A comprehensive survey of the
evidence from biological anthropology for Indo-European origins, based on the author’s
Ph.D. thesis prepared under Professor James Mallory. The author first considers the various
ways that languages can spread and the possible biological implications of these expansions.
He then embarks on an exhaustive survey of over 2,600 books and articles relating to the
physical anthropology of the earliest identified speakers of Indo-European languages, based
on ancient texts, artworks and lexicons. Covering Europe and Asia from the Neolithic
onwards, His study surveys dermatoglyphics, mummified corpses, skeletal
remains and genetic material for evidence of ancient population movements. An attempt
is then made to integrate findings from biological anthropology with data from
linguistics, archaeology and social anthropology to test the validity of migration theories in
relation to the dispersal of the Indo-European languages and the possible location of a
hypothecated proto-Indo-European language. The bibliography lists over 2,600
books and articles.
Preface, Introduction, Language Change, Lexical Evidence, Phonological
Evidence, Textual Evidence, Artistic Evidence, Dermatoglyphic Evidence,
Cranioskeletal Evidence, Genetic Evidence, Conclusions