Power, Gender, and Mobility. Aspects of Indo-European Society

The volume is situated at the intersection of diverse but complementary approaches to the investigation of prehistoric culture and society: combining perspectives from linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, and history of religion, it seeks to explore the dynamics of power, gender, and mobility – three concepts that are essential for a profound understanding of the historically attested Indo-European– speaking societies and of the prehistoric society reflected by Proto-Indo-European. The book offers a comprehensive analysis of topics ranging from gender roles and female onomastics to power structures and the role of poets as social brokers, from Indo-European legal language and initiation rites to matrimonial practices and age-based social hierarchies. It provides fresh interpretations and new approaches to known material as well as novel explorations and unprecedented analyses of new data.