Which peoples spoke Hattian and Hurrian in ancient Anatolia?

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In ancient Anatolia, the Hattian and Hurrian languages were spoken by distinct populations that preceded or interacted with the Indo-European Hittites:

  • Hattians: They were the indigenous population of central and northern Anatolia, specifically residing within the bend of the Halys River (Kızıl River) and more northerly regions. They served as a linguistic substratum for the Indo-European Hittites, who eventually adopted the name of their predecessors. By the beginning of the Hittite New Empire (c. 1400–1190 BCE), Hattian was already a dead language.12
  • Hurrians: Originally from the mountain regions east of the Tigris and near Lake Van, the Hurrians spread westward into southeastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia beginning in the 2nd millennium BCE. They occupied large sections of eastern Anatolia, where they became neighbors and later partial dependents of the Hittites. Their culture and mythology significantly influenced the Hittite Empire, particularly in the religious sphere.34

Both Hattian and Hurrian are classified as non-Indo-European languages.12