Early Civilizations of the Old World: The Formative Histories of Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, India and ChinaIn this new paperback edition of Early Civilizations of the Old World, Charles Keith Maisels traces the development of some of the earliest and key civilizations in history. In each case the ecological and economic background to growth, geographical factors, cross-cultural intersection and the rise of urbanism are examined, explaining how particular forms of social structure and cultural interaction developed from before the Neolithic period to the time of the first civilizations in each area. This volume challenges the traditional assumption of a band-tribe-chiefdom-state sequence and instead demonstrates that large complex societies can flourish without social classes and the state, as dramatically shown by the Indus civilization. Such features as the use of Childe's urban revolution theory as a means of comparison for each emerging civilization and the discussion of the emergence of archaeology as a scientific discipline, make Early Civilizations of the Old World a valuable, innovative and stimulating work. |
Contents
V | 1 |
VI | 4 |
VII | 15 |
VIII | 25 |
X | 27 |
XI | 31 |
XIII | 38 |
XIV | 39 |
XXXIV | 255 |
XXXV | 260 |
XXXVI | 267 |
XXXVII | 273 |
XXXVIII | 291 |
XXXIX | 301 |
XL | 304 |
XLI | 309 |
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Common terms and phrases
agricultural Ain Ghazal alluvium ancient animals archaeology artefacts barley bone Bronze Age building burials capital centimetres central centre century ceramic cereals Chalcolithic China Chinese city-states clan complex culture domesticated Dynasty Early Dynastic east eastern economic Egypt Egyptian elite Erlitou Euphrates evidence excavated Fayum Figure Gerzean groups Hakra Halaf Hassuna hectares Hierakonpolis Hongshan culture houses Hureyra ibid indicate Indus Kalibangan KEBARAN kilometres king Kot Diji Lagash land Levant lineage Longshan Maisels major Mehrgarh Mesopotamia Mohenjo-daro mud-brick Naqada Natufian Neolithic Nile northern period phase pits plains political population pottery PPNC produced rectangular region Rehman Dheri ritual Rollefson Samarra seals settlement Shang social society solar term Source southern square kilometres square metres stone stratification structures Sumer Sumerian Tell temple third millennium tion tomb tradition Ubaid urban Uruk Valley vessels village Wadi walls ware western wild Yangshao Yellow River Zhou