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Archaeology tells us where ancient people lived, what food they ate, what tools they used. But it doesn't tell us much about their religion, family structure, or knowledge of the world. Language tells
us more than material artifacts.
Watkin's book is mostly a dictionary. Read the introduction (not the dictionary) to learn how people 8,000 years ago viewed the world. The Indo-European family of languages includes English, Dutch, Danish, French, German, Latin, Greek and Sanskrit. Their ancestors spoke a common language. By reconstructing a common ancestral language, we learn more than the remaining historical record.
From words common in all existing languages, we know the proto-Indo-Europeans (as they are called) formed a patriarchal society, kept livestock, drank honey, celebrated the coming of spring, and
worshipped the sky god. From words that are _not_ common, we know that they lived inland (because there is no common word for ”sea” or ”ocean”).
Watkin's introduction is a superb summary of the findings of historical linguistics (the study of language change over time). |
