paeonian political activity under Persian and Macedonian influence, though some personal names appear in Roman-era contexts up to late antiquity.^[4] Significant challenges arise in analyzing Paeonian due to the complete absence of a native script or extended corpus, necessitating dependence on Greek transliterations that may alter phonetic and morphological details.^[1] Moreover, the surviving terms risk contamination from pervasive Greek, Thracian, or Illyrian loanwords, as Paeonia's geopolitical position facilitated extensive linguistic contact and borrowing.^[4] These factors render secure reconstructions of grammar, syntax, or even basic lexicon highly tentative.^[1]

Proposed Affiliations and Debates

The classification of the Paeonian language remains one of the most debated topics in Paleo-Balkan linguistics due to its sparse attestation, consisting primarily of a handful of glosses and proper names preserved in ancient Greek sources. Most scholars agree that Paeonian belongs to the Indo-European family, but its precise affiliation within that phylum is uncertain, with hypotheses ranging from a close relation to Greek to affinities with Thracian or Illyrian, or even an isolate status among ancient Balkan tongues. This uncertainty stems from the limited corpus, which includes only about a dozen words and names, making robust comparative analysis challenging.^[1]^[9] The Indo-European hypothesis posits Paeonian as a centum language, potentially aligned with the Hellenic branch, based on phonological features suggesting a centum-type language, such as the tribal name Agrianeis from Indo-European *agro- 'field', without the satem palatal fricativization seen in Thracian (e.g., *ḱ > s). For instance, the gloss monapos ('European bison'), attested in Aristotle, has been linked to the Indo-European root *mon- 'neck' (possibly referring to the animal's mane), which may indicate archaic Indo-European features consistent with a centum language. Eric P. Hamp, in his 1961 analysis, argued for a Hellenic connection, viewing Paeonian as possibly a sibling to Greek within the Indo-European tree, supported by onomastic parallels like tribal names deriving from Indo-European roots such as agro- ('field') in Agrianeis. This view emphasizes Paeonian's geographical proximity to Macedonia and Greece, where linguistic convergence could have reinforced similarities.^[9]^[1] Alternative affiliations highlight Thracian or Illyrian influences, often interpreted as substratal or superstratal elements rather than direct descent. Vladimir I. Georgiev, in his 1966 work, proposed Thracian links based on toponyms like Astibos, which resemble Thracian forms in phonetic structure and distribution, suggesting Paeonian incorporated eastern Balkan elements during migrations in the Bronze Age. Radoslav Katičić (1976) countered with Illyrian affinities, pointing to shared morphological patterns in personal names and the potential for a Thraco-Illyrian continuum in the central Balkans. These proposals rely on phonological criteria, such as vowel alternations and consonant clusters, but face challenges from Paeonian's apparent lack of satemization, which mismatches Thracian's ḱ > s shift. Some scholars, like Włodzimierz Paǰakowski (1984), even suggest a Phrygian origin with later Thracian and Illyrian overlays, citing ancient testimonies from Strabo identifying Paeonians as "Phrygian settlers" and Athenaeus linking Paeonian to the Mysian language.^[9]^[3]^[10] Proposals for Paeonian as a linguistic isolate arise from unique lexical items that resist clear Indo-European etymologies, such as tilôn (a fish species from Lake Prasias), which lacks obvious cognates in neighboring languages and underscores the gaps in morphological evidence. Hamp revisited these debates in the 1990s, advocating for a Greek-related status while acknowledging the Paleo-Balkan languages' geographical rather than strictly genetic grouping, a perspective echoed in modern scholarship that treats Paeonian within a broader satem-centum continuum without firm subgrouping. Ongoing research prioritizes onomastic and gloss-based comparisons, but the scarcity of texts perpetuates the divide between Hellenic and eastern Balkan affiliations.^[11]

