Historical Vedic religion given to Absolute reality (Brahman) speculations in the early Upanishads, as these terms are etymologically linked. The word Brahmanism was coined by Gonçalo Fernandes Trancoso (1520-1596) in the 16th century. The Vedic religion was probably the religion of the Vedic Indo-Aryans, and existed in northern India from c. 1750–500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans were a branch of the Indo-European language family, which originated in the Sintashta culture and further developed into the Andronovo culture, which in turn developed out of the Kurgan culture of the Central Asian steppes. The commonly proposed period of earlier Vedic age is dated back to 2nd
Historical Vedic religion and unrelated to Hinduism. The Hindu religion was thought to be linked to the Hindu epics and the Puranas through sects based on Purohita, Tantras and "Bhakti". In the 20th-century, a better understanding of the Vedic religion, its shared heritage and theology with contemporary Hinduism, has led scholars to gradually encompass Brahmanism and the Vedic religion into "Hinduism". The Hindu reform movements and the Neo-Vedanta emphasized the Vedic heritage and "ancient Hinduism", and this term has been co-opted by some Hindus. Vedic religion is now generally accepted to be a predecessor of Hinduism, but they are not the same because