As for the indo-europeanisation question, if you look at "bur-" names that appear among both Thracians and Dacians (in tribal names like Buri, Buridensi, personal names like Buris, Burilas, Burebista, Mukaburi and toponyms like Buridava, Burikodava,) these are one of the most attested names we find among them, and linguists have always connected them with Albanian. Burrë (man) since the early days of indo european philology. Despite this, the implications have rarely been understood.
We know that culturally this word had a very high relevance in Albanian history (one of the the earliest attested Albanian language names is burmazi (burrëmadhi, big-man), and would have had even more so in the pre-Christian era of proto-Albanians.
Concepts like "burrni" (manhood, honour, ) and "besa" (oath, faith, etc) would have been central to the pre-Christian IE cultural/religious package of patrilineal Albanian clans.
So we should expect this word to appear among proto-Albanian anthroponymy.
The fact that it appears so frequently among Thracians and Dacians is an indication that this is in the similar phylogenetic group as proto-Albanian, as it is not just an etymologically shared word but a corresponding cultural significance of that word.
There are also other aspects such as the singular path of E-V13 indo-europeanisation for which there is no other true analogue among the indo-european cases so far. Branches like I1 among germanics don't dominate in the way that E-V13 does, and it is clear that culturally there was something singular about the Daco-Thracian group.
Albanian likewise has so many idiosyncracies as an IE group that for me suggest a singular path (i.e. things like the word "motër" in Albanian meaning sister, whereas in every other IE language this stem results in a word that means "mother". This has challenged linguists for a long time and a lot of theories abound, but which ever theory explains it, it has to be a singular path that Albanian took in contrast to other IE languages).
Also with the recent akbari revelations of which there have been so many that a lot have not even been digested as of yet, it seems that the "Daco-Thracian" world split goes deeper than just an iron age phenomenon.
I am totally unconvinced by Aspar and Rafc's models of some random tiny stamped ware group exploding out of the rhodopians in the iron age to become both the dacians and the thracians.
Georgiev famously claimed that the Daco-Mysians were linguistically as different to the Thracians (while still being related phylogenetically, same branch) as Armenian was from Iranian, so this sort of deeper EBA-MBA split of common Daco-Thracian also more comfortably allows for one of the branches of the wider Daco-Thracian to be the Proto-Albanian branch.
This also puts Dardanian back on the table as belonging to this Daco-Thracian group, maybe the westernmost branch of a Dardano-Daco-Thracian group.
In relation to the "Dardano-Daco-Thracian" group, which might be easier to just call the Central Balkan Cotofeni group, with Dardanian possibly being a south westernmost offshoot of this Cotofeni group:
In post #4586 above I showed how Albanian archaeologist Luan Perzhita shamelessly promotes his book with claims of 8000 year presence in Kosova, and he promotes this Illyromania with a famous channelled ware find from Kosova that is definitely not Illyrian, classifed as Daco-Mysian or Basarabi derived by some authors.
If Albanian archaeologists such as Perzhita are so shamelessly willing to present non-Illyrian archaeological cultures outside of Illyria as Illyrian, this got me thinking that there should be even less trust, zero trust when concerning their publications about material culture within Illyria/Albania.
In the LBA-EIA period we see across Albania an introduction of both cremation and channelled ware that shows up where before there were only inhumation burials.
In any other context this is a clear signal of an intrusive element entering into the mix, whereas this was never not once even mentioned by any of the most prominent Alb archaeologists of the day. There is never the option that there are two linguistic/ethnic stratums here in play (local inhumers + foreign cremators).
Since this cremating group brought channelled ware and is not from within Illyria, it clearly suggests that they would have brought a non-local Daco-Thracian / Cotofeni derived language, meaning the South Illyrians should have had a Daco-Thracian adstratum in at least the LBA-EIA period.
