The Horse, the Wheel, and Language
How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World
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The Horse, the Wheel, and Language
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Narrated by:
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Tom Perkins
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Written by:
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David W. Anthony
About this listen
Roughly half the world's population speaks languages derived from a shared linguistic source known as Proto-Indo-European. But who were the early speakers of this ancient mother tongue, and how did they manage to spread it around the globe?
Until now, their identity has remained a tantalizing mystery to linguists, archaeologists, and even Nazis seeking the roots of the Aryan race. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language lifts the veil that has long shrouded these original Indo-European speakers and reveals how their domestication of horses and use of the wheel spread language and transformed civilization.
Linking prehistoric archaeological remains with the development of language, David W. Anthony identifies the prehistoric peoples of Central Eurasia's steppe grasslands as the original speakers of Proto-Indo-European and shows how their innovative use of the ox wagon, horseback riding, and the warrior's chariot turned the Eurasian steppes into a thriving transcontinental corridor of communication, commerce, and cultural exchange.
He explains how they spread their traditions and gave rise to important advances in copper mining, warfare, and patron-client political institutions, thereby ushering in an era of vibrant social change. Anthony also describes his fascinating discovery of how the wear from bits on ancient horse teeth reveals the origins of horseback riding.
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language solves a puzzle that has vexed scholars for two centuries - the source of the Indo-European languages and English - and recovers a magnificent and influential civilization from the past.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2007 Princeton University Press (P)2018 TantorWhat listeners say about The Horse, the Wheel, and Language
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Gilbert Primeau
- 2019-03-04
Good book, slow, monotonous narration
Just didn’t care for the narrator’s style or pacing, too slow and monotone, especially for some of the drier sections of the text. I’m sure he’s a very nice person, and he does a good job pronouncing a challenging range of non-English words, but it just sounded a little robotic to me.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-09-27
Really solid material
The ability of the author to draw together fields without getting lost is refreshing. It also is engaging at the same time which only makes it a stronger contribution to our collective understanding of our past.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Sandeep Mehta
- 2023-10-01
Very technical - heavily focused on archaeology
Don't expect a narrative based progression. This book is more like a review of the archaeological record - focused on steppe peoples. Which means it can feel overly technical. There are great moments of enlightenment...but you're going to have to tolerate a lot of jargon, site-codes, and geographic references to get them. Contrary to another review, I thought the narrator was very clear and easy to follow. It's just that the material isn't suited to the story-telling most casual listeners are seeking.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dan
- 2023-11-01
The Hard, The Dry, and Long
But well worth the investment of time and energy,. Highly recommended! It is over 18 hours long, but I spent more than twice that amount of time listening to it. I didn't absorb everything, but I just had to get some things firmly in my mind. I am exhausted after my marathon, but thrilled to have been privileged to have this experience. For most of my life the areas of the old USSR seemed devoid of any real history. Then I discovered Kenneth Hart's "Barbarian Empires of the Steppe", this book, and recent details of the BMAC to slap me into reality. While feeling my knowledge has been massively enhanced , I am humbled by how much more there is that I will never know. I do not have the best of hearing, and prefer voices with higher frequencies, but Tom Perkins proved to be more than adequate for my needs.
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