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The Proto-Indo-Europeans are the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language, a prehistoric people of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age.
See also Proto-Indo-European society, Proto-Indo-European religion.
What we know about the Proto-Indo-Europeans with any certainty is the result of comparative linguistics, partly seconded by archaeology. The following traits are widely agreed-upon, but it should understood that they are by their nature as reconstruction hypothetical.
The Proto-Indo-Europeans were a patrilineal society, probably semi-nomadic, relying on animal husbandry (notably cattle and sheep). They had domesticated the horse (ek'wos). The cow (gwous) played a central role, in religion and mythology as well as in daily life. A man's wealth would have been measured by the number of his animals (pek'us).
They practiced a polytheistic religion centered on sacrificial rites, probably administered by a priestly caste. The Kurgan hypothesis suggests burials in barrows or tomb chambers. Important leaders would have been buried with their belongings, and possibly also with members of their household or wives ( human sacrifice, suttee).
There is evidence for sacral kingship, suggesting the tribal king at the same time assumed the role of high priest (cf. Germanic kingThe Germanic king originally had three main functions. The king served as judge during the popular assemblies. He served as a priest during the sacrifices ( Blots) at important cult sites, such as the Temple at Uppsala. Refusal to administer the blots cou). Many Indo-European societies know a threefold division of a clerical class, a warriorA warrior is a person habitually engaged in combat. In tribal societies, warriors often form a caste or class of their own. In feudalism, the vassals essentially form a military or warrior class, even if in actual warfare, peasants may be called to fight class and a class of peasants or husbandmen. Such a division was suggested for the Proto-Indo-European society by Georges DumézilGeorges Dumezil ( March 4, 1898 October 11, 1986) was a French comparative philologist best known for his analysis of sovereignty and power in Indo-European religion and society. He is considered one of the major contributors to mythography. Dumezil's fat.
There was probably a separate class of warriorA warrior is a person habitually engaged in combat. In tribal societies, warriors often form a caste or class of their own. In feudalism, the vassals essentially form a military or warrior class, even if in actual warfare, peasants may be called to fights, consisting of young men that were yet unwed. 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 wolvesThe Wolf or Grey Wolf Canis lupus is a mammal of the Canidae family and the ancestor of the domestic dog. Wolves once had an almost worldwide distribution, but are now limited primarily to North America, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Their preference on h or dogThis article discusses the domestic dog. For other members of the dog family, see Canidae. The dog is a canine omnivorous mammal that has been domesticated for somewhere between 14,000 and 150,000 years. In those millennia, the dog has developed into hunds (see also Berserker (viking), werewolfA werewolf in folklore and mythology is a person who changes into a wolf, either by purposefully using magic in some manner or by being placed under a curse. In fictional treatments starting in the 19th century and in popular modern superstition this tran).
Technologically, reconstruction suggests a culture of the early Bronze Age: Bronze was used to make tools and weapons. Silver and Gold were known. Sheep were kept for wool, and weaving was practiced for textile production. The wheel was known, certainly for ox-drawn carts, but late Proto-Indo European warfare may also have made use of horse-drawn chariots.
The native name of this people can not be reconstructed with certainty. It may have been aryo- (see also Aryan).
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