He thought this corresponded to the ancient Indo-European culture, which earlier anthropologists had misconceived as "Aryan"—a term that only Indo-Iranians are known to have used in ancient times.[67] This included groups classified by language like the Celts, Slavs and the Germans.[68][69] Gobineau later came to use and reserve the term Aryan only for the "German race" and described the Aryans as la race germanique.[70] By doing so, he presented a racist theory in which Aryans—that is Germans—were all that was positive.[71]