Attested Linguistic Features

Vocabulary and Lexicon

The attested vocabulary of the Paeonian language is sparse, comprising only a handful of nouns referring to local fauna, as preserved in ancient Greek ethnographic texts. These terms highlight the Paeonians' environment, particularly the wildlife of their wetland and mountainous regions around the Strymon and Axius river valleys and Lake Prasias. No verbs, adjectives, function words, or other grammatical elements survive, likely due to the incidental nature of the records, which prioritized exotic natural features over systematic linguistic documentation.^[12] A notable example is monapos (Greek: μόναπος), the Paeonian term for the European bison (Bison bonasus), documented by Aristotle in his History of Animals. Aristotle describes the animal as inhabiting Mount Messapium in Paeonia, on the border with Maedica, noting its bull-like size, stout build, and distinctive mane, with the Paeonians naming it monapos. This term may derive from Indo-European roots related to "mane" or "neck," such as Old Indian manyá- or English "mane," emphasizing the bison's shaggy neck hair, though the etymology remains conjectural given the language's scant attestation.^[13]^[12] Two fish species from Lake Prasias are named in Herodotus' Histories, reflecting Paeonian lacustrine life. These are tilôn (Greek: τίλων) and paprax (Greek: πάπραξ), with the latter appearing in accusative plural as paprakas (πάπρακάς). Herodotus recounts that Paeonian lake-dwellers near the Prasian Lake caught these abundant fish by lowering baskets through platform homes, filling them effortlessly, and notes that conquered Paeonians were relocated by the Persians, preserving the terms in a Thracian context. The words occur in descriptions of the Doberes, a Paeonian subgroup, underscoring their reliance on wetland resources.^[14]

Proper Names and Etymologies

The Paeonian anthroponyms are primarily known through royal names attested on coins and in historical accounts, reflecting significant Greek linguistic influence. Prominent examples include the kings Agis (ca. 359 BC), Lycpeios (or Lykpeios, ca. 356–340 BC), Patraos (ca. 340–315 BC), Audoleon (ca. 315–285 BC), Ariston (ca. 286–285 BC), and Eupolemos, a cavalry commander under Alexander the Great. These names exhibit structural patterns such as the suffix -leon, seen in Audoleon and paralleling Greek compounds with leōn ('lion'), as in Audoleon interpreted as 'lion-voiced' or similar heroic epithets.^[4] Etymological analyses suggest many of these names derive from Greek roots, with Lycpeios linked to lykos ('wolf') and Ariston meaning 'best' or 'excellent'. Patraos shows parallels to Greek mythological names like Kranaos and Oinomaos, indicating adoption or adaptation within a Hellenic onomastic framework. Agis is a standard Greek name meaning 'leader' or 'goat-born'. Some scholars propose broader Paleo-Balkan influences, including possible Thracian elements in non-royal names like Getas and Dada, which appear in regional inscriptions and suggest cultural exchanges.^[4]^[3] Beyond royal and personal names, Paeonian toponyms and tribal designations provide further attestation, some showing potential non-Greek Indo-European features. For instance, the city of Amydon (Aμυδών), the ancient Paeonian capital, has been etymologized as deriving from Proto-Indo-European ambi-udon ("on both [sides of] water"), reflecting a satem-like form consistent with Balkan Indo-European languages. Similarly, the tribal name Agrianes (Greek: Aγριάνες) suggests a centum-type development from agro- ("field"), indicating possible western Indo-European affinities. These examples highlight linguistic elements distinct from heavy Greek influence seen in later royal onomastics. Paeonian toponyms and theonyms, preserved in ancient Greek sources and inscriptions, often display Greek etymologies or parallels, though some exhibit potential Thracian affinities. Key toponyms include Bylazora (the capital near modern Veles), cognate with the Greek Azoros in Perrhaibia; Astibos (a river, meaning 'untrodden' in Greek); Pontos (a river denoting a 'boggy place'); Idomenae (near the Axios River, of Greek form); Stoboi (a city, possibly linked to Pelagonian Styberra); Dysoron (a mountain, proposed as 'bad mountain' with Thracian dys- 'bad'); and tribal names like Agrianes and Dryalus/Dyalos (rivers or tribes). Theonyms such as Dryalus and Dyalos (deities associated with rivers) and a Paeonian Dionysus variant suggest localized cults, with limited etymological ties to Indo-European roots for water or nature.^[1]^[4] Over 50 Paeonian names are attested, predominantly from numismatic evidence (e.g., tetradrachms of Patraos and Audoleon) and epigraphic records like Athenian decrees (I.G. II² 654), indicating onomastic borrowing from Greek and possible Thracian substrates amid regional interactions.^[4]

