One might say that Marija Gimbutas is the intellectual giant who all scholars that would trace the archaeological origins of the Indo-European speakers in Europe must confront. Her Kurgan hypothesis, despite some problems, is still at least in its broad outlines the most widely accepted theory of the arrival of Indo-European peoples in Europe. Like most pioneers, she gets many things wrong, but that's no reason to avoid her work. Instead it's worth noting that when the errors are stripped away that these works have provided the foundation on which most recent scholars build their works. Also for this same reason it's probably not the best first book to read on the topic. I'd recommend
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World
by David Anthony instead. Anthony largely takes the Kurgan hypothesis of Gimbutas and presents an alternate and much more detail-focused approach to the dynamics of the development of the steppe-riders and their movements into Europe, India, etc.
The Kurgan hypothesis as presented by Gimbutas suffers from a number of important flaws which are worth mentioning right away. The first is that she uses the term "Kurgan" very loosely and as an umbrella term for very widespread material cultures (covering Srednij Stogg, Yamnaya, Botai-Tersek and other horizons). Gimbutas also lumps together a distinct group of cultures together as "Old Europe" again glossing over differences between them.
Moreover, Gimbutas makes a number of controversial claims about the nature of this "Old Europe" conglomeration. In particular, she suggests it is not only matrilocal and matrilineal, but also matriarchal (she says presumably the societies were presided over by a queen/priestess, and given that families tend to operate along the same structures as the state in traditional cultures, this would extend there too). This claim has been hotly contested and yet she states it over and over as if it were simple fact, ignoring those who say otherwise.
These issues having been mentioned, the book contains a load of details which one can use to supplement many newer surveys. The discussion of "Old Europe" winged vases was something I found quite interesting. Many of the articles are rather specialized, and these are worth reading in addition to newer surveys even if some details may be dated.
But more to the point, these are essays which shaped the field. Despite their flaws, they are pioneering works (and pioneering works are always flawed!) which have made the field what it is today. If you are interested in the origins of the Indo-Europeans, this is one book you will want to read.
Highly recommended.
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