Gimbutas, and much of established opinion after her, argue that the first farmers were non-Indo-European speakers because they were matriarchal mother worshippers, and because Indo-European comparative mythology paints a portrait of a male dominated (patriarchal) society for the society of people who spoke Proto-Indo-European (PIE). I do have a different opinion on just who these people were though. On the whole I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is essentially a technical academic summary of archaeological finds, overglossed with Gimbutas' interpretations about the mother-worshipping nature of the society involved, and its eventual demise at the hand of horse-riding nomadic Indo-European (IE) invaders who originated from the steppe. If you are, then it should be a must read. I enjoyed this book, but if you are not even mildly interested in the first farming societies that moved into Europe via Greece from about 6500 BC, along with their package of Neolithic technologies, then this is not for you.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |