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Author Drews, Robert, author.

Title Militarism and the Indo-Europeanizing of Europe / Robert Drews
Published Milton : Taylor and Francis, 2017
©2017

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Description 1 online resource (viii, 284 pages)
Contents Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; 1 The origins and spread of Proto-Indo-European; 2 The Kurgan theory and the taming of horses; 3 Warfare in Western Eurasia in the third and early second millennium BC; 4 Chariot warfare, the beginning of militarism and its Indo-European connection; 5 The beginnings of militarism in temperate Europe; 6 The beginning of militarism in Greece; 7 The question of origins; Appendix: The chronological quandary; Bibliography of works cited; Index
Summary "This book argues that the Indo-Europeanizing of Europe essentially began shortly before 1600 BC, when lands rich in natural resources were taken over by military forces from the Eurasian steppe and from southern Caucasia. First were the copper and silver mines (along with good harbors) in Greece, and the copper and gold mines of the Carpathian basin. By ca. 1500 BC other military men had taken over the amber shores of Scandinavia and the metalworking district of the southern Alps. These military takeovers offer the most likely explanations for the origins of the Greek, Keltic, Germanic and Italic subgroups of the Indo-European language family. Battlefield warfare and militarism, Robert Drews contends, were novelties ca. 1600 BC and were a consequence of the military employment of chariots. Current opinion is that militarism and battlefield warfare are as old as formal states, going back before 3000 BC. Another current opinion is that the Indo-Europeanizing of Europe happened long before 1600 BC. The 'Kurgan Theory' of Marija Gimbutas and David Anthony dates it from late in the fifth to early in the third millennium BC and explains it as the result of horse-riding conquerors or raiders coming to Europe from the steppe. Colin Renfrew's Archaeology and Language dates the Indo-Europeanizing of Europe to the seventh and sixth millennia BC, and explains it as a consequence of the spread of agriculture in a 'wave of advance' from Anatolia through Europe. Pairing linguistic with archaeological evidence Drews concludes that in Greece and Italy, at least, no Indo-European language could have arrived before the second millennium BC"--Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Indo-Europeans -- Warfare -- History
Militarism -- Europe -- History -- To 1500
Military art and science -- Europe -- History -- To 1500
Chariots -- Europe -- History -- To 1500
War horses -- Europe -- History -- To 1500
Military archaeology -- Europe
HISTORY -- Ancient -- General.
Antiquities
Chariots
Ethnic relations
Militarism
Military archaeology
Military art and science
War horses
SUBJECT Europe -- History, Military. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85045720
Europe -- Ethnic relations -- History
Europe -- Antiquities. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85045632
Subject Europe
Genre/Form History
Military history
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781351982429
1351982427
9781351982412
1351982419
9781351982405
1351982400