The Misconception of Barbarians
Civilized societies throughout history have labeled outsiders as “barbarians,” typically referring to steppe peoples and pastoralists.
City-States and Open Cooperative Competition
City-states in ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, and other fragmented political landscapes.
Death by Bureaucracy in Civilizations
Large empires and centralized states that develop extensive bureaucratic systems.
Elite Overproduction and Empire Collapse
Elite classes within empires who have too many children competing for limited positions of power.
The Recurring Pattern of Steppe Conquest
Steppe peoples (pastoralists/nomads) repeatedly conquering agricultural civilizations throughout history.
Trade, Pillaging, and Mercenaries: Civilization-Steppe Contact
Pastoral steppe peoples and agricultural civilizations existing in constant contact along geographic boundaries.
Geography as Cultural Determinant
All human societies, but particularly the contrast between agricultural civilizations and steppe pastoralists.
Three Steppe Cultural Innovations
Nomadic pastoralist peoples of the Eurasian steppes who herded cattle, sheep, and horses.
Identifying Proto-Indo-Europeans Through Language
The Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE), ancestral speakers of languages spanning from Europe to India, now identified as the Yamnaya culture.
Old Europe and the Goddess Culture
Pre-Indo-European agricultural peoples of Europe (6000-3000 BCE), studied extensively by archaeologist Marija Gimbutas.
The Yamnaya Conquest of Europe
The Yamnaya people from the Pontic-Caspian steppes who conquered Europe around 3000-2000 BCE.
The Twin Myth: Proto-Indo-European Cosmology
The Proto-Indo-Europeans (Yamnaya peoples) and their descendants across Europe and Asia.