The Iranian etymology of the name led to the theory that the Antes were Alans ruling over Slavs. The label "Antian antiquities" was attached to a number of hoards of silver and bronze found in Ukraine, but many such assemblages were dated only after ca. 600. More recently, the so-called Pen'kivka archaeological culture covering the forest-steppe belt between the Eastern Carpathians and the Upper Don River in Left Bank Ukraine has been attributed to the Antes. However, while the Antes are mainly attested in written sources in the 500s, most Pen'kivka assemblages are dated significantly earlier (fifth century) or later (late sixth and first half of the seventh century).

Source: International Encyclopaedia for the Middle Ages-Online. A Supplement to LexMA-Online. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2005

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Florin Curta, 'Antes, people’, in International Encyclopaedia for the Middle Ages-Online. A Supplement to LexMA-Online. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2005, in Brepolis Medieval Encyclopaedias <http://www.brepolis.net/bme> [ 7 December 2006]