ESP Biography

Proto-Indo-Europeans lived in the late Neolithic period and left very little archaeological evidence. But we do know very specific things about them—their patrilineal society, their focus on animal husbandry, their lack of understanding of silver smelting. How? Their words. No one speaks their language today, but we do have reconstructions of their words based on languages that descended from Proto-Indo-European—languages as diverse as Bengali, Armenian, and English. Archaeology’s not just digging in the dirt. Come explore how old words can be put together to make discoveries, and how regular sound changes can tell us what words people were using thousands of years ago. We will reconstruct ancient words and show how they can be adapted to fit other languages. You'll learn how different languages have different sets of sounds, and how we can use these sounds to plumb the depths of the past. We'll talk about the history of individual words and languages, as well as general patterns of change.

Proto-Indo-Europeans lived in the late Neolithic period and left very little archaeological evidence. But we do know very specific things about them—their patrilineal society, their focus on animal husbandry, their lack of understanding of silver smelting. How? Their words. No one speaks their language today, but we do have reconstructions of their words based on languages that descended from Proto-Indo-European—languages as diverse as Bengali, Armenian, and English. Archaeology’s not just digging in the dirt. Come explore how old words can be put together to make discoveries, and how regular sound changes can tell us what words people were using thousands of years ago. We will reconstruct ancient words and show how they can be adapted to fit other languages. You'll learn how different languages have different sets of sounds, and how we can use these sounds to plumb the depths of the past. We'll talk about the history of individual words and languages, as well as general patterns of change.

Proto-Indo-Europeans lived in the late Neolithic period and left very little archaeological evidence. But we do know very specific things about them—their patrilineal society, their focus on animal husbandry, their lack of understanding of silver smelting. How? Their words. No one speaks their language today, but we do have reconstructions of their words based on languages that descended from Proto-Indo-European—languages as diverse as Bengali, Armenian, and English. Archaeology’s not just digging in the dirt. Come explore how old words can be put together to make discoveries, and how regular sound changes can tell us what words people were using thousands of years ago. We will reconstruct words and show how they can be adapted to fit other languages.

Proto-Indo-Europeans lived in the late Neolithic period and left very little archaeological evidence. But we do know very specific things about them—their patrilineal society, their focus on animal husbandry, their lack of understanding of silver smelting. How? Their words. No one speaks their language today, but we do have reconstructions of their words based on languages that descended from Proto-Indo-European—languages as diverse as Bengali, Armenian, and English. Archaeology’s not just digging in the dirt. Come explore how old words can be put together to make discoveries, and how regular sound changes can tell us what words people were using thousands of years ago. We will reconstruct words and show how they can be adapted to fit other languages.

Proto-Indo-Europeans lived in the late Neolithic period and left very little archaeological evidence. But we do know very specific things about them—their patrilineal society, their focus on animal husbandry, their lack of understanding of silver smelting. How? Their words. No one speaks their language today, but we do have reconstructions of their words based on languages that descended from Proto-Indo-European—languages as diverse as Bengali, Armenian, and English. Archaeology’s not just digging in the dirt. Come explore how old words can be put together to make discoveries, and how regular sound changes can tell us what words people were using thousands of years ago. We will reconstruct words and show how they can be adapted to fit other languages.