World Prehistory: A Brief Introduction

For one semester or quarter courses in World Prehistory.   Written by one of the leading archaeological writers in the world -— in a simple, jargon-free narrative style —- this brief, well-illustrated account of the major developments in the human past makes world prehistory uniquely accessible to complete beginners.   Written by Brian Fagan, World Prehistory covers the entire world, not just the Americas or Europe, and places major emphasis on both theories and the latest archaeological and multidisciplinary approaches.  His focus is on four major developments in world prehistory:  1) The origins of humanity.  2) The appearance and spread of modern humans before and during the late Ice Age- including the first settlement of the Americas.  3) The beginnings of food production.  4) The rise of the first civilizations.

Table of Contents:
  PART I  Prehistory     Chapter 1  Introducing World Prehistory       PART II  The World of the First Humans     Chapter 2  Human Origins     Chapter 3  African Exodus       PART III  The Birth of the Modern World     Chapter 4  Diaspora     Chapter 5  The Origins of Food Production     Chapter 6  The Earliest Farmers     Chapter 7  Chiefs and Chiefdoms       PART IV  Early Civilizations     Chapter 8  State-Organized Societies     Chapter 9  Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean World     Chapter 10  Egypt and Africa     Chapter 11  South, Southeast, and East Asia     Chapter 12  Lowland Mesoamerica    Chapter 13  Highland Mesoamerica Chapter 14  Andean Civilizations       Detailed Table of Contents   Preface A Note on Chronologies and Measurements About the Author PART I  PREHISTORY     1. Introducing World Prehistory Prologue “In the Beginning” Pseudoarchaeology Prehistory, Archaeology, and World Prehistory Major Developments in Human Prehistory Cyclical and Linear Time Written Records, Oral History, and Archaeology Studying World Prehistory Culture Culture History, Time and Space, and “The Myth of the Ethnographic Present”      Context      Time      Space      Analogy and the “Ethnographic Present” SCIENCE: DATING THE PAST Cultural Process and Past Lifeways The Mechanisms of Culture Change Culture as Adaptation      Multilinear Cultural Evolution SITE: ANCIENT WAR CASUALTIES AT THEBES, EGYPT SCIENCE: ANCIENT SOCIAL ORGANIZATION      Cultural Traditions and Cultural Change Intangibles: Ideology and Interaction      Ideology and Beliefs      Interactions Summary PART II  THE WORLD OF THE FIRST HUMANS     CHAPTER 2  Human Origins     Prologue The Great Ice Age (1.8 million to 15,000 years ago) Early Primate Evolution and Adaptation      The Order Primates      “Coming Down from the Trees” The Fossil Evidence for Human Evolution (7 million to 1.5 million years ago)      The Earliest Hominin?     SCIENCE: POTASSIUM ARGON DATING      What Is Australopithecus?         Ardipithecus ramidus      From Ardipithecus to Australopithecus All Kinds of Australopithecines (3 million to 2.5 million years ago)      Gracile Australopithecines: Australopithecus africanus      Robust Australopithecines: A. aethiopicus, A. boisei, and A. robustus       Australopithecus garhi Early Homo: Homo habilis (2.5 million to 2 million years ago)      A Burst of Rapid Change?     Who Was the First Human? SITE: OLDUVAI GORGE, TANZANIA The Earliest Human Toolmakers Hunters or Scavengers?     The Earliest Human Mind The Development of Language The Earliest Social Organization Summary CHAPTER 3  African Exodus     Prologue Ice Age Background Homo ergaster in Africa (c. 1.9 million to c. 600,000 years ago) Humans Radiate out of Africa      Homo erectus in Europe and Asia The Lifeway of Homo erectus      Archaic Human Lifeways SITE: SCHONINGEN, GERMANY      Bamboo and Choppers in Tropical Forests      Language Archaic Homo sapiens (c. 600,000 to 130,000 years ago) The Neanderthals (c. 200,000 to 30,000 years ago) SCIENCE: DNA AND ARCHAEOLOGY The Origins of Modern Humans (?c. 180,000 to 150,000 years ago)         Continuity or Replacement?          