Ancient Civilizations: The Emergence of States and Empires

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.

Table of Contents:
Part I Background -- 1 The Study Of Civilization; 2 Theories Of States; Part II The First Civilizations -- 3 Mesopotamia: The First Cities (3500–2000 B.C.); 4 Egyptian Civilization; 5 South Asia: The Indus Civilization; 6 The First Chinese Civilizations; Part III Great Powers In Southwest Asia -- 7 Mesopotamia And The Levant (2000–1200 B.C.); 8 Southwest Asia In The First Millennium; Part IV The Mediterranean World -- 9 The First Aegean Civilizations; 10 The Mediterranean World In The First Millennium (1000–30 B.C.); 11 I Mperial Rome; Part V Northeast Africa And Asia -- 12 Northeast Africa: Kush, Meroe, And Aksum; 13 Sub-Saharan Africa; 14; 15 Kingdoms And Empires In East Asia (770 B.C.–A.D. 700); Part VI Early States in the Americas -- 16 Lowland Mesoamerica; 17 Highland Mesoamerica; 18 The Foundations of Andean Civilization; 19 Andean States; 20 Epilogue; References; Credits; Index.

About the Author :
Shadreck Chirikure is an archaeological scientist based in Oxford where he is Professor of Archaeological Science. His research combines approaches from historical, anthropological and physical sciences to study ancient materials and technologies and how their production, distribution and consumption precipitated the rise, flourishing and decline of ancient societies and civilisations. He is Editor in Chief of the journal Archaeometry. His recent publications include Great Zimbabwe: reclaiming a confiscated past and Metals in Past Societies. Charles Golden is a Mesoamerican archaeologist, whose research has focused on the borders between ancient Maya kingdoms in Mexico and Central America, and the economic, social, and ritual ties that bound rural villages into larger political communities. He is Professor of Anthropology at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and editor of the recent volume, Realizing Value in Mesoamerica: The Dynamics of Desire and Demand in Ancient Economics, as well as Continuities and Changes in Maya Archaeology: Perspectives at the Millennium, and Maya Archaeology, Vols. 1–3. Chris Scarre is an archaeologist specializing in the prehistory of western Europe, with a particular interest in the archaeology of Atlantic façade (Portugal, France, Britain and Ireland). His key research interests are the relationship of prehistoric monuments to their landscapes, including the way that megalithic blocks were selected and quarried, and prehistoric connectivity along the western seaways. He is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, UK, and editor of the textbook on world prehistory The Human Past.