Proto-Afroasiatic language

Proto-Afroasiatic (PAA), also known as Proto-Hamito-Semitic, Proto-Semito-Hamitic, and Proto-Afrasian, is the hypothetical proto-language from which all modern Afroasiatic languages are descended. Though estimates vary widely, it is believed by scholars to have been spoken as a single language around 12,000 to 18,000 years ago (12 to 18 kya), that is, between 16,000 and 10,000 BC. Although no consensus exists as to the location of the Afroasiatic homeland, the putative homeland of Proto-Afroasiatic speakers, the majority of scholars agree that it was located within West Asia or Northeast Africa.

Source: Wikipedia — Proto-Afroasiatic language (CC BY-SA 4.0)