In Search of the Indo-Europeans

In Search of the Indo-Europeans is a cutting edge, academic thesis about the origins and homelands of the ever elusive Indo-Europeans - a collective of peoples who swarmed out of the Euro-Asian steppes sometime between the third and fourth millennial BC and ultimately took over most of the European continent and left us with all the modern-day languages now spoken in Europe and America. This is a well-researched book using philology, linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, and cultural studies to draw conclusions on several fronts, namely the homeland of the Indo-Europeans and their pathway into the many parts of Europe. Who are the Indo-Europeans and where did they come from? Most people of European descent carry their genes and speak a form of their ancient language. Understanding this classification of people, languages, and cultures is pivotal for understanding the early history of the peopling of Europe and how the people of Europe became who they are today. The book is heavily laden with academic research but is relatively easy to read. It presents an enormous amount of research while posing questions in search of answers. Some questions are reasonably answered, others are still pending a definitive answer. This book is a classic in the making. It is not untimely as still many of the questions posed by Mallory are left unanswered. It is a good starting point for understanding a very complex and elusive subject.The Indo-Europeans represented a pre-Bronze Age, warrior culture of intruding pastoralists who buried their dead under tumuli and assimilated with or dominated the earlier European agricultural peoples from the earlier Neolithic Period. They domesticated the horse and invented the wagon, which facilitated their mobile lifestyle and herding economy. The exact location of their original homeland has not been settled, but it is presumed to be on the steppes of Russia somewhere between the Pontic and Caspian Sea. These people moved westward out of the Euro-Asian steppes and spread across Europe until their languages and culture became dominant. They are the forefathers of the Greeks, Celts, Germans, Romans, Slavs, to name only a few. Most of the languages of Europe stem from the proto-Indo-Europeans. Despite this, the Indo-Europeans are still a rather elusive people. This book brings some of the latest research to the fore to help us understand and locate their place in history.

This is the third time that I read this book since I bought it last year. Every time I read it I discover something new. Its an amazing book for anyone interested in the Indo-Europeans.The book is written from the point of view of an archeologist who has knowledge of historical linguistic methods. For dating the author uses dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating. He tells the story of how the Indo-Europeans where discovered, and then takes you on a journey to find out who are they in Asia, and who are they in Europe. The book also discusses an overview of Proto-Indo-European culture and an overview of Indo-European religion. Then the author gives you the theories of the Indo-European homeland and the problems associated with each theory and gives HIS most like homeland based on his thoughts and discussions.What makes this book different is that it is easy to read and the author assumes that you know nothing about the subject and explains things very well. He doesn't only depend on the linguistics but also on the archeology and what is known of the history of Proto-Indo-European culture.Another book that must be read to know about the Indo-Europeans!

J.P. Mallory is an Irish-American archaeologist and expert on Indo-European studies. He approaches his subject like a detective, examining the clues to the origins of the Indo-Europeans with precision and dedication. Yet his writing style is straightforward and easy to read. I enjoy reading classic British murder mysteries, and I found this book not unlike the best of those. Dr. Mallory presents the facts in the case and all the arguments, disects the red herrings and brings the case to its inevitable conclusion.If you think this makes the book sound trivial and lacking in scholarship, you'd be wrong. Judging from the number of citations this book has received in other scholarly works, Dr. Mallory is very well respected in his field. For me, the interest in reading this book lay in understanding the history and prehistory of Europe and Asia in preparation for writing on a matter that had its origins in the Eurasian Steppe. I came away from reading /In Search of the Indo-Europeans/ feeling that of all the books I have read on the subject, this one finally afforded me a grasp on the situation.

Mallory has perhaps written the only book on IE dispersal and archaeology that withstood the test of time. Reason being is the very premise of the book was to act as a type of overview and review of all the theories, and archaeo-linguistic aspects concerning the fabled Proto-Indo-Europeans. Mallory wisely never over-commits to any one theory, rather he simply weighs everything out and ever so slightly leans to the Pontic Caspian Steppe theory but not in full commitment. Clever boy. The result, the book still remains amazingly relevant to this very day and serves as probably the best introductory overview text to a problem that has riddled archaeology and linguistics till this very day.One point deducted for not having up-to-date info concerning the debate, namely all that has emerged concerning aDNA. Granted, its not entirely fair to penalize the text due to this but it is in fact worth to note that there has been break throughs made in this area. You will have to go to the aDNA papers and compare to what Mallory discusses in this book so the text could perhaps benefit from a long over due second edition to address and cover all the latest data.

Lots of interesting information.

A very useful book to understand the indo-european issue. In spite of being ageing, the book provides abundant information, adopting an analytical and critical perspective of the many theories on the subject in a clear and elegant language.

great book

I gave it this rating because it is the definitive and seminal work on Indo-European:- history, languages, races, migrations ,Archaeology, homelands and Anthropology.Sadly the book is now somewhat dated, although still extremely valid. It is complementary to the book "Ancestral Journeys-The Peopling of Europe", which is much later and up to date although skimps on linguistics. The two should be read together by all those interested in Anthropology, Ethnicity and Humanities!

The book is very extensive about Indo-European cultures. I used it for studying the Hittite language and culture.