Molecular Biology and Homo sapiens      Ecology and Homo sapiens Out of Tropical Africa Summary PART III  THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN WORLD      CHAPTER 4  Diaspora     Prologue     The Late Ice Age World (50,000 to 15,000 years ago) The Peopling of Southeast Asia and Australia (45,000 to 15,000 years ago) SITE: EXOTIC ISLANDERS: HOMO FLORESIENSIS SCIENCE: RADIOCARBON DATING Late Ice Age Europe: The Cro-Magnons (c. 43,000 to 15,000 years ago)      Subsistence      Cro-Magnon Technology      The World’s First Art   Hunter-Gatherers in Eurasia (45,000 to 15,000 years ago) SITE: GROTTE DE CHAUVET, FRANCE East Asia (35,000 to 15,000 years ago)      Sinodonty and Sundadonty Early Human Settlement of Northeast Siberia (?before 25,000 to 15,000 years ago)     The First Americans (?before 15,000 years ago to 11,000 B.C.)          Settlement before 30,000 Years Ago?     SITE: MONTE VERDE, CHILE      Settlement after 15,000 Years Ago?     The Clovis People (c. 11,200 to 11,000 B.C.)     Summary CHAPTER 5  The Origins of Food Production     Prologue The Holocene (after 10,000 B.C.)     Changes in Hunter-Gatherer Societies Social Complexity among Hunter-Gatherers Theories of Farming Origins      Early Theories: Oases and Hilly Flanks The Recovery Revolution Multicausal Theories SCIENCE: FLOTATION AND BOTANICAL REMAINS SCIENCE: ACCELERATOR MASS SPECTROMETRY (AMS) RADIOCARBON DAT-ING          Population and Resources Theories      Ecological Theories The Consequences of Food Production      Differing Dates and Why      Changes in Human Life Nutrition and Early Food Production Summary CHAPTER 6  The Earliest Farmers     Prologue Domesticating Animals Domesticating Wheat and Barley  Southwest Asian Farmers (c. 10,000 to 5000 B.C.)     SITE: MEN’S AND WOMEN’S WORK AT ABU HUREYRA, SYRIA SITE: RITUAL BUILDINGS IN SOUTHEASTERN TURKEY Early Egyptian and African Farmers (earlier than 7000 to 1000 B.C.)     European Farmers (c. 6500 to 3000 B.C.)     SITE: EASTON DOWN AND THE AVEBURY LANDSCAPE, ENGLAND Early Agriculture in Asia (before 6000 B.C.)          Rice Cultivation in Southern China      First Farmers in Northern China Early American Agriculture (8000 B.C. onward)      Mesoamerica: Guilá Naquitz and Early Cultivation      Maize      Andean Farmers Summary CHAPTER 7  Chiefs and Chiefdoms     Prologue    Reciprocity and “Big Men” Chiefs and Navigators in the Pacific (2000 B.C. to modern times) The American Southwest (300 B.C. to modern times)      Hohokam, Mogollon, and Ancestral Pueblo SCIENCE: DENDROCHRONOLOGY (TREE-RING DATING) Moundbuilders in Eastern North America (2000 B.C. to A.D. 1650)      Adena and Hopewell      The Mississippian Tradition SITE: MOUNDVILLE, ALABAMA Summary PART IV  EARLY CIVILIZATIONS    CHAPTER 8  State-Organized Societies    Prologue    What Is a State-Organized Society?    Cities    Theories of the Origins of States      The “Urban Revolution”      Early Ecological Models      Technology and Trade SCIENCE: OBSIDIAN SOURCING      Warfare      Cultural Systems and Civilization      Environmental Change Social Approaches: Power in Three Domains       Factionalism and Ideology People as Agents of Change The Collapse of Civilizations  Summary CHAPTER 9  Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean World     Prologue     Origins (5500 to 3000 B.C.)     SITE: THE TEMPLE AT ERIDU, IRAQ       The First Cities: Uruk      Writing and Metallurgy  Sumerian Civilization (c. 3100 to 2334 B.C.)    VOICES: THE SUMERIANS Akkadians and Babylonians (2334 to 1650 B.C.)     Hittites and Sea Traders (1650 to 1200 B.C.)          The Hittites      Uluburun and Maritime Trade      Iron Technology Minoans and Mycenaeans (1900 to 1200 B.C.)          Minoan Civilization (1900 to 1400 B.C.)          Mycenaean Civilization (1600 to 1200 B.C.)     Sea Peoples and Phoenicians (1200 to 800 B.C.)     Assyrians and Babylonians (900 to 539 B.C.)     Summary CHAPTER 10  Egypt and  Africa Prologue Predynastic Egypt: Ancient Monopoly (5000 to 3100 B.C.)     SCIENCE: ANCIENT WINE AT ABYDOS Dynastic Egyptian Civilization (c. 3000 to 30 B.C.)          Archaic Egypt and the “Great Culture” (3000 to 2575 B.C.)          Old Kingdom (c. 2575 to 2134 B.C.)     SITE: THE STEP PYRAMID AT SAQQARA, EGYPT      Middle Kingdom (2040 to 1640 B.C.)          New Kingdom (1530 to 1075 B.C.)     VOICES: THE WARRIOR AHMOSE, SON OF ABANA      Late Period (1070 to 30 B.C.)     Egypt and Afrocentrism Nubia: The Land of Kush (3000 to 633 B.C.)     Meroe and Aksum      Meroe (593 B.C. to A.D. 330)      Aksum (A.D. 100 to 1000) Ancient African Kingdoms      The Spread of Iron (c. 500 B.C. to A.D. 250)      The Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay (c. A.D. 800 to 1550)      Great Zimbabwe (A.D. 1100 to 1500) Summary CHAPTER 11  South, Southeast, and East Asia     Prologue South Asia: The Harappan Civilization (c. 2700 to 1700 B.C.)          