Proto-Indo-European: The Root of Nearly All European Cultures & Languages

Proto-Indo-European: The Root of Nearly All European Cultures & Languages

Before 5000 BC, ancient European peoples covered much of the continent, speaking a variety of primitive languages. It is unknown the extent to which these pre-Proto-Indo-European languages were related or unrelated. Around 5000 BC, the theoretical language of Proto-Indo-European (P.I.E.) originated in the Ural Mountain region. P.I.E. language and culture proceeded to spread throughout Europe, becoming the basis for nearly all ancient European languages, such as Proto-Baltic-Slav, Finnic, Germanic, Celt, Italic, Greek, Illyrian and Thracian. Therefore, P.I.E. is also the root for the vast majority of modern European languages.

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Evidence shows that the spread of P.I.E. was more of a process of cultural diffusion, or convection, rather than military conquest or population displacement. The original speakers of P.I.E., based in the Ural Mountains did not spread their language and culture by achieving conquest after conquest, all the way to the western extremities of Europe (modern Spain, Portugal, France). Instead, their language and culture caught on with neighboring peoples to the west, and spread in this manner throughout nearly all of Europe.

How did P.I.E. culture spread so effectively? Evidence supports the hypothesis that P.I.E. peoples in modern Russia innovated the domestication of the horse. This provides a possible answer to the question regarding the dissemination of P.I.E. language and culture. The domestication of the horse would allow P.I.E. peoples to expand their trade routes, increasing their range of influence. This innovation may also be indicative of a more advanced culture and sophisticated language, which may have gradually won favor from tribe to tribe throughout Europe, from east to west.

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