The Proto-Indo-Europeans are the proposed speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European Language. What they called themselves is unknown if some sense of unity or belonging together even existed, which is unlikely. The possible homeland of this theoretical population of Neolithic and Bronze Age pastoralists has been the subject of a heated debate spanning over multiple centuries since the discovery of the Indo-European Language Family in the 19th century. The most popular theory today postulates an origin within the western Eurasian steppes, north of the Black and Caspian Seas in what is modern-day Ukraine and southern Russia.
From there these prehistoric nomads spread across the Eurasian continent, helped by domestic horses and the wheel, which in turn led to horse-drawn wagons and chariots, increasing the mobility of the Proto-Indo-Europeans significantly. They intermixed with and assimilated peoples, which they encountered on their migrations, into their own culture, often integrating significant elements of native customs, traditions, believes, and even language into their own and thus forming entirely new ethnolinguistic groups.
Because the Proto-Indo-Europeans themselves didn’t leave us any written records, all we know about them is reconstructed using the comparative linguistic method, and aided by archaeological findings in the proposed homeland. On this page, you will find some of the results of this research, including Proto-Indo-European religion, mythology, language, culture, and society. More articles may be added in the future.
Proto-Indo-European Religion
The myths and legends of the Proto-Indo-Europeans have influenced the world like no other be it through the great Greek Classics, the Icelandic Sagas or the Indian Vedas. But what exactly did they themselves believe in and how did they practice their faith?
Keep readingThe prehistoric Eurasians: The Proto-Indo-Europeans
What did the Proto-Indo-Europeans look like? The facial reconstruction of remains of the Yamnaya culture tries to answer that question.
Keep readingThe Indo-European Migrations
How did the Indo-European languages spread throughout Eurasia? A brief overview of linguistic and genetic evidence.
Keep readingThe Indo-European Language Family
The Indo-European language family tree consists of several major and minor branches, among them Anatolian, Indo-Aryan, Hellenic, Italic. Celtic, Balto-Slavic and others.
Keep readingRemnants of Proto-Indo-European Society in Sparta
Ancient Sparta is known for its exceptionally tough and militaristic society. But where did it come from? The answer may lie within Proto-Indo-European society.
Keep readingHow linguistics helps us reconstruct ancient fire mythology — The Philological Society Blog
Report on the ‘Martin Burr Fund’ grant offered for a monograph on the Norse God Loki written by Riccardo Ginevra (Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University) The historical and comparative approach to Indo-European poetic language and myth has developed greatly in the second half of the 20th century, particularly thanks to the efforts of, among […]…
Keep readingThe Proto-Indo-European Myth Of Creation
All societies have their own, unique story of creation, some of which we may be more familiar with than others. The ancient Greeks believed that in the beginning there was Chaos, the Norse that there was Ginnungagap, ‘the big gap’ of nothingness between the forces of fire and ice. But what if these myths, together with a few others across the Eurasian continent, had a common, Proto-Indo-European origin?
Keep readingProto-Indo-European Society: A short Introduction
Western society is often thought of as profoundly patriarchal, capitalist and power hungry, as has been shown multiple times throughout history. But how deep these traits run within our ancestry has only come to light within the last few decades with the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European society.
Keep readingAncient Mythology: The Proto-Indo-European Pantheon
The Gods of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon encompassed archetypes such as the Sky Father, chieftain of all gods, and his dragon-slaying son, the God of Thunder.
Keep readingThe Indo-European Homeland and Way of Life
The homeland of the Proto-Indo-Europeans has long been a mystery but is thought to have been in the Pontic-Caspian Steppe.
Keep readingWhere To Start? The Indo-European Connection
Most languages spoken today in Europe and large parts of Western and Southern and Northern Asia originated with an elusive people which researches have dubbed the Proto-Indo-Europeans. But how where they discovered and what is it that connects them? This article seems to answer these questions concisely.
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European Origins 