The Indo-Europeanization of Europe and part of western Asia is not only a matter of language change. In recent years, a fruitful combination of linguistic reconstruction and archaeological and archaeo-genetic data has uncovered how the immigration of Indo-European-speaking populations also caused transformations of social structures that would profoundly determine Asian and European history.

Without doubt, the hierarchic structure of early Indo-European societies, with its elements of quest for political and military alliances, patron-client relationships, guest-friendship, fosterage and female mobility, paved the way for the spread of Indo-European languages and cultures. It is the aim of this conference to investigate this complex issue from different viewpoints – linguistic/philological, archaeological and bio-archaeological. In particular, we would like to focus on the following subjects:


Female mobility

The role of women

Fosterage

The foreigners

Guest-friendship

Alliances

The underprivileged

Slavery

Patron-client relationships

Power structures and sovereignty