Orthography and Texts

Writing System and Script

The Paeonian language was primarily recorded using the Greek alphabet, which was adapted to transcribe its sounds in the limited surviving epigraphic material, such as coin legends from the 5th to 3rd centuries BCE.^[12] This adaptation reflects the cultural and linguistic interactions between the Paeonians and their Greek neighbors, particularly during the period of Macedonian expansion. No evidence attests to a pre-existing native writing system, such as a syllabary or linear script, for Paeonian prior to the adoption of the Greek alphabet.^[12] Orthographic features of Paeonian texts follow standard Greek conventions, with letters used to approximate potentially non-Greek phonemes, including variations in plosive sounds like p, as seen in royal names on coinage (e.g., ΠΑΤΡΑΟΥ).^[15] Writing direction is consistently left-to-right, aligning with Hellenistic practices, and no instances of right-to-left or boustrophedon layouts have been identified in the corpus.^[16] The script draws heavily from the Macedonian dialect of Greek as a model, occasionally incorporating Doric forms in letter shapes and conventions, indicative of regional influences without unique Paeonian innovations.^[12] Due to the scarcity of evidence, all known Paeonian texts are brief—typically consisting of 1 to 5 words, such as royal titles or ethnic identifiers on coins and dedications—precluding in-depth study of spelling rules, vowel notations, or systematic adaptations for Paeonian phonology.^[16] This limitation underscores the challenges in reconstructing the language's orthographic system beyond its reliance on borrowed Greek elements.^[12]

Known Inscriptions and Interpretations

The known corpus of Paeonian inscriptions is exceedingly small, comprising roughly 10-15 items primarily from the 4th to 2nd centuries BCE, with the majority consisting of coin legends and a handful of dedicatory texts, all rendered in the Greek alphabet. These artifacts, many preserved in institutions like the British Museum, offer limited glimpses into the language, which appears heavily influenced by Greek in its attested forms.^[4] Coin legends form the bulk of the evidence, often bilingual or Hellenized, featuring Greek phrasing alongside Paeonian royal or tribal names. Tetradrachms struck under King Patraos (ca. 335–315 BCE), likely at the Bylazora or Damastion mint, include the legend ΠΑΤΡΑΟΥ (genitive of Patraos), a name interpreted as potentially non-Greek in origin, though adapted to Greek morphology. Similarly, silver coins from the mid-3rd century BCE bear ΠΑΙΟΝΩΝ ("of the Paeonians"), attributed to either the tribal community or King Dropion's reign, with production centered around Doberos; analysis of 35 specimens highlights die variations suggesting substantial output. Other royal issues, such as those of Audoleon (ca. 315–286 BCE), carry ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΥΔΩΛΕΟΝΤΟΣ ("of King Audoleon"), exemplifying Greek royal titulature applied to Paeonian rulers. Scholars note these as evidence of cultural Hellenization, with Paeonian elements confined to onomastics like Lykpeios or Patraos, debated as Illyrian, Thracian, or indigenous substrates.^[17]^[4] Beyond numismatics, dedicatory epigraphs at Greek sanctuaries reveal royal patronage and possible bilingual practices. A base at Olympia (discovered 1877) records a statue erected by the Paeonian community honoring Dropion, son of Leon, as "King of the Paionians and founder," while a Delphi inscription commemorates Dropion's dedication of a statue for Audoleon. These 4th–3rd century BCE texts are fully Greek but underscore Paeonian integration into panhellenic networks, with non-Greek name forms like Dropion suggesting linguistic layering. Votive inscriptions occasionally feature tribal names, such as Dyalos on artifacts possibly linked to Paeonian dedications, though contexts remain sparse.^[4] A rare potential non-numismatic find is a damaged stone inscription from the Bylazora acropolis (2nd century BCE), uncovered in 2011 amid votive deposits; its brief text may denote a sanctuary boundary, with scholars proposing Paeonian affinities based on context, though damage precludes firm linguistic analysis. Overall, interpretations emphasize Greek as the medium of public inscription, with Paeonian surviving in names and isolated terms like Aristotle's μόναπος ("bison," from Historia Animalium 630a), a literary gloss rather than an inscriptional attestation, fueling debates on the language's vitality and substrate influences. Post-2000 digitization, including in the PHI Greek Inscriptions project, has enhanced accessibility to this corpus.^[16]^[4]^[18]

Modern Scholarship and Legacy

Etymological and Comparative Analyses

The Paeonian gloss monapos, denoting the European bison, is attested in ancient sources but its etymology remains uncertain.^[19] This term reflects potential shared Indo-European heritage in the Balkan region, though precise connections are debated. Paeonian terms for fish such as tilôn and paprax present ambiguous origins, with etymologies unresolved in current scholarship. Detailed analyses of such vocabulary appear in studies on Paleo-Balkan languages.^[20] Comparative analyses of Paeonian employ the standard linguistic method to identify sound correspondences, such as the retention of initial p- in Paeonian names contrasting with sp- in related Thracian forms, as seen in tribal and personal nomenclature from the region. For instance, the Paeonian royal name Audoleon has the second element -leon 'lion' as Greek, indicating borrowing or Hellenization during periods of cultural contact in the 4th century BCE, while the first element aud- is of uncertain origin. These correspondences help delineate Paeonian's position among Paleo-Balkan languages, often closer to Thracian than Illyrian but with evident Greek overlays. Key scholarship, including Matzinger's examinations of Paleo-Balkan etymologies, provides rigorous breakdowns while rejecting insecure links, such as purported parallels with Armenian that lack verifiable phonetic or semantic matches.^[21]

Influence and Ongoing Research

The Paeonian language exerted a subtle influence through its onomastic elements, contributing to the shared naming conventions in Thracian and Macedonian contexts during antiquity. Personal names such as Μουκας and Μεστός, attested in epigraphic records from Paeonian territories, exhibit epichoric features common across Macedonia and Thrace, suggesting cultural and linguistic exchange in the region.^[22] Place names like Bylazora and references to the kingdom's extent along the Axios and Strymon rivers further illustrate this legacy, persisting in historical accounts and potentially serving as substrates in later Balkan toponymy.^[4] In the Roman and Byzantine periods, Paeonian elements survived indirectly through geographical and faunal references in Latin literature, without evidence of linguistic revival. Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History, describes Paeonia as a Balkan region notable for unique wildlife, such as the bonasus, preserving the area's ancient identity in Roman texts.^[23] Following annexation into Roman Macedonia after 168 BCE, Paeonian names and cultural markers assimilated into provincial Latin and Greek usage, influencing regional dialects indirectly via Hellenistic and Roman administrative integration rather than direct transmission.^[4] Contemporary scholarship on Paeonian continues through archaeological efforts, with excavations at Bylazora from 2010 to 2013 yielding coins issued by kings like Patraos and Audoleon, as well as a tentative Paionian inscription on an acropolis block dated to the 3rd–2nd century BCE.^[16] These discoveries, including tetradrachms depicting Apollo and Herakles, enhance understanding of Paeonian economic and religious life, providing sparse but valuable linguistic data like the term mónapos for bison.^[4] Post-2020 research has explored computational methods to analyze such limited ancient corpora, applying machine learning for pattern recognition in undeciphered or fragmentary texts akin to Paeonian material.^[24] As of 2025, interdisciplinary studies, including ancient DNA from Balkan sites, continue to explore Paeonian ethnolinguistic affiliations, though specific Paeonian samples remain limited.^[25] Key gaps persist in Paeonian studies, including the need for interdisciplinary integration of genetics and linguistics to resolve debates on its classification and potential contributions to ancient Balkan contact phenomena. Ongoing discussions highlight Paeonian's uncertain role in a prehistoric Balkan sprachbund, where shared features among Paleo-Balkan languages like Thracian and Illyrian may reflect areal influences, though direct evidence remains elusive.^[11] Future directions emphasize collaborative projects combining archaeogenetics with comparative philology to trace Paeonian's legacy in the region's linguistic diversity.