A summary from Grok:
The "cremation + channelled ware package" in Albanian LBA–EIA archaeology (roughly 13th/12th–8th/7th centuries BCE). This includes cremation (often in urns or pits, sometimes secondary) alongside channelled/kanellure/grooved pottery (fine dark ware with parallel ribbing or channelling, frequently on kantharoi or similar forms). It appears alongside local matt-painted and plastic-decorated wares and is tied to multidirectional influences.
This combination is
not universal across Albanian sites. Most tumuli emphasize inhumation (contracted or extended) with matt-painted pottery dominant in the south/east;
cremation and channelled ware are more characteristic of northern and central Albania (Mat/Drin valleys and transitional zones), appearing especially in the LBA–EIA transition. Data come from tumulus excavations (over 150–300 documented, many from communist-era digs by Albanian archaeologists like Skënder Aliu, Zhaneta Andrea, etc., plus international projects). Full publications are limited; many older reports lack detailed osteology or pottery seriation. No single exhaustive catalogue exists, but key syntheses (e.g., Kurti 2017 on northern LBA costume; Gori/Krapf on Korçë pottery; Papadopoulos et al. on Lofkënd) allow a rigorous list of sites with
explicit or strongly attested co-occurrence.
Confirmed or Strongly Attested Sites (with both elements)
These have direct evidence from excavations/publications for cremation (urn/pit/cremated bone)
and channelled ware (kanellure/ribbed decoration) in LBA–EIA contexts:
- Lofkënd Tumulus (Mallakastër region, south-central Albania, near Vjosa/Gjanicë River):Best-documented example. 85+ prehistoric burials (14th–9th centuries BCE) include both inhumations and cremations (cremated remains analyzed osteologically). Pottery features fine dark ware with “kanellure” (channelled ribbing), noted as the southernmost significant occurrence of this northern-style decoration in Albanian tumuli (contemporary with matt-painted wares). Grave goods and fill also include associated LBA–EIA types.
- Drin Valley Tumuli Group (northeastern Albania, Kukes area):
- Kënetë (Kenete) Tumuli: Explicit LBA grave (e.g., Tumulus 4, Grave 2) with a small kantharos showing channeled decoration, associated with ornaments (ribbed bracelets). Part of a larger tumulus field with mixed LBA–EIA rites, including cremation elements in some northern contexts.
- Çinamak (Cinamak) Tumuli (67+ tumuli excavated): Multiple LBA graves with ornaments and pottery; channelled ware is characteristic of the northern group. Cremation appears in transitional EIA phases in the broader Drin/Mat complex.
- Kruma (Krumë) Tumuli: Similar to above—part of the same Drin valley cluster with channelled ware horizon and evidence of cremation in LBA–EIA burials.
- Mat (Mati) Valley Tumuli (central-northern Albania, e.g., Shtoj Plain, Bazje, Bruç, etc.):Core of the Glasinac-Mati cultural complex. Numerous tumuli yield channelled/kanellure ware (fine dark fabric, often on drinking vessels) in LBA–EIA contexts. Cremation (urn or pit) becomes more prominent in the EIA phase, sometimes alongside inhumation; the “package” reflects northern influences. Specific examples include Tumulus 9 at Shtoj and others with documented ornaments + pottery.
- Pazhok Tumuli (central Albania, Devoll valley):Early channelled ware attested from the 13th century BCE (one of the first appearances in Albania). Tumuli show mixed rites, including some cremation influences in LBA–EIA layers.
Related or Partial Evidence Sites (channelled ware prominent, cremation present but less dominant or not always co-occurring in the same grave)
These belong to the same cultural horizon but cremation may be rarer or secondary:
- Korçë Plain / SE Albania tumuli and settlements (e.g., Barç, Kuç i Zi, Sovjan settlement): Channelled ware appears in EIA transition layers (e.g., Sovjan level 5c1 with channelled + inturned bowls). Tumuli here are more matt-painted focused; cremation is limited compared to the north.
- Other northern/central tumuli (e.g., Bardhoc, parts of Kolonja plateau): Channelled elements noted in LBA costume studies, with occasional cremation.
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