The Indo-Europeans were a warlike, innovating group of people who more than likely originally came from the Pontic–Caspian steppe, stretching from the northern shores of the Black Sea as far east as the Caspian Sea and who spread out in all directions in a massive expansion and land grab across Asia, Europe, and North Africa. They were a horse culture and one of the early cultures to use horses to transport goods and people. They developed the wheel and then the chariot. Some of the earliest Indo-European burial sites in Hallstatt, Austria and La Tène, Switzerland show rich people buried with their horses and chariots.
Image source: Pixabay royalty-free. Photographer: dimitrisvetsikas1969
To get an idea how big and successful the Indo European languages are, you are reading one right now. On top of that, you can count nearly all the languages of Europe: Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, English, all Scandinavian languages, Dutch, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Italian, Romanian, Greek, (but not Finnish or Hungarian), the Baltic and Slavic languages (like Russian), Hindustani, Bengali, and Punjabi, Persian, Albanian, etc. Today, about 46% of the human population speaks an Indo-European language as a first language, by far the highest of any language family.
They were also a cow culture, breeding and herding cows across the lands as they traveled and conquered and took over a massive area of the world. The individual unit of currency was 1 cow from the root *peku- "cattle".
Image source: Pixabay royalty-free. Photographer: fotshot.
How did "peku" become "fee" in English? Whew, that's a long story and I can't get into it here. But it also is the source of "pecuniary," via Latin. Ultimately cattle were replaced by chopped up pieces of silver which eventually started to resemble what we think of as coins, and "fee" and "pecuniary" came to refer to metal money rather than beasts. Also related are "fine" (as in a paid penalty) and "finance" (having to do with fees."
And guess what else, oddly enough, comes from this root word? "Peculiar." Why? Well originally this word meant someone who has cattle as property. Then people started using it to mean a person with private property all their own (not joined in common with anyone.) Then it meant someone distinguished or special. Lastly, its meaning migrated to mean "unusual, out of the ordinary" and not have as positive a connotation.
So this is all my way of saying I am glad to be trading Bitcoin rather than Guernsey steers or something!
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Interesting post. I agree that most Indians used Cows are a mode of currency, but later on, it did change. Thank you for sharing this rare info. :)
New knowledge for me ... interesting post.
interesting post. i upvote your post.
Thanks!
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nice post
A history-of-languages post on steemit? Great to come across :) Perhaps you'll inspire someone to launch a COW token.
waooo good sharing :)
loved this post. thank you
nice post
Thank you!
the human history research, claims that the Caspian Sea is the first place where the humanity begins.
Nice Post....
Thanks!