author : J. P. Mallory

With the skill of a forensic scientist, Dr Mallory traces the immediate origins of each of the Indo-European peoples of Europe and Asia. By comparing their languages he demonstrates their common cultural heritage, and through the technique of comparative mythology he examines their earliest beliefs. Then he puts the case for their most likely homeland and presents the archaeological and linguistic evidence for their expansion across Europe and Asia, a process that has in recent times carried Indo-European speakers to every corner of the world.

Accompanied by extensive quotations from translated texts and fully illustrated with maps, diagrams and photographs, In Search of the Indo-Europeans is recognized as the standard work in its field.

In Search of the Irish Dreamtime explores the oldest Irish mythological tradition—Ireland’s “Dreamtime”—from the perspective of archaeology. Was this narrative built from largely native accounts of Ireland’s prehistoric past, transmitted orally over many generations, or was it primarily the product of an educated medieval class who blended the cultural landscape of their own times with descriptions from the Bible and Latin literature to create an imagined ancient Irish world? Delving into the linguistic evidence of the early tales and native histories, which relate the natural environment, built environment (focusing particularly on forts and provincial capitals) and economy of ancient Ireland, Mallory expertly tests the medieval writings against the archaeology on the ground. He compares the literary depictions of ancient material culture—clothing, weaponry, modes of transport—and traditions of burial with the archaeological record of the Bronze Age through to the Middle Ages, reaching a provocative new understanding of the early history of Ireland.