The origin of the Germanic peoples was in the fog shrouded forests on the North and Baltic Sea shores of Europe. The Germanic peoples are descended from explorers, who settled in extreme Northern Europe, and spoke a language that was a fusion of an Indo-European tongue, and the language of the Northern Megalithic culture. These two cultures, the Indo-European, and Northern Megalithic met and fused in Northern Europe sometime around 1600 BC.
The Germanic tribes lived mostly by hunting, gathering wild herbs, cultivating crops, and raising cattle. They lived in small scattered villages and large farmsteads. Their religion glorified war, and their paradise – Valahalla was depicted as a place of endless feasts and contests. The family and clan were the cornerstone of their society, and the head of the house ruled over not only his own family, but also many servants and slaves.
Germanic tribal migrations started in the mid 4th century. We can see that these migrations were a large contributory factor leading to the break-up of the Roman Empire. These groups all developed separate dialects, the basis for the differences among Germanic languages down to the present day.
The ancient Germanic people made a considerable impact on the development of ancient Europe, particularly through their interactions with the Roman Empire. Today, the descendants of the ancient Germanics or Teutons are mainly to be found in Germany, Austria, and German speaking Switzerland, as well as in England, the Netherlands, Flemish and German speaking Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland.