About the Book: The startling discoveries in the Ancient East and the great progress made in the study of the prehistoric civilizations of Europe, and especially of Greece, necessitated a fresh survey of the fascinating question as to the origin and diffusion of those languages to which we, in common with the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Hindus are heirs. Most of the languages of Europe, America and India today belong to one linguistic family generally called the Indo-European. To whatever physical race or races they belonged, they must have possessed a certain spiritual unity. To their linguistic heirs they bequeathed, if not skull type or bodily characteristics, at least something of this more subtle and precious spiritual identity. The first great world religions which addressed their appeal to all men, irrespective of race or nationality were Buddhism and Zoroastrianism, were the works of Aryans, propagated in Aryan speech. Philologists to-day recognize eleven groups of languages descended from the Aryan root. This book discusses in depth the first appearance of the Aryans on the stage of history, Aryanization of the Mediterranean, primitive Aryan culture, Asiatic cradle of the Aryans, Aryans in Central Europe, North European cradle of the Aryans, and Aryans in South Russia. About the Author V. Gordon Childe (1892-1957) was an Australian archaeologist who specialized in the study of European pre-history. From 1927 to 1946 he worked as the Abercromby Professor of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, and then from 1947 to 1957 as the Director of the Institute of Archaeology, London. He wrote 26 books during his illustrious career.