Author Description

A lifetime's study brings revealing expertise to an oft-misunderstood topic in human history—the origin and language of the Indo-Europeans. Today the number of native speakers of Indo-European languages across the world is approximated to be over 2.6 billion—about 45 percent of the Earth’s population. Yet the idea that an ancient, prehistoric population in one time and place gave rise to a wide variety of peoples and languages is one with a long and troubled past. In this expansive investigation, based on more than forty years of research, archaeologist J. P. Mallory navigates the complex history of our search for the Indo-European homeland, offering fresh insight into the debates surrounding origin, as well as the latest genetic research. In this compelling account, Mallory explores ancient migrations, linguistics, and archaeology, applying cutting-edge genetic research to untangle the key arguments with wit and verve. He addresses how the controversial idea of a single, shared homeland has been viewed by scientists, archaeologists, and linguists across the past century and reconsiders how, in the case of the Nazis and more recent nationalist movements, they have been manipulated for political advantage. The author goes on to analyze the linguistic trail linking current populations to the Indo-Europeans, looking at Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, and more, as he traces linguistic origins across multiple peoples and cultures, bringing the most up-to-date phylogenetic research to bear on this story. Ultimately this important volume offers the most conclusive and nuanced understanding of an oft-misrepresented and misunderstood topic.