ABSTRACT
The known human settlements, in the valley of the Parnu River, date back to 7500 BC little is known about the "Kunda culture," named after another prehistoric settlement on the northern coast. These ancient people may have contributed a few dozen words to the Estonian language, such as magi and mets. Military skills, formerly reserved to Baltic nobles, were acquired by Estonian peasant sons who entered the Russian military academies, and World War I gave them extensive practice as field and staff officers. The Finnic language prevailed in Finland and Estonia, the Baltic language in Lithuania and Latvia. Estonia received immigrants, mainly from the south, but it also sent them north, over the Gulf of Finland. One aspect of the Reformation did have an impact on the Estonian and Latvian masses: Martin Luther's insistence on preaching in a language the congregation could understand.
