Salt Licks.

I was looking at the entry 'Salt' in the Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. There are some interesting comments. Beekes and Mallory share credit for the article and dismiss what seem to be some old speculations that *seha(e)l is Western. It does not occur in Indo-Iranian; it also has a-vocalism, which it seems, was not possible in PIE, but quite possible in later Western IE. There is also the suggestion -- a suggestion they dismiss -- that steppe nomads would get their necessary salt from a heavy diet of meat, whereas farmers would need to seek a supplement, and consequently, salt was considerably less important to the Steppe.

Anyway. This is just an idle speculation, but the trade in Polish rock salt is one of the well-known neolithic givens. Salt is also one of those things cattle and horses (and presumably goats and sheep) will willingly migrate to find; a salt lick will keep your cattle centered on the place you put the salt. Salt licks also attract wild game (its illegal here in the US to shoot the deer that visit your salt lick during deer season).

I have nothing beyond this to back this up, but it occurs to me early stock breeders would have valued salt very highly indeed as a means of controlling their animals, so highly perhaps that they would have actively engaged in the salt trade. You have here an economic reason for direct, regular steppe and forest trade contacts. It's not hard to see the IE-speakers taking it over directly. This is just speculation. I might be barking up the wrong tree, but it's an interesting tree.

Where exactly are the Polish salt deposits? And what is the archaeological evidence?

Mark.