Distribution of the Yamnaya Culture (Dark Green) and modern (Light Green) distribution of Indo-
European languages. By Joe Roe – This file was derived from: ✦ Georgia (orthographic–projection).svg: ✦
Indo-European branches map.svg:Extent of the Yamnaya culture, after Haak et al. 2015:Haak, Wolfgang
(2015). “Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe”.
Nature 522 (7555): 207–211. DOI:10.1038/nature14317., CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49882238
Daily Life in the Ancient Eurasian Steppe
We’ve got evidence, that the PIE lived a nomadic life, as hunter-gatherers at first, but that with the
introduction of animal husbandry they became steppe herders, similar to some modern populations of
central Asia.
Whilst it isn’t proven that they were the first to tame the horse, they certainly were one of the earliest
people to adopt horse riding as a technique of herding other domesticated animals, which would be a
major factor for their dispersal over Eurasia throughout the next millennia. With the domestication of
the horse, another crucial invention was possible: animal-drawn wagons. The wheel first appeared in
the region inhabited by the PIEs and enabled them to move their possessions as well as the sick and
elderly along with them, thus enabling the migration of entire populations.