The Lost Civilizations of the Stone AgeAn authoritative, eye-opening look at Stone Age civilizations that explodes traditional portrayals of prehistory The rise of historical civilization 5,000 years ago is often depicted as if those societies were somehow created out of nothing. However, recent discoveries of astonishing accomplishments from the Neolithic Age -- in art, technology, writing, math, science, religion, medicine and exploration -- demand a fundamental rethinking of humanity before the dawn of written history. In this fascinating book, Richard Rudgley describes how * The intrepid explorers of the Stone Age discovered all of the world's major land masses long before the so-called Age of Discovery * Stone Age man performed medical operations, including amputations and delicate cranial surgeries * Paleolithic cave artists of Western Europe used techniques that were forgotten until the Renaissance * Prehistoric life expectancy was better than it is for contemporary third-world populations Rudgley reminds us just how savage so-called civilized people can be, and demonstrates how the cultures that have been reviled as savage were truly civilized. The Lost Civilizations of the Stone Age shows the great debt that contemporary society owes to its prehistoric predecessors. It is a rich introduction to a lost world that will redefine the meaning of civilization itself. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Stone Age | 13 |
The Mother Tongue | 35 |
A New Rosetta Stone | 48 |
Writing or PreWriting? | 58 |
The Paleolithic Origins of Writing | 73 |
Paleoscience | 86 |
From Footprints to Fingerprints | 107 |
Sex Objects or Symbols? | 184 |
The Song of the Stalactites | 201 |
The First Fossil Hunters | 209 |
The Four Bones of Bilzingsleben | 224 |
Graven Images from the Holy Land | 234 |
Dawn Stones or False Dawn? | 241 |
Afterword | 261 |
Bibliography | 265 |
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Common terms and phrases
Acheulian Africa Aleut ancient animal antiquity antler archaeological archaeologists artefacts Asia Aurignacian Australia Bahn Bednarik believe Berekhat Ram Bilzingsleben bone burial Çatal Hüyük cave civilisation clay clearly complex Current Anthropology depiction described discovered discovery earlier earliest early Upper East Egypt engraved evidence example excavations existence fact female Figure figurine fire flint Gimbutas goddess Gravettian Grimes Graves groups hand-axes holes hominids Homo erectus human hunting incised indicate Indo-European innovations kind known languages linguists Lower Palaeolithic lunar macro-families marks Marshack means Mesolithic metres Middle Palaeolithic mining modern Mousterian nature Neanderthals Neolithic period Nostratic notches object ochre Old Europe Old European Old European script origins paintings Pedra Furada pottery practice prehistoric region ritual script seems seen Siberia simply skull Stone Age stone tools suggested Sumerian symbolic Tartaria tablets tokens tradition trepanation Upper Palaeolithic Upper Palaeolithic period various vulva whilst writing