Laura Spinney

Absolutely. There's been hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of examples. The one I actually opened the book with, because I think it's very striking, is the Sanskrit term Dhyapita, which literally meant sky father, or we would say father sky, English speakers. And it was the highest god in the ancient Indian pantheon. But it was also essentially the name of the highest god in the Roman pantheon.

Because if you think about it, Jupiter, it comes from the same original term meaning sky father, obviously became Jupiter. For the ancient Greeks, their supreme deity was Zeus Pater. Zeus Pater, shortened to Zeus, or we would say Zeus. So all of these languages at very distant points on the Eurasian landmass shared the same name and the same divinity. And that can't be a coincidence.

Because if you think about it, Jupiter, it comes from the same original term meaning sky father, obviously became Jupiter. For the ancient Greeks, their supreme deity was Zeus Pater. Zeus Pater, shortened to Zeus, or we would say Zeus. So all of these languages at very distant points on the Eurasian landmass shared the same name and the same divinity. And that can't be a coincidence.

Because if you think about it, Jupiter, it comes from the same original term meaning sky father, obviously became Jupiter. For the ancient Greeks, their supreme deity was Zeus Pater. Zeus Pater, shortened to Zeus, or we would say Zeus. So all of these languages at very distant points on the Eurasian landmass shared the same name and the same divinity. And that can't be a coincidence.

And that's what I set out to explain in the book.

And that's what I set out to explain in the book.

And that's what I set out to explain in the book.

Absolutely. I mean, if you think about it, history literally refers to the study of the past through written records. But we existed, obviously, before writing, which was invented about 5,000 years ago. So prehistory is actually much longer, obviously much longer than history, because we've been around as a species for 300,000 years. And we also spoke for all of those 300,000 years.

Absolutely. I mean, if you think about it, history literally refers to the study of the past through written records. But we existed, obviously, before writing, which was invented about 5,000 years ago. So prehistory is actually much longer, obviously much longer than history, because we've been around as a species for 300,000 years. And we also spoke for all of those 300,000 years.

Absolutely. I mean, if you think about it, history literally refers to the study of the past through written records. But we existed, obviously, before writing, which was invented about 5,000 years ago. So prehistory is actually much longer, obviously much longer than history, because we've been around as a species for 300,000 years. And we also spoke for all of those 300,000 years.

And so what we spoke about and the languages that we use have shaped us as much, if not more, than the languages that we've used since then. But we have this kind of false idea that everything stops at the beginning of writing just because we can't see it so easily. So, for example, everyone in Western Europe or many people in Western Europe would trace themselves sort of culturally

And so what we spoke about and the languages that we use have shaped us as much, if not more, than the languages that we've used since then. But we have this kind of false idea that everything stops at the beginning of writing just because we can't see it so easily. So, for example, everyone in Western Europe or many people in Western Europe would trace themselves sort of culturally

And so what we spoke about and the languages that we use have shaped us as much, if not more, than the languages that we've used since then. But we have this kind of false idea that everything stops at the beginning of writing just because we can't see it so easily. So, for example, everyone in Western Europe or many people in Western Europe would trace themselves sort of culturally

back through the Jewish Christian Middle Ages to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Whereas in the subcontinent and Persia and India, they would trace themselves back perhaps to the gods of the ancient Indian and Hindu scriptures or the writings of Zarathustra. But what I'm saying is that prior to those very early writings, there's a layer that links both East and West.

back through the Jewish Christian Middle Ages to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Whereas in the subcontinent and Persia and India, they would trace themselves back perhaps to the gods of the ancient Indian and Hindu scriptures or the writings of Zarathustra. But what I'm saying is that prior to those very early writings, there's a layer that links both East and West.

back through the Jewish Christian Middle Ages to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Whereas in the subcontinent and Persia and India, they would trace themselves back perhaps to the gods of the ancient Indian and Hindu scriptures or the writings of Zarathustra. But what I'm saying is that prior to those very early writings, there's a layer that links both East and West.

And you can see it in the very oldest literatures. You can see that many, for example, the mythological motifs and tropes are very, very similar to the extent that it can't really be coincidental.

And you can see it in the very oldest literatures. You can see that many, for example, the mythological motifs and tropes are very, very similar to the extent that it can't really be coincidental.

And you can see it in the very oldest literatures. You can see that many, for example, the mythological motifs and tropes are very, very similar to the extent that it can't really be coincidental.

Right. So if you take, for example, the Rig Veda, which is the most ancient Indian text, and the Epics of Homer in Greece, you see not just the same sort of story motifs, but also the stories told in the same poetic formulae and often the same words.