A FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN AND TLS BOOK OF THE SUMMERThe fascinating story of ancient words new revelations await The GuardianA magisterial feat New ScientistOne ancient language transformed our world. This is its story.Star. Stjarna. Stare. Thousands of miles apart, people look up at the night sky and use the same word to describe what they see.Listen to these English, Icelandic and Iranic words and you can hear echoes of one of the most extraordinary journeys in humanitys past. All three of these languages and hundreds more share a single ancient ancestor.Five millennia ago, in a mysterious Big Bang of its own, this proto tongue exploded, forming new worlds as it spread east and west. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an IndoEuropean language. How did this happen?In Proto, acclaimed journalist Laura Spinney sets off to find out. With her we travel the length of the steppe, navigating the Caucasus, the Silk Roads and the Hindu Kush. We follow in the footsteps of nomads and monks, Amazon warriors and lion kings the ancient peoples who spread these tongues far and wide. In the present, Spinney meets the linguists, archaeologists and geneticists racing to recover this lost world. What they have discovered has vital lessons for our modern age, as people and their languages are on the move again.Proto is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words.
Binding: Hardback;336 pages; Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers - UK Wholesale Acct; Classification: CBX; Weight: 676 g; Dimensions: 164 x 243 x 33
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A FINANCIAL TIMES, GUARDIAN AND TLS BOOK OF THE SUMMERThe fascinating story of ancient words new revelations await The GuardianA magisterial feat New ScientistOne ancient language transformed our world. This is its story.Star. Stjarna. Stare. Thousands of miles apart, people look up at the night sky and use the same word to describe what they see.Listen to these English, Icelandic and Iranic words and you can hear echoes of one of the most extraordinary journeys in humanitys past. All three of these languages and hundreds more share a single ancient ancestor.Five millennia ago, in a mysterious Big Bang of its own, this proto tongue exploded, forming new worlds as it spread east and west. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an IndoEuropean language. How did this happen?In Proto, acclaimed journalist Laura Spinney sets off to find out. With her we travel the length of the steppe, navigating the Caucasus, the Silk Roads and the Hindu Kush. We follow in the footsteps of nomads and monks, Amazon warriors and lion kings the ancient peoples who spread these tongues far and wide. In the present, Spinney meets the linguists, archaeologists and geneticists racing to recover this lost world. What they have discovered has vital lessons for our modern age, as people and their languages are on the move again.Proto is a revelatory portrait of world history in its own words.
Binding: Hardback;336 pages; Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers - UK Wholesale Acct; Classification: CBX; Weight: 676 g; Dimensions: 164 x 243 x 33
49p delivery on all orders over £30 (exc. Bulky Item Delivery)
Super Saver Delivery
£0.49
Standard Delivery
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Express Delivery
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24/7 InPost Locker | Shop Collect
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Evri ParcelShop
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Evri ParcelShop | Express Delivery
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Premium DPD Next Day Delivery
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Northern Ireland Super Saver Delivery
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Northern Ireland Standard Delivery
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Northern Ireland Express Delivery
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Please note, some delivery methods are not available for products delivered by our brand partners & they may have longer delivery times
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Please note, we cannot offer refunds on fashion face masks, cosmetics, pierced jewellery, adult toys, and swimwear or lingerie if the hygiene seal is not in place or has been broken.
Items of footwear and/or clothing must be unworn and unwashed with the original labels attached. Also, footwear must be tried on indoors. Items of homeware including bedlinen, mattresses, and toppers, and pillows must be unused and in their original unopened packaging. This does not affect your statutory rights.
Click here to view our full Returns Policy.
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