pre-Indo-European linguistic substrate

This paper is a study of ancient Basque (better: Basque-related, or henceforth, Vasconic) words remaining in the Romance dialects of France, Spain, Italy and Romance-speaking parts of Belgium and Switzerland. These data suggest a more extended area for Vasconic-speakers than had been previously thought, and that a large proportion of the ancestors of present day Western Europeans were Vasconic-speaking before being Celtic-, Romance- or Germanic-speaking. We find in this a confirmation of recent results of population genetics.
Our initial sources for Vasconic words were Hubschmid, Rohlfs and others, and one of us (FD) searched in several linguistic atlases to find other words. Each word was carefully submitted to a thorough etymological analysis using the standard Romance dictionaries and the etymological sources for Basque, to be sure that the words were not of other (non-Vasconic) origins (such as Indo-European). We eliminated the words for which there was doubt, or in which the phonetic or semantic changes were difficult.
The words studied were mainly names of animals and plants, rural (agricultural, pastoral) terms and pejorative terms. Some words, such as ‘lizard’, ‘ram’ or ‘strawberry’, were found in many regions and had many different variants, as is the case with the corresponding terms in Basque dialects.
In the historical chapter, we showed the history of genetic, anthropological, lexical, grammatical and phonetic searches in this field. We showed also the genesis of this work, and the list of all linguistic atlases used. We also proposed a model of the history (and prehistory) of Western Europe,
The next chapter stresses that there is a phonetic gradient, centered on Basque country. Various Basque-like phonetic changes are found in this territory, decreasing with distance, with many of these phonetic changes near Basque Country (Gascony, Navarre, Aragon), continuing through southern Italy (poor in such changes), but abundant in Sardinia, which is correlated with its prehistoric links with Basque Country.
Some critiques of this substratal theory are presented and discussed.
We then present three Basque words that have widespread coverage: marro for ‘ram’, suge for ‘snake’ and ‘lizard’, and gapar for ‘wild rose’.
Marro spans from Western Spain to Northern Italy. This word had been studied before, but its wide spread had made scholars hesitant to declare it of Basque origin. Until genetics had shown the evidence, Basque was thought to have been very restricted in territory.
Suge (and its derivatives, very common also in Basque dialects) is even more widespread, from southern Spain to northwestern France to southern Italy and Sardinia.
Gapar is less widespread, from southern Spain to northern Spain and a large southwestern quarter of France. We do not immediately explain such a wide span for these three words, but, in conjunction with genetic data, it is the start of a proof of the wide former extension of Basque in Western Europe.
The next chapter deals with the map of all Basque-like words in the proposed Vasconic territory. Based on genetic evidence, it seems likely to us that Great Britain and Ireland may have also been Vasconic-speaking, but a linguistic demonstration is not included in our paper. One first remark that there are many Vasconic words in Romance dialects spoken near the actual Basque country: the well-known Gascony where Vasconic was spoken at the beginning of our era, as many epigraphic vestiges (Aquitanian) have shown; and in Spain, firstly near Basque country in northern Navarre where Basque is still spoken, but also more to the South and West and East, in southern Navarre, Aragon and Rioja where one finds some of the same words as in northern Navarre, in a continuous area. This continuity extends even wider, to other parts of Spain, especially Catalonia, and to parts of France, especially in Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon, which were rarely cited for their relationship with Basque. These gradients without discontinuities are a sufficient proof of the ancient presence of Vasconic languages in a large part of our proposed Vasconic territory.
One of us (JB) compiled a list of etymologies of all words concerned, with some dialectal variants, different meanings, and references.
The next chapter discusses recent population genetics in the molecular school:
We present the maps of mtDNA H1 and H3 and Y chromosome S116 and haplogroup XV (Taq1), which are the main haplogroups among the Basques, and which extend through most of the proposed Vasconic territory. We then discuss the presence of Vasconic words in large parts of the proposed Vasconic territory in conjunction with the various migrations that occurred in prehistoric and historic times. There are also relic words, that is to say words that one finds in regions that otherwise have very few Vasconic words. The concordance between the genetic and linguistic maps show that the Vasconic influence is old.
We then draw approximative maps showing the extension of Vasconic around 300 BC, 500 AD, and 1400 AD, that correspond approximately to maps with at least one Vasconic word, at least 3 words, and at least 6 words. We discuss these maps and present the genetic map of haplotype M26 which is found in Basque country and in Sardinia, at a very high frequency in the latter. It shows a very ancient (around 8000 BC) migration.
We also show that Keltic language and Basque language have left similar imprints in Southern France, with maxima in different areas.
One conclusion is that Vasconic languages were widespread in large parts of southern and western France, in northern Spain and eastern Spain (therefore where the Iberians ruled), and in some parts of Italy, especially in Sardinia. The conclusion reiterates the main points of the demonstration, and addresses the question of the western limit of Vasconic language in ancient times, through toponymy. A scenario of the last 3000 years is proposed. The question of prehistoric  languages is addressed, and the coincidence of Vasconic lexicon with the phonetic change of Latin v > Romance b is cited.