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Ancient Civilizations provides a vivid and accessible account of early states and empires in Eurasia, Africa and the Americas.
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; Part IV The Mediterranean World -- 9 The First Aegean Civilizations; 10 The Mediterranean World In The First Millennium (1000-30 B.C.); 11 I Mperial Rome; Part V Northeast Africa And Asia -- 12 Northeast Africa: Kush, Meroe, And Aksum; 13 Sub-Saharan Africa; 14; 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; 20 Epilogue; References; Credits; Index.
About the author
Shadreck Chirikure is an archaeological scientist based in Oxford where he is Professor of Archaeological Science. His research combines approaches from historical, anthropological and physical sciences to study ancient materials and technologies and how their production, distribution and consumption precipitated the rise, flourishing and decline of ancient societies and civilisations. He is Editor in Chief of the journal
Archaeometry. His recent publications include
Great Zimbabwe: reclaiming a confiscated past and
Metals in Past Societies.
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 Professor of Anthropology at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and editor of the recent volume,
Realizing Value in Mesoamerica: The Dynamics of Desire and Demand in Ancient Economics, as well as
Continuities and Changes in Maya Archaeology: Perspectives at the Millennium, and
Maya Archaeology, Vols. 1-3.
Chris Scarre is an archaeologist specializing in the prehistory of western Europe, with a particular interest in the archaeology of Atlantic façade (Portugal, France, Britain and Ireland). His key research interests are the relationship of prehistoric monuments to their landscapes, including the way that megalithic blocks were selected and quarried, and prehistoric connectivity along the western seaways. He is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, UK, and editor of the textbook on world prehistory
The Human Past.
