On the Trail of the Indo-Europeans From Neolithic Steppe Nomads to Early Civilisations - Harald Haarmann Gebunden

For more than 3000 years Indo-European languages have been spoken from India through Persia and into Europe. Where are the origins of this language family? How and when did its different linguistic branches emerge? The renowned historical linguist Harald Haarmann provides a graphic account of what we know today about the origins of Indo-European languages and cultures and how they came to be so widely disseminated. In this impressive study he succeeds in drawing connections between linguistic findings archaeological discoveries and the latest research into human genetics and climate history . In addition to linguistic affinities he shows the economic social and religious concepts that the early speakers of Indo-European languages had in common all the way from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Indus. Particular attention is devoted to the processes of assimilation with pre-Indo-European languages and civilisations. The result is a fascinating panorama of early Indo-European globalisation from the end of the last ice age to the early civilisations in Greece Italy Asia Minor Persia and India.