Description

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.