The Horse, the Wheel, and Language, David W. Anthony
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language, David W. Anthony
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The Horse, the Wheel, and Language
How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World

Author: David W. Anthony

Narrator: Tom Perkins

Unabridged: 18 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/11/2018

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

Roughly half the world's population speaks languages derived from a shared linguistic source known as Proto-Indo-European. But who were the early speakers of this ancient mother tongue, and how did they manage to spread it around the globe? Until now their identity has remained a tantalizing mystery to linguists, archaeologists, and even Nazis seeking the roots of the Aryan race. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language lifts the veil that has long shrouded these original Indo-European speakers, and reveals how their domestication of horses and use of the wheel spread language and transformed civilization.

Linking prehistoric archaeological remains with the development of language, David W. Anthony identifies the prehistoric peoples of central Eurasia's steppe grasslands as the original speakers of Proto-Indo-European, and shows how their innovative use of the ox wagon, horseback riding, and the warrior's chariot turned the Eurasian steppes into a thriving transcontinental corridor of communication, commerce, and cultural exchange. He explains how they spread their traditions and gave rise to important advances in copper mining, warfare, and patron-client political institutions, thereby ushering in an era of vibrant social change. Anthony also describes his fascinating discovery of how the wear from bits on ancient horse teeth reveals the origins of horseback riding.

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language solves a puzzle that has vexed scholars for two centuries—the source of the Indo-European languages and English—and recovers a magnificent and influential civilization from the past.

About David W. Anthony

David W. Anthony is professor of anthropology at Hartwick College. He is the editor of The Lost World of Old Europe. He has conducted extensive archaeological fieldwork in Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan.


Reviews

Goodreads review by James on January 05, 2024

One thing I did in grad school was to become a Proto-Indo-European otaku, a long, lonely voyage into the dark and uncharted seas of PIE myth via a marriage of philological and structural takes on myth. I did this because I was amused by facts such as the following: (a) the English word "sweat" and i......more

Goodreads review by Terence on August 16, 2008

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Admittedly it does get bogged down describing archeological sites but you can skim through those sections without missing anything. Anthony combines linguistics and archeology to localize the origins of the Indo-European language family and plot its spread acro......more

Goodreads review by Adam on January 31, 2023

If books are time machines then I believe this is the furthest back I have ever cast my mind for any length of time. Covers the neolithic Eurasia through to the bronze age, arguing that Proto-Indo-European was such a successful language not simply because of warfare but because it was capable of 'fr......more

Goodreads review by Laurie on January 16, 2016

David W. Anthony's The Horse, The Wheel and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World (HWL), is a worthy addition to Indo-European scholarship. Using a synthesis of linguistics and many recent additions to the archaeological record from Russia and other Centra......more

Goodreads review by Dave on April 03, 2023

Ever since a British linguist in colonial India discovered connections between Sanskrit and European languages, explanations have been put forth for these connections by the inquiring minds of the world. Some of these explanations were built around the existence of a prehistoric super-race who domin......more