Criteria for the list:
1) The “start date” for a language is the earliest attested written record of that language.
2) If one ancient singular language has multiple descendants, I’m counting them as the same language because even though there are multiple branching paths, it still represents an unbroken string of speakers.
3) Modern languages with a significant amount of native speakers today are favored over equally old languages with fewer speakers. This list is about old languages that aren’t only still spoken, but still significant thousands of years later.
I got some of the maps from these YouTube channels:
Balkan History: https://www.youtube.com/c/SFProduction
Costas Melas: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOd2AGlKIyrXMo0B7hbTC3Q
Khey Pard: https://www.youtube.com/c/KheyPard
Ollie Bye: https://www.youtube.com/c/OllieBye
EmperorTigerstar: https://www.youtube.com/c/EmperorTigerstar
