The Horse, the Wheel, and Language

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language
By David W. Anthony
Published in 2007
568 Pages
Thibault’s Score: 3/5

Almost all currently spoken European languages descend from a single original root language - Indo-European. This language was spoken by an East Ukrainian steppe people. Around 4000 BC, this people fragmented into various warring tribes, who then conquered adjacent lands to the west in western Ukraine and Russia; and to the east in the Caucasian and Aral mountains. These fragments themselves spread and fragmented. Over thousands of years, the descendants of the Indo-Europeans spread from Spain in the West to India in the east. Most modern languages spoken across this vast expanse of territory are evolutionary descendants of the original Indo-European language.

This book covers the science, archeology, genetics, and linguistics behind the discovery of the Indo-Europeans. It does a great job of exploring the Indo-Europeans themselves, the history and evolution of the scientific theory, and the methods used. However, it can be a little bit niche at times. I would only recommend it to someone who is already interested in the topic; not to a layperson.

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