Papers by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Watkins' identification (1969) of the basic stem of Latin vespilló 'undertaker for the poorest cl... more Watkins' identification (1969) of the basic stem of Latin vespilló 'undertaker for the poorest classes' with Hittite waspa-'clothing', in particular 'shroud', has a number of unacknowledged phonetic, morphological and semantic implications: 1) the derivational basis is not, as originally assumed, *(h)ues-'dress' with an enigmatic extension, but rather *uob h-s-> *uops-> metathesized *uosp-, originally from the root *ueb h-'weave' with the same specialized meaning 'wrap, envelop' as in the word for 'wasp'; 2) a morphological analysis suggests a derivation of vespilló from a compound *uospo-tl(h 2)o-'shroud-holder' or 'shroud-snatcher'; the development of *-tl->-ll-after short vowels as opposed to *c(u)l-after long vowels, as e.g. póculum 'cup' < *poh 3 tlom, is regular; 3) the practice of wrapping the dead is possibly a feature of PIE culture.
The Indo-European Language Family
Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft 66/2 (2012), pp. 201-220, Jan 2013
The origin of the Armenian nominal suffix -agin is disputed. KLINGENSCHMITT (1982: 95) considers ... more The origin of the Armenian nominal suffix -agin is disputed. KLINGENSCHMITT (1982: 95) considers it as inherited and assumes that it is based on opaque possessive compounds in *-gini- < *-gheh1-ni- ‘the going (Gehen)’, GREPPIN (1974: 14) suggests a derivation from an unspecified substrate, while SCHMITT (2001: 85) dismisses a link to the Middle Iranian suffix -gēn on formal grounds without suggesting an alternative solution. This paper investigates the hypothesis that -agin is a borrowing from Iranian in spite of the formal difficulties. This idea has already been advocated by JAHUKYAN (1993: 262f.), who derives -agin via “-gēn (and -gīn?)” from *-k-aina-, identifying it with Arm. -kēn (likewise borrowed from Iranian), but does not venture to explain how -agin came to exist besides expected -kēn.
Editorial work by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Whitehead, BN, Olander, TK, Rasmussen (Olsen), BA & Rasmussen, JE (eds) 2012, The sound of Indo-E... more Whitehead, BN, Olander, TK, Rasmussen (Olsen), BA & Rasmussen, JE (eds) 2012, The sound of Indo-European: Phonetics, phonemics, and morphophonemics. Museum Tusculanum, Copenhagen. Copenhagen Studies in Indo-European, vol. 4
Conference and Workshop Presentations by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Books by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Articles and Book Chapters by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
S. Gaspa, C. Michel, M.-L. Nosch, eds (2017), Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe 1000 BC – AD 1000, 2017
Uploads
Papers by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Editorial work by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Conference and Workshop Presentations by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Books by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Articles and Book Chapters by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Combining perspectives from linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, and history of religion, the books seeks to explore the dynamics of power, gender, and mobility – three concepts that are essential for a profound understanding of the historically attested Indo-European–speaking societies and of the prehistoric society reflected by Proto-Indo-European.
The topics range from gender roles and female onomastics to power structures and the role of poets as social brokers, from Indo-European legal language and initiation rites to matrimonial practices and age-based social hierarchies.
It provides fresh interpretations and new approaches to known material as well as novel explorations and unprecedented analyses of new data.
Table of Contents:
- Preface
Part I: Gender, Power, and Language
- How (not) to name a woman in Indo-European. The evidence of female onomastics for the status of women in Indo-European societies (Ulla Remmer)
- Gender in Indo-European. A synopsis (Stefan Höfler)
- Pan, Pūṣan and their matrimonial functions (Jil Schermutzki)
- The Charioteer Athena as goddess of warriors. Constellations and their role in the prehistory of Greek religion (Michael Janda)
- Quaecumque a Benveniste dicta essent, commenticia esse (Michael Weiss)
Part II: Power, Mobility, and Conflict
- The wolf, the lamb, and the dog. An Aesopian guide to Indo-European sociology (Peter Jackson Rova)
- On the prehistory of legal language and procedure. Repairing a misdeed in Proto-Indo-European and in Core Indo-European (José Luis García Ramón)
- Indo-European patrons vs. clients, and the role of poets as social brokers. ‘Leaders’ vs. ‘friends’, and intelligent speakers in the mythologies of Scandinavia, India, and Rome (Riccardo Ginevra)
- The violent Indo-Europeans. Some general thoughts on the martial influence of the Corded Ware on Neolithic societies (Rune Iversen)
Part III: Mobility, Gender, and Social Structure
- An update on the Corded Ware culture. Formation and spread, social aspects, human–canid relations, and tooth and shell status items (Mikkel Nørtoft)
- In-laws and outlaws in Indo-European societies. The master of the house and his circles of interest (Birgit Anette Olsen)
- Indo-European initiation. The Greek contribution (Jan N. Bremmer)
- (Proto-)Indo-European age-based male social hierarchies and groupings. Age-grades, sodalities, coevals, age-sets and the origins of Rome’s curiae (including the curia ‘senate-house’) (Kim McCone)
The volume is situated at the intersection of diverse but complementary approaches to the investigation of prehistoric culture and society: combining perspectives from linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, and history of religion, it seeks to explore the dynamics of power, gender, and mobility – three concepts that are essential for a profound understanding of the historically attested Indo-European– speaking societies and of the prehistoric society reflected by Proto-Indo-European.
The book offers a comprehensive analysis of topics ranging from gender roles and female onomastics to power structures and the role of poets as social brokers, from Indo-European legal language and initiation rites to matrimonial practices and age-based social hierarchies. It provides fresh interpretations and new approaches to known material as well as novel explorations and unprecedented analyses of new data.
Contributors: Jan N. Bremmer, José Luis García Ramón, Riccardo Ginevra, Stefan Höfler, Rune Iversen, Peter Jackson Rova, Michael Janda, Kim McCone, Mikkel Nørtoft, Birgit Anette Olsen, Ulla Remmer, Jil Schermutzki, and Michael Weiss.