Proto-indo-european Society Article Index for
Proto-indo-european 		Website Links For
Society 		 

Information About

Proto-indo-european Society
  CATEGORIES ABOUT PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN SOCIETY
   
indo-european
   
bronze age
   
SHOPPER'S DELIGHT
 
Shop For:  
Department
Price Minimum:
Price Maximum:
      



The Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE) were a Patrilineal society of the Bronze Age (roughly 5th to 4th millennium BC), probably semi- Nomadic , relying on Animal Husbandry .


SOCIETAL STRUCTURE


The native name with which these people referred to themselves as a linguistic community, or as an Ethnic unity of related tribes cannot be reconstructed with certainty.

There is evidence for sacral kingship, suggesting the tribal Chief at the same time assumed the role of high priest. Many Indo-European societies still show signs of an earlier threefold division of a Clerical class, a Warrior class and a class of Farmer s or husbandmen. Such a division was suggested for the Proto-Indo-European society by Georges Dumézil .

If there was a separate class of Warrior s, it probably consisted of single young men. They would have followed a separate warrior code unacceptable in the society outside their peer-group. Traces of initiation rites in several Indo-European societies suggest that this group identified itself with wolves or dogs (''c. f.'' Berserker , Werewolf , Wild Hunt ).

  • weis; English ''-wick'' "village"), probably each with its chief ('''---rēs'''). These settlements or villages were further divided in households ('''---domos'''), each headed by a patriarch ('''---dems-potis'''; Greek ''despotes'', Sanskrit ''dampati'').



TECHNOLOGY


  • éyos) from Germanic, Italic and Indo-Iranian, while no word for Iron can be dated to the proto-language. Gold and Silver were known.


  • sis was a bladed weapon, originally a Dagger of Bronze or in earliest times of bone. An ''---ik'mos'' was a Spear or similar pointed weapon. Words for Axe are '''---ési''' (Germanic, Greek, Italic) and '''---péleus''' (Greek, Indo-Iranian); these could have been either of stone or of bronze.


  • élos or '''---róte''') was known, certainly for ox-drawn carts. Horse-drawn Chariot s developed after the breakup of the proto-language, originating with the Proto-Indo-Iranian s around 2000 BC .


Judging by the vocabulary, techniques of Weaving , plaiting, tying Knot s etc. were important and well-developed and used for textile production as well as for baskets, fences, walls etc. Weaving and binding also had a strong magical connotation, and Magic is often expressed by such metaphors. The bodies of the deceased seem to have been literally tied to their graves to prevent their return.


SUBSISTENCE


Proto-Indo-European society depended on Animal Husbandry .
  • ōus) were the most important animals to them, and a man's wealth would be measured by the number of cows he owned. Sheep ('''---ówis''') and Goats ('''---áidos''') were also kept, presumably by the less wealthy. Agriculture and catching fish ('''---písos''') were also practiced.


The Domestication Of The Horse (see Tarpan ) may have been an innovation of this people and is sometimes invoked as a factor contributing to their rapid expansion.


RITUAL AND SACRIFICE


''See also Proto-Indo-European Religion .''

They practiced a polytheistic religion centered on sacrificial rites, probably administered by a class of Priest s or Shaman s.

  • tós) and dedicated to the gods ('''---déiwos''') in the hope of winning their favour. The king as the high priest would have been the central figure in establishing favourable relations with the other world.


The Kurgan hypothesis suggests burials in Barrow s or tomb chambers. Important leaders would have been buried with their belongings, and possibly also with members of their household or wives ( Human Sacrifice , Sati ).


NAMES


The use of two-word Compound Word s for personal Name s, typically but not always ascribing some noble or heroic feat to their bearer, is so common in Indo-European languages that it seems certainly inherited. These names are often of the class of compound words that in Sanskrit are called '' Bahuvrihi '' compounds.

They are found in the '': "gift of God").

Patronymic s such as ''Gustafson'' ("son of Gustav"), ''McCool'', or ''Mazurkiewicz'' are also frequently encountered in Indo-European languages.


POETRY


Only small fragments of Proto-Indo-European poetry may be recovered. What survives of their poetry are stock phrases of two or three words, like ''undying fame'' and ''immortal gods'', that are found in diverse ancient sources. These seem to have been standard building blocks for song lyrics.

  • mis by a heroic man or god).


  • léuos), such songs would also temper the warriors' behavior, since each needed to consider whether his ''undying fame'' would be honorable or shameful. See also '' Bard '', '' Fili '', '' Skald '', '' Rhapsode ''.



PHILOSOPHY


Some words conected with PIE world-view:

  • ---osti- concerned mutual obligations between people and between worshipers and gods, and from which ''guest'' and ''host'' are derived.

  • tu-    , '''-to-''', "fitting, right, ordered", also "right time, ritually correct", related to the order of the world ( Vedic ''rta-'', ''rtu-'')