In the Beginning: World History from Human Evolution to the First States

Ristvet, Lauren

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0072848030 ISBN 13: 9780072848038

Casa editrice: McGraw-Hill Education, 2007

This engaging and accessible volume draws on the most recent historical archeological scholarship to tell the stories of human evolution, "gathering and hunting" societies, and the distinct breakthroughs that led to the emergence of the earliest cities, states, and civilizations. Highlighting both the separate paths and the intersecting journeys of diverse human communities, In the Beginning provides the essential but often neglected foundation on which all subsequent historical development was constructed.

Contenuti:

Introduction

Study of History Learning About the Past Looking at History

Chapter 1: The First Six Million Years

Climate and Environment Human Evolution Stone Age Economics Life at the End of the Ice Age Conclusion Timeline

Chapter 2: The Origins of Agriculture

Setting the Stage How it really happened The Spread of Agriculture and the Making of Today's World But What about the rest of the world? The origins of family, private property, and the village Conclusion Timeline

Chapter 3: Chiefs and Kings

After the Village, Before the State: Surplus, Chieftains, and Temples

The Political and Economic Foundations of Archaic States

Inventing the State

Conclusion

Timeline

Chapter 4: The Elaboration of Civilizations

Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

Bronze Age Economics

Government and Law

Conclusion

Timeline

Chapter 5: Ancient Worlds: Interaction and Change in the Ancient World

Comparisons and Connections

The Secondary Products Revolution

The Implication of the Secondary Products Revolution

The Collapse of an Ancient Network

Conclusion

Timeline

Product Description:

Book by Ristvet Lauren