During the Bronze Age (c. 3300 - 1200 BCE) the land is a wild and savage place, but jewels of civilization glimmer throughout the known world. People such as the Egyptians and Eurasians make strong advances in medicine, science and spirit cosmology. The Proto-Indo-European migrations influence language and culture throughout the land.
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Proto-Indo-European domain is south of the Danube River, bordering the Caspian and Black Seas. From there, early settlements such as the Yamnaya of the Pontic-Caspian Steppes migrate west toward Greece, into Anatolia, Ukraine and lower Russia, and up to the Baltic.
Culture of the people is defined through territory, stories and developments in weaponry and tools. Some nomadic tribes were raiders, grabbing booty, booze and babes in fast concise attacks, and some sedentary tribes also took to the occupation in times of need. Prisoners were enslaved, sold or sacrificed to the Gods.
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The PIE mythologic culture begins with a blood sacrifice in the story of the twins Manu and Yemo, and this sets the standard for future offerings. Qualities consistent to Proto-Indo-European Bronze Age cultures include:
pastoralism, including domesticated cattle, horses, and dogs
agriculture and cereal cultivation, including technology commonly ascribed to late-Neolithic farming communities, e.g., the plow
transportation by or across water
the solid wheel, used for wagons, but not yet chariots with spoked wheels
worship of a sky god *Dyḗus Ph2tḗr (lit. "sky father")
oral heroic poetry or song lyrics that used stock phrases such as imperishable fame (*ḱléwos ń̥dʰgʷʰitom) and the wheel of the sun (*sh₂uens kʷekʷlos).
a patrilineal kinship-system based on relationships between men
Before the PIE tribes came to the region it was occupied by a matriarchal people who lived from crops and animal keeping. It's possible the invading Proto-Indo-Europeans absorbed some of the influences into their own society.
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A folk story called 'The Smith and the Devil' dates back to the time of the Proto-Indo-Europeans. It's considered one of the oldest European folk tales. The Smith is a blacksmith or metallurgist. Blacksmiths didn't arrive on the scene until the late Bronze Age about 1500 BCE. The Devil is a demon or evil spirit, since the Christian Devil isn't even a concept yet.
The Smith sells his soul to the evil spirit. The idea of the soul is pre-Christian, defined in ancient Greece as the incorporeal or spiritual "breath" which animates. The Smith receives the power to weld anything in exchange for his soul. Once he gets the power he welds the devil to a chair and gets out of the bargain.
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Folk tales help define a culture. This one associates the Smith with fire, magic and trickery, a person with deific connections and eldritch abilities. The story's an indication of specialists in metal work among the PIE and the significance of their powers and trade.
The PIE lived in small village or clan groups. The Yamnaya chiefdoms had standardized differences in prestige and power, and society was organized along the lines of reciprocity, a mutual exchange of gifts and favors between their patrons or gods, and humans.
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Life expectancy among the PIE was 50 - 60 years, a high average, which bespeaks periods of peace and abundance. Horses were domesticated during the early Metal Ages and wagons increased mobility as the wheel came into use in the 3000s BCE. Travel, migration and trade routes evolved rapidly.
The Proto-Indo-European pantheon centers on a Sky Father and Earth Mother. Other divinities include the Dawn Goddess, the Sun Goddess and the Divine Twins.
The culture has a definitive structure, social classes and differentiates between freemen and slaves. The free part of society includes an elite class of priests, kings and warriors, along with the commoners.
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Each tribe follows a chief (*wiḱpots) who sponsors feasts and ceremonies. The chief is immortalized in odes of praise. There also exists a hierarchy of wealth and poverty evident in burial practices.
Prestigious funerals were not always given to the wealthiest person. Smiths and metallurgists in particular were given sumptuous graves, possibly due to the association with magic during the early Bronze Age.
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