A reminder about the Dorothy Thompson Memorial Lecture tomorrow by Professor Colin Renfrew, Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn on:
The Indo-European Problem and the Origins of Linguistic Diversity
Lecture Abstract: “The Indo-European language family is one of the largest in the world in terms both of speakers and the great expanse of territory in which they live. The explanation for this large distribution takes one back to prehistoric times and poses archaeological problems which remain unresolved. In this lecture, the traditional view that the proto Indo-European language was dispersed through most of Europe by mounted warrior nomads from the steppe lands north of the Black Sea, at the beginning of the Bronze Age, is called into question. The alternative view that proto Indo-European speakers accompanied the spread of farming from Anatolia, the modern Turkey, some 3,000 years earlier is instead proposed. This is a specific case of the farming/language dispersal model which is of wider relevance. Current controversies concerning the origins of linguistic diversity will be reviewed.”
Thursday, March 15, 2007, 3:30 p.m.
Leonard S. Klinck (LSK) Building, Room 201
Lord Renfrew is an internationally renowned archaeologist. Among his many books, perhaps best known are his The Emergence of Civilisation (1972), Before Civilisation: the Radiocarbon Revolution and Prehistoric Europe (1973), Archaeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo- European Origins (1987) , and Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice (with P. Bahn), the textbook for Anth 305.