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Ancient Civilizations offers a comprehensive and straightforward account of the world's first civilizations and how they were discovered, drawing on many avenues of inquiry including archaeological excavations, surveys, laboratory work, highly specialized scientific investigations, and both historical and ethnohistorical records.
List of contents
PART I Background; 1 The Study of Civilization; 2 Theories of States; PART II The First Civilizations; 3 Mesopotamia: The First Cities (3500–2000 B.C.); 4 Egyptian Civilization; 5 South Asia: The Indus Civilization; 6 The First Chinese Civilizations; PART III Great Powers in Southwest Asia; 7 Mesopotamia and the Levant (2000–1200 B.C.); 8 Southwest Asia in the First Millennium B.C.; PART IV The Mediterranean World; 9 The First Aegean Civilizations; 10 The Mediterranean World in the First Millennium (1000–30 B.C.); 11 Imperial Rome; PART V Northeast Africa and Asia; 12 Northeast Africa: Kush, Meroe, and Aksum; 13 Sub-Saharan Africa; 14 Divine Kings in Southeast Asia; 15 Kingdoms and Empires in East Asia (770 B.C.–A.D. 700); PART VI Early States in the Americas; 16 Lowland Mesoamerica; 17 Highland Mesoamerica; 18 The Foundations of Andean Civilization; 19 Andean States (200 B.C.–A.D. 1534); 20 Epilogue
About the author
Chris Scarre is an archaeologist specializing in the prehistory of Europe, with a particular interest in the archaeology of Atlantic facade. He has participated in fieldwork projects in Britain, France, Greece, and India, and has directed and co-directed excavations at Neolithic sites in France, Portugal, and the Channel Islands. He is Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, UK, and editor of the textbook on world prehistory The Human Past.
Brian M. Fagan is one of the world’s leading archaeological writers and an internationally recognized authority on world prehistory. He is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has written several best-selling textbooks: Ancient Lives: An Introduction to Archaeology and Prehistory; Archaeology: A Brief Introduction; Archaeology and You; In the Beginning: An Introduction to Archaeology; A Brief History of Archaeology: Classical Times to the Twenty-First Century; People of the Earth; and World Prehistory: A Brief Introduction.
Charles Golden is a Mesoamerican archaeologist, whose research has focused on the borders between ancient Maya kingdoms in Mexico and Central America, and the economic, social, and ritual ties that bound rural villages into larger political communities. He is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and editor of Continuities and Changes in Maya Archaeology: Perspectives at the Millennium, as well as Maya Archaeology, Vols. 1–3.
Summary
Ancient Civilizations offers a comprehensive and straightforward account of the world’s first civilizations and how they were discovered, drawing on many avenues of inquiry including archaeological excavations, surveys, laboratory work, highly specialized scientific investigations, and both historical and ethnohistorical records.
