...a native son of Texas with the world as my horizon, I am a retired wildlife ecologist living in Provence to learn French, read history, and meet the Europe I've neglected for too long. More Info
by - November 3, 2012
So far, I’ve drawn a rough layman’s sketch of prehistorical southeastern Europe. We have now a basic storyline for the linguistic and perhaps cultural roots. But before moving on, I… Read more…
by - October 22, 2012
All over Europe, Indo-European languages replaced Neolithic tongues. The same is true for parts of Eurasia and the Mediterranean. But how did this occur? And did some kind of cultural… Read more…
by - October 7, 2012
Experts like Dr. David Anthony trace the cultural evolution of the steppes through the archaeological record and via arcane linguistic similarities. We get a sense of when and where various… Read more…
by - September 12, 2012
Our discussion of Europe’s prehistoric origins nears its close. The final posts will identify modern language families with steppe origins, and consider some final questions regarding their spread. Then we… Read more…
by - August 27, 2012
So what happened on the Pontic Caspian steppes after 5800 BCE? What catalyzed a culture and language system that changed Europe? By Dr. David Anthony’s narrative, a long-lasting “cultural frontier”… Read more…
by - August 13, 2012
So, why dwell on events in this obscure piece of real estate in southeastern Europe? Well, because most linguists and anthropologists believe that this isolated region above the Black Sea… Read more…
by - July 10, 2012
So it’s now about 5800 BCE, in eastern Romania and northwest of the Black Sea. We’re on the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, the westernmost end of the vast Eurasian Steppe that extends… Read more…
by - June 19, 2012
Chapter II in this narrative sets up events that later unfold across vast plains of grass and shrub above the Black and Caspian Seas. Called the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, and almost… Read more…
by - May 30, 2012
A credible first question here is, “Why care? Why should our origins in Europe be important sixty thousand years or more later?” Why indeed? Well, for one thing, it’s just… Read more…
by - May 15, 2012
I’m a long way from understanding France and Europe, but I made a big leap towards the latter on finding a passage by Dr. Sean Lang in his most entertaining… Read more…
