First published 2025
Five thousand years ago, a single language began an extraordinary expansion across continents. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks descendants of this proto tongue, from English to Icelandic to Persian. Journalist Laura Spinney investigates how this linguistic explosion reshaped human civilization. She travels ancient migration routes across the steppes, through the Caucasus, along the Silk Roads, and over the Hindu Kush. Spinney follows the paths of nomads, warriors, monks, and rulers who carried these related languages across vast distances. She meets modern linguists, archaeologists, and geneticists who piece together clues from this vanished world. Their discoveries reveal how languages spread, evolve, and connect distant peoples. The book shows how understanding this ancient linguistic journey illuminates current patterns of human migration and cultural exchange.
Genres: history, archaeology, anthropology, non-fiction, journalism, linguistics
Vibes: educational, engaging, exploratory, scholarly, thought-provoking
Tropes: cross-disciplinary-research, expert-consultation, historical-investigation
Setting: Caucasus, Hindu Kush, Silk Roads, Steppes
Period: 5000 years ago, Ancient history
352 pages · Paperback · HarperCollins GB