David Anthony tells the story of the origin of Proto-Indo-European language—the “mother tongue” of English, Spanish, Greek, Sanskrit, and Slavic languages spoken by billions of people today. Drawing on his own archaeological field work in the Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan, Anthony argues that horses were domesticated as early as 4800 BC, not for transportation but for food! Once the early settlers of the vast Eurasian grasslands started riding horses and making wagons, however, they helped spread new language, technology, and cultural traditions around the world. Broad in its conclusions but detailed in its focus, Anthony pays tribute to the science of archeology for what it acknowledges about the humanity of those who came before us.
I’m only about a quarter of the way through this book, but I’m finding it incredibly fascinating. It’s no light read, but Anthony makes complicated archaeological and philological concepts accessible to the layperson, in an interesting and informative manner. Thanks for recommending it!