The Horse, the Wheel, and Language

""David W. Anthony argues that we speak English not just because our parents taught it to us but because wild horses used to roam the steppes of central Eurasia, because steppedwellers invented the spoked wheel and because poetry once had real power. . . . Anthony is not the first scholar to make the case that Proto-Indo-European came from this region, but given the immense array of evidence he presents, he may be the last one who has to.""---Christine Kenneally, New York Times Book Review ""David Anthony's book is a masterpiece. A professor of anthropology, Anthony brings together archaeology, linguistics, and rare knowledge of Russian scholarship and the history of climate change to recast our understanding of the formation of early human society.""---Martin Walker, Wilson Quarterly ""A key book.""---David Keys, The Independent ""Authoritative.""---John Noble Wilford, New York Times ""A fascinating look into the origins of modern man."" * Publishers Weekly * ""In the age of Borat it may come as a surprise to learn that the grasslands between Ukraine and Kazakhstan were once regarded as an early crucible of civilisation. This idea is revisited in a major new study by David Anthony."" * Times Higher Education * ""A remarkable work that should appeal to everyone with an interest not just in Indo-Europeans, but in the history of humanity in general."" * Choice * ""As fascinating as any mystery novel.""---Arthur Krim, Geographical Review ""In its integration of language and archaeology, this book represents an outstanding synthesis of what today can be known with some certainty about the origin and early history of the Indo-European languages. In my view, it supersedes all previous attempts on the subject.""---Kristian Kristiansen, Antiquity