Chris Scarre

Ancient Civilizations provides a vivid and accessible account of early states and empires in Eurasia, Africa and the Americas. This textbook covers not only the traditional early states that formed in Egypt and Mesopotamia, in the Indus valley and China, in highland and lowland Mesoamerica and Andean South America, but it also follows the development of later states and empires including classical Greece and Rome, Han China and Angkor, and the kingdoms of sub-Saharan Africa. It provides a description of each, highlighting their key features and the kinds of evidence available for their study. Ancient Civilizations sees the development of states as a phenomenon recurring throughout past millennia, in different regions of the world, as part of a widespread process of social development and demographic growth. Particular attention is paid to the circumstances that allowed early states to develop and survive, the crucial role of agriculture and irrigation in supporting larger populations, the impact of warfare and expansionism, and the centrality of élites, ritual practices and monumentality in these early societies. Introductory chapters explain the history of research on early state societies, with due attention to the role of non-western scholars and examples in their study and interpretation. That broader postcolonial perspective is strengthened by the coverage of more recent state societies of sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia alongside those cultures that have so frequently dominated texts on ‘first civilizations’, and Ancient Civilizations offers greater insight into the whole range of societies that fall under this heading. Thus, Angkor in Cambodia and Great Zimbabwe in southern Africa are covered alongside Egypt, the Maya, and classical Greece and Rome. The result is a book unique in its scope and compelling in its diversity, written by three active scholars with considerable experience in their respective fields. Including features to support student learning: a wealth of images, feature boxes which expand on key sites, finds and written sources, and an extensive guide to further reading, Ancient Civilizations provides a unique introduction to pre-industrial civilizations.

Ancient Civilizations provides a vivid and accessible account of early states and empires in Eurasia, Africa and the Americas. This textbook covers not only the traditional early states that formed in Egypt and Mesopotamia, in the Indus valley and China, in highland and lowland Mesoamerica and Andean South America, but it also follows the development of later states and empires including classical Greece and Rome, Han China and Angkor, and the kingdoms of sub-Saharan Africa. It provides a description of each, highlighting their key features and the kinds of evidence available for their study. Ancient Civilizations sees the development of states as a phenomenon recurring throughout past millennia, in different regions of the world, as part of a widespread process of social development and demographic growth. Particular attention is paid to the circumstances that allowed early states to develop and survive, the crucial role of agriculture and irrigation in supporting larger populations, the impact of warfare and expansionism, and the centrality of élites, ritual practices and monumentality in these early societies. Introductory chapters explain the history of research on early state societies, with due attention to the role of non-western scholars and examples in their study and interpretation. That broader postcolonial perspective is strengthened by the coverage of more recent state societies of sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia alongside those cultures that have so frequently dominated texts on ‘first civilizations’, and Ancient Civilizations offers greater insight into the whole range of societies that fall under this heading. Thus, Angkor in Cambodia and Great Zimbabwe in southern Africa are covered alongside Egypt, the Maya, and classical Greece and Rome. The result is a book unique in its scope and compelling in its diversity, written by three active scholars with considerable experience in their respective fields. Including features to support student learning: a wealth of images, feature boxes which expand on key sites, finds and written sources, and an extensive guide to further reading, Ancient Civilizations provides a unique introduction to pre-industrial civilizations.

Expands on the traditional 'Seven Wonders' to examine an impressive number of ancient marvels from around the globe. The traditional list of seven wonders was derived from ancient Greek guidebooks, designed for sightseers in the Hellenic world. The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World broadens those horizons, incorporating architectural marvels from across the globe, from the walled medieval city of Great Zimbabwe to the pre-Aztec Pyramid of the Sun. These awe-inspiring monuments provoke profound questions about the communities who built them. How were they able to complete such feats of engineering? What prompted people to take on these projects, knowing the human costs involved, and how were the monuments viewed after their completion? In this new and updated edition, seventeen leading experts answer these questions. In doing so, they provide a testament to the skill of ancient engineers, and bring us closer to the communities they lived in.

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. This book covers the earliest civilizations in Eurasia and the Americas, from Egypt and the Sumerians to the Indus Valley, Shang China, and the Maya. It also addresses subsequent developments in Southwest Asia, moving on to the first Aegean civilizations, Greece and Rome, the first states of sub-Saharan Africa, divine kings and empires in East and Southeast Asia, and the Aztec and Inka empires of Mesoamerica and the Andes. It includes a number of features to support student learning: a wealth of images, including several new illustrations; feature boxes which expand on key sites, finds, and written sources; and an extensive guide to further reading. With new perceptions of the origin and collapse of states, including a review of the issue of sustainability, this fifth edition has been extensively updated in the light of spectacular new discoveries and the latest theoretical advances.Examining the world’s pre-industrial civilizations from a multidisciplinary perspective and offering a comparative analysis of the field which explores the connections between all civilizations around the world, this volume provides a unique introduction to pre-industrial civilizations in all their brilliant diversity. It will prove invaluable to students of Archaeology.

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. This book covers the earliest civilizations in Eurasia and the Americas, from Egypt and the Sumerians to the Indus Valley, Shang China, and the Maya. It also addresses subsequent developments in Southwest Asia, moving on to the first Aegean civilizations, Greece and Rome, the first states of sub-Saharan Africa, divine kings and empires in East and Southeast Asia, and the Aztec and Inka empires of Mesoamerica and the Andes. It includes a number of features to support student learning: a wealth of images, including several new illustrations; feature boxes which expand on key sites, finds, and written sources; and an extensive guide to further reading. With new perceptions of the origin and collapse of states, including a review of the issue of sustainability, this fifth edition has been extensively updated in the light of spectacular new discoveries and the latest theoretical advances.Examining the world’s pre-industrial civilizations from a multidisciplinary perspective and offering a comparative analysis of the field which explores the connections between all civilizations around the world, this volume provides a unique introduction to pre-industrial civilizations in all their brilliant diversity. It will prove invaluable to students of Archaeology.

This is a highly readable history and a unique work of reference. Focusing on the succession of the rulers of imperial Rome, it uses timelines with at-a-glance visual guides to each reign and its main events. Biographical portraits of the 56 principal emperors from Augustus to Constantine, together with a concluding section on the later emperors, build into a highly readable single-volume history of imperial Rome. Biographical information is illustrated with busts of each emperor, coin portraits, battle plans and cutaway diagrams of imperial monuments. Supporting datafiles for every emperor list key information such as name at birth, wives and children, full imperial titles and place and manner of death. Genealogical trees and over 90 sidebars and special features on subjects ranging from Nero’s Golden House to Diocletian’s Palace allow the reader to delve even deeper. Colourful contemporary judgments by such writers as Suetonius and Tacitus are balanced by judicious character assessments made in the light of modern research. The famous and the infamous – Caligula and Claudius, Trajan and Caracalla – receive their due, while lesser names emerge clearly from the shadows for the first time. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors is at once a book to be enjoyed as popular history, an essential work of reference, and a source of visual inspiration, bringing to life one of the most powerful and influential empires the world has ever known. ‘A valuable volume providing a nice blend of information and entertainment’ – Teaching History ‘Marvellous’ – New Scientist

Brittany has long been famous for its Neolithic monuments, which include the largest prehistoric standing stone ever to have been erected in Western Europe, and the spectacular Carnac alignments. How and by whom were they built? This fully illustrated study aims to answer those questions using the results of recent French research on these sites, along with the insights provided by the author's own field studies. The emphasis is on the landscape setting of these monuments, and how that landscape may have influenced or inspired the construction of megalithic tombs and settings of standing stones. The development of the monuments is set within a chronological narrative, from the last hunter-gatherers of the late 6th millennium BC and the arrival of the first farmers, down to the end of the Neolithic period 3000 years later.

From Stonehenge to Newgrange, the richest array of megalithic monuments in Europe is found in Great Britain and Ireland. The number and sheer diversity of these structures is astonishing, including massive stone rows and circles, as well as barrows, chambered tombs and earthwork enclosures. In this concise but authoritative overview, Chris Scarre guides us around these monuments. This invaluable, authoritative overview of some of our greatest and most-visited monuments is ideal for traveller, tourist and student alike.

More than fifteen centuries after its fall, the Roman Empire remains one of the most formative influences on the history of Europe. Its physical remains dot the landscape from Scotland to Syria. Its cities are still the great metropolises of the continent. Its law and institutions have shaped modern practice, and its ideal of a united Europe has haunted politicians ever since. Fully illustrated and featuring more than sixty full- colour maps, this atlas traces the rise and fall of the first great multinational state. It looks at its provinces and cities, its trade and economy, its armies and frontier defences; follows its foreign ward and internecine struggles; and charts its transformation into a Christian theocracy and its fall in 476.