Mature Harappan Civilization South Asia after the Harappans (1700 to 180 B.C.)     The Origins of Chinese Civilization (2600 to 1100 B.C.)          Royal Capitals      Royal Burials      Bronzeworking      Shang Warriors     The War Lords (1100 to 221 B.C.)     Southeast Asian Civilization (A.D. 1 to 1500) SITE: THE BURIAL MOUND OF EMPEROR SHIHUANGDI, CHINA          The Angkor State (A.D. 802 to 1430) SITE: ANGKOR WAT, CAMBODIA Summary CHAPTER 12  Lowland Mesoamerica     Prologue Beginnings: Preclassic Peoples in the Lowlands (2000 B.C. to A.D. 300) The Olmec (1500 to 500 B.C.)     SITE: MAYA PAINTINGS AT SAN BARTOLO, GUATEMALA The Origins of Maya Civilization (before 1000 B.C. to A.D. 300)      San Bartolo, Nakbé, and El Mirador (c. 1000 to 300 B.C.)          Kingship, Glyphs, and Political Cycles      Maya Script      Political Cycles Classic Maya Civilization (A.D. 300 to 900)      The Rise of Tikal and Uaxactún      Caracol and Calakmul      Palenque and Copán  The Classic Maya Collapse SITE: A TRAGEDY AT CERÉN, SAN SALVADOR SCIENCE: STUDYING THE MAYA COLLAPSE AT COPÁN, HONDURAS Postclassic Maya Civilization (A.D. 900 to 1517) Summary CHAPTER 13  Highland Mesoamerica     Prologue  The Rise of Highland Civilization: The Valley of Oaxaca (2000 to 500 B.C.)     Monte Albán (500 B.C. to A.D. 750) Valley of Mexico: Teotihuacán (200 B.C. to A.D. 750) SITE: LIFE IN TEOTIHUACÁN’S BARRIOS The Toltecs (A.D. 650 to 1200) Aztec Civilization (A.D. 1200 to 1521)      Tenochtitlán SITE: THE AZTEC TEMPLO MAJOR AT TENOCHTITLÁN      The World of the Fifth Sun VOICES: AZTEC THOUGHTS ON HUMAN EXISTENCE      The Aztec State      The Spanish Conquest (A.D. 1517 to 1521) Summary CHAPTER 14  Andean Civilizations     Prologue     The Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization Coastal Foundations (2600 to 900 B.C.)     The Early Horizon and Chavín de Huántar (900 to 200 B.C.)     The Initial Period      The Coast (after 1800 B.C.)          Lake Titicaca Basin: Chiripa and Pukara (1000 B.C. to A.D. 100) The Moche State (200 B.C. to A.D. 700) SITE: THE LORDS OF SIPÁN, PERU The Middle Horizon: Tiwanaku and Wari (A.D. 600 to 1000)      Tiwanaku      Wari The Late Intermediate Period: Sicán and Chimu (A.D. 700 to 1460) The Late Horizon: The Inca State (A.D. 1476 to 1534) SITE: CUZCO, THE INCA CAPITAL The Spanish Conquest (A.D. 1532 to 1534) Summary Epilogue Glossary of Technical Terms Glossary of Archaeological Sites and Cultural Terms Guide to Further Reading References in the Text Photo Credits Index

About the Author :
Brian Fagan is one of the leading archaeological writers in the world and an internationally recognized authority on world prehistory. He studied archaeology and anthropology at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, and then spent seven years in sub-Saharan Africa working in museums and in monument conservation and excavating early farming sites in Zambia and East Africa. He was one of the pioneers of multidisciplinary African history in the 1960s. From 1967 to 2003, he was Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he specialized in lecturing and writing about archaeology to wide audiences. He is now Emeritus.   Professor Fagan has written six best-selling textbooks apart from this book: Ancient Lives: An Introduction to Archaeology; In the Beginning; Archaeology: A Brief Introduction; People of the Earth; World Prehistory, all published by Prentice Hall—that are used around the world. His general books include The Rape of the Nile, a classic history of Egyptology; The Adventure of Archaeology; Time Detectives; Ancient North America; The Little Ice Age, The Long Summer, andFish on Friday. He is General Editor of the OxfordCompanion to Archaeology. In addition, he has published several scholarly monographs on African archaeology and numerous specialized articles in national and international journals. He is also an expert on multimedia teaching and has received the Society for American Archaeology’s first Public Education Award for his indefatigable efforts on behalf of archaeology and education.   Brian Fagan’s other interests include bicycling, sailing, kayaking, and good food. He is married and lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and daughter, four cats (who supervise his writing), and, last but not least, seven rabbits.