Proto-Indo-European Society
Aspects of the society in which the Yamnaya lived can be reconstructed using the aforementioned
comparative method. Because of this, we know that their families were centered around a male leader,
possibly comparable to the head of a clan, which in turn was subject to some sort of “priest-king”. These
patriarchs seem to have been at the top of the social and religious hierarchy, conducting rituals to
appease the gods and possibly functioning as judges in disputes between families as well.
I An idol depicting a Yamnaya warrior, the second highest class in Indo-
European society.
Proto-Indo-European Religion
One of the few things which survived the eons in relative abundance is myths and legends, albeit not by
the PIE-people themselves, but by their descendants. Most in the western world are familiar with at
least some of the great stories of Greek, Roman, Norse, or Hindi mythology. But these aren’t the only
sources of the spiritual beliefs of our ancestors; many folktales and customs can be traced back
thousands of years to the Eurasian steppe, one of the more popular ones being “Beauty & the Beast”.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, that the Proto-Indo-Europeans worshiped not one, but multiple gods
and thus had a pantheon comparable to those of succeeding cultures, such as the aforementioned ones.
By comparing them we can paint a pretty clear picture of these prehistoric deities, with *dywes pater,
the Sky father, reminiscent of Zeus, Iupiter and Thor, at its head.
The Indo-European Migrations
So how is it that we find descendants of this proto-language on every continent today, despite the fact
that its speakers have long since disappeared?
There are two parts to the answer to this question: