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Proto : how one ancient language went global
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Proto : how one ancient language went global

by Laura Spinney

This book explores the origins and spread of the Proto-Indo-European language, tracing how a single ancient tongue evolved into languages spoken by nearly half of humanity today through linguistic, archaeological, and genetic research.

Accession 28524 ISBN 9780008626525 Publisher William Collins (publisher)
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TAGS
Curated Derived
Communication Culture History Language Linguistics Social Sciences Words
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on_shelf
True
position_updated_at
2026-06-04 14:47
orientation
vertical
Details

Physical

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Hard Back
dimensions
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spine_text
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Metadata

Book form
LOCATION HISTORY
M:S3:22 5 Current vertical
6 days, 1 hour ago
M:S3:24 5 vertical
3 weeks, 5 days ago
Book Location
Updated 6 days, 1 hour ago
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Frozen copy of Vernon's record from the last sync. Fields tagged → flow back into the Pulse record.

Last synced 2026-05-21 01:57 (2 weeks, 6 days ago)

Identity

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Proto : how one ancient language went global
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28524
vernon_slug
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brief_description
One ancient language transformed our world. Five millennia ago, in a mysterious Big Bang of its own, this proto tongue exploded, forming new worlds as it spread east and west. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language. How did this happen? In Proto, acclaimed journalist Laura Spinney sets off to find out. With her we travel the length of the steppe, navigating the Caucasus, the Silk Roads and the Hindu Kush. We follow in the footsteps of nomads and monks, Amazon warriors and lion kings – the ancient peoples who spread these tongues far and wide. In the present, Spinney meets the linguists, archaeologists and geneticists racing to recover this lost world. What they have discovered has vital lessons for our modern age, as people and their languages are on the move again.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Laura Spinney
tags→ tags
Social sciences, Civilisation, Sociology, Communication, Culture, Indo-European languages, Language and culture, Language and languages -- Origin
subject_people
—
subject_objects
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Cover image

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51527

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