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 religious practices and beliefs were reassessed. The brahmins and the rituals they performed no longer enjoyed the same prestige they had in the Vedic period". According to Muesse, some of the fundamental concepts of Hinduism, namely karma, reincarnation and "personal enlightenment and transformation", which did not exist in the Vedic religion, developed between 800 BCE and 200 BCE: Some scholars consider the term Brahmanism as synonymous with Hinduism and use it interchangeably. Others consider them different, and that the transition from ancient Brahmanism into schools of Hinduism that emerged later as a form of evolution, one that preserved many of