Written in stone : a journey through the Stone Age and the origins of modern language / Christopher Stevens.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York : Pegasus Books, 2015Copyright date: ©2015Edition: First Pegasus Books hardcover editionDescription: 272 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781605989075 :
- 160598907X :
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 417.7 S844 | Available | 33111008340081 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Half the world's population speaks a language that has evolved from a single, prehistoric mother tongue. A mother tongue first spoken in Stone Age times, on the steppes of central Eurasia 6,500 years ago. It was so effective that it flourished for two thousand years. It was a language that spread from the shores of the Black Sea across almost all of Europe and much of Asia. It is the genetic basis of everything we speak and write today--the DNA of language.Written in Stone combines detective work, mythology, ancient history, archaeology, the roots of society, technology and warfare, and the sheer fascination of words to explore that original mother tongue, sketching the connections woven throughout the immense vocabulary of English--with some surprising results.In snappy, lively and often very funny chapters, it uncovers the most influential and important words used by our Neolithic ancestors, and shows how they are still in constant use today--the building blocks of all our most common words and phrases.
Originally published: London : Virgin Books, 2014.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 258-259).
Introduction -- The Stone Age Words -- Last Words -- Acknowledgments -- An Incomplete Bibliography -- Word List.
Draws on mythology, ancient history, archaeology, the roots of society, technology, and warfare to reveal how the English language is based on original Stone Age language and uncovers the most influential and important words used by humanity's neolithic ancestors.