Pre-Italic may have developed in Hungary, and spread toward Italy via the Urnfield culture and Villanovan culture. According to Anthony, Slavic and Baltic developed in the Middle Dniepr (Ukraine) in c. 2800 BCE, spreading north from there. The Corded Ware culture in Middle Europe probably played an essential role in the origin and spread of the Indo-European languages in Europe during the Copper and Bronze Ages. According to Anthony, the Corded ware horizon may have introduced Germanic, Baltic and Slavic into Northern Europe. Chapter Fifteen: Chariot Warriors of the Northern Steppes The expansion eastwards of the Corded Ware culture, north of the steppe zone, led to the Sintashta culture, east of the Ural Mountains, which is considered to be the birthplace of the Indo-Iranians. Anthony skips over the post-Yamna cultures in the steppe zone (Late Yamnaya, Catacomb (2800–2200 BCE), and Poltavka (2700–2100 BCE)) but gives an extensive treatment of the intermediate Middle Dniepr culture (3200–2300 BCE) and of the Corded Ware cultures in the forest zone (Fatyanova (3200–2300 BCE), Abashevo (2500–1900 BCE), and Balanovo (3200–2300 BCE). After ca. 2500 BCE, the Eurasian steppes became drier, peaking in ca. 2000 BCE, with the steppes southeast of the Ural mountains becoming even drier than the Middle Volga steppe. In ca. 2100 BCE, Poltavka and Abashevo herders moved into the upper Tobol and Ural river valleys, close to marshes which were needed for the survival of their herds. They build fortified strongholds, forming the Sintashta culture at the southern range of the Ural mountains. Via the BMAC, they stood in contact with middle eastern cities like Ur, and the Sintashta settlements reveal an extensive copper producing industry, producing copper for the Middle Eastern market. The Sintashta culture was shaped by warfare, which occurred in tandem with a growing long-distance trade. Chariots were an important weapon in the Sintashta culture and spread from there to the Middle East. Anthony notes that "the details of the funeral sacrifices at Sintashta showed startling parallels with the sacrificial funeral rituals of the Rig Veda." Chapter Sixteen: The Opening of the Eurasian Steppes Steppe cultures between 2200 and 1800 BCE are the Multi-cordoned ware culture (2200–1800 BCE)(Dniepr-Don-Volga), Filatovka culture, and Potapovka. In the forest zone are the Late Middle Dniepr and the Late Abashevo cultures. East of the Urals are the Sintashta and the Petrovka cultures. East of the Caspian Sea is the non-Indo-European Late Kelteminar culture. The