ひんめー

(than do agriculturalists to secure the same amount of food, clothing, and other necessities.)

than do agriculturalists to secure the same amount of food, clothing, and other necessities.

(So, pastoralism is a more extensive lifeway than farming.)

So, pastoralism is a more extensive lifeway than farming.

(However, the larger the terrain used to support a group,)

However, the larger the terrain used to support a group,

(the harder it is to exploit that terrain while remaining in one place.)

the harder it is to exploit that terrain while remaining in one place.

(So, basic ecological principles imply a strong tendency)

So, basic ecological principles imply a strong tendency

(within pastoralist lifeways toward nomadism (a mobile lifestyle).)

within pastoralist lifeways toward nomadism (a mobile lifestyle).

(As the archaeologist Roger Cribb puts it,)

As the archaeologist Roger Cribb puts it,

("The greater the degree of pastoralism, the stronger the tendency toward nomadism.")

"The greater the degree of pastoralism, the stronger the tendency toward nomadism."

(A modern Turkic nomad interviewed by Cribb commented:)

A modern Turkic nomad interviewed by Cribb commented:

("The more animals you have, the farther you have to move.")

"The more animals you have, the farther you have to move."

(Nomadism has further consequences.)

Nomadism has further consequences.

(It means that pastoralist societies occupy and can influence very large territories.)

It means that pastoralist societies occupy and can influence very large territories.

(This is particularly true of the horse pastoralism that emerged in the Inner Eurasian steppes,)

This is particularly true of the horse pastoralism that emerged in the Inner Eurasian steppes,

(for this was the most mobile of all major forms of pastoralism.)

for this was the most mobile of all major forms of pastoralism.

(So, it is no accident that with the appearance of pastoralist societies,)

So, it is no accident that with the appearance of pastoralist societies,

(there appear large areas that share similar cultural,)

there appear large areas that share similar cultural,

(ecological, and even linguistic features.)

ecological, and even linguistic features.

(By the late fourth millennium B.C., there was already evidence)

By the late fourth millennium B.C., there was already evidence

(of large culture zones reaching from Eastern Europe to the western borders of Mongolia.)

of large culture zones reaching from Eastern Europe to the western borders of Mongolia.

(Perhaps the most striking sign of mobility is the fact that by the third millennium B.C.,)

Perhaps the most striking sign of mobility is the fact that by the third millennium B.C.,

(most pastoralists in this huge region spoke related languages ancestral)

most pastoralists in this huge region spoke related languages ancestral

(to the modern Indo-European languages.)

to the modern Indo-European languages.

(The remarkable mobility and range of pastoral societies)

The remarkable mobility and range of pastoral societies

(explain, in part,)

explain, in part,

(why so many linguists have argued that the Indo-European languages)

why so many linguists have argued that the Indo-European languages

(began their astonishing expansionist career not among farmers in Anatolia (present-day Turkey))

began their astonishing expansionist career not among farmers in Anatolia (present-day Turkey)

(but among early pastoralists from Inner Eurasia.)

but among early pastoralists from Inner Eurasia.

(Such theories imply that the Indo-European languages)

Such theories imply that the Indo-European languages

(evolved not in the Neolithic (10,000 to 3,000 B.C.) Anatolia,)

evolved not in the Neolithic (10,000 to 3,000 B.C.) Anatolia,

(but among the foraging communities of the cultures in the region of the Don and Dnieper rivers,)

but among the foraging communities of the cultures in the region of the Don and Dnieper rivers,

(which took up stock breeding and began to exploit the neighboring steppes.)

which took up stock breeding and began to exploit the neighboring steppes.

(Nomadism also subjects pastoralist communities to strict rules of portability.)

Nomadism also subjects pastoralist communities to strict rules of portability.

(If you are constantly on the move, you cannot afford to accumulate large material surpluses.)

If you are constantly on the move, you cannot afford to accumulate large material surpluses.

(Such rules limit variations in accumulated material goods between pastoralist households)

Such rules limit variations in accumulated material goods between pastoralist households

((though they may also encourage a taste for portable goods of high value, such as silks or jewelry).)

(though they may also encourage a taste for portable goods of high value, such as silks or jewelry).

(So, by and large, nomadism implies a high degree of self-sufficiency)

So, by and large, nomadism implies a high degree of self-sufficiency

(and inhibits the appearance of an extensive division of labor.)

and inhibits the appearance of an extensive division of labor.

(Inequalities of wealth and rank certainly exist and have probably existed in most pastoralist societies,)

Inequalities of wealth and rank certainly exist and have probably existed in most pastoralist societies,

(but except in periods of military conquest, they are normally too slight to generate the stable,)

but except in periods of military conquest, they are normally too slight to generate the stable,

(hereditary hierarchies that are usually implied by the use of the term class.)

hereditary hierarchies that are usually implied by the use of the term class.

(Inequalities of gender have also existed in pastoralist societies,)

Inequalities of gender have also existed in pastoralist societies,

(but they seem to have been softened by the absence of steep hierarchies of wealth)

but they seem to have been softened by the absence of steep hierarchies of wealth

(in most communities and also by the requirement)

in most communities and also by the requirement

(that women acquire most of the skills of men, including, often, their military skills.)

that women acquire most of the skills of men, including, often, their military skills.