The Human Past: World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies

(Paperback, Fourth edition)

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Description

Here is a new, fourth edition of this authoritative introductory survey of world prehistory, spanning the past 3,000,000 years and written by a team of twenty-four expert authors. This edition has been radically updated to be more thematic and accessible: chapters are connected by new key themes boxes (climate change, domestication, migration, social inequality and urbanism), which link global regions and encourage big-picture thinking. The text has been streamlined and the book's design completely revamped: it is now in full colour throughout, with more than 50% more colour images than the previous edition. There is increased coverage of the Americas, with a brand-new chapter, The Origins and Dispersal of the First Americans. Revisions take into account the latest sites and discoveries, including Homo naledi and the new LiDAR surveys of Angkor Wat. Each chapter begins with a newly designed, easier-to-use timeline, and features boxes on key sites, key discoveries, key controversies and, as above, key themes. All of the key methods boxes from the previous edition have been consolidated into the Introduction and now offer an up-front primer of archaeological methods and practices. Tables and maps are simplified and easier to use.

Reviews

'Absolutely essential reading for all students of archaeology' - Barry Cunliffe, University of Oxford
'One of the best overviews of world prehistory it is possible to get. Excellent coverage, up to date and accessible' - Tim Reynolds, Birkbeck, University of London
'Exciting, accessible and informative by far the best introduction available' - Cyprian Broodbank, Head of Archaeology, University of Cambridge
'The perfect textbook this is the kind of book we wish wed had' - How It Works
'The go-to primer text for world prehistory' - The Archaeological Journal

Author Bio

Dr Chris Scarre is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Durham. He is the author of many books on prehistory and archaeology, including The Megalithic Monuments of Britain and Ireland, Chronicle of the Roman Emperors and The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World, all published by Thames & Hudson.