The Basques (/ bɑːsks / BAHSKS or / bæsks / BASKS; Basque: euskaldunak [eus̺kaldunak]; Spanish: vascos [ˈbaskos]; French: basques [bask]) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians.

Recent research indicates Basques descended from Neolithic farmers who became genetically isolated from other European populations due to their geographic location, which has landscapes that range from coastline to the rocky hills of the Western Pyrenees.

They are thought to have descended from Neolithic farmers long before the Roman invasion of the Iberian peninsula, and they maintained their distinct language, identity, and culture largely due to their geographic isolation — the area in which they live is largely rough, mountainous terrain.

Modern Basque, a descendant or close relative of Aquitanian and Proto-Basque, is the only pre-Indo-European language that is extant in western Europe. The Basques have therefore long been supposed to be a remnant of a pre-Indo-European population of Europe.

Nearly 700,000 Basques, who speak a globally unique language and retain genetic patterns that distinguish them from other Europeans, seem to be descendants of Neolithic farmers who mixed with local hunters before becoming genetically isolated from the rest of Europe for millennia.