archaeology

If you have trouble sleeping at night this book is for you

This is an introductory textbook for a college level course on ancient civilizations. Of those texts available on this subject matter, this is the best. It is clearly written and the material is presented in a logical order. It provides amble maps, tables, illustrations, etc.. It is also a very good source for those non-academic readers interested in the evolution and development of state level societies and civlizations.

There is a serious lack of textbooks today for anyone trying to teach a survey course in ancient history that isn't specifically focused on one culture or one single period. The general problem that most textbooks have -- too focused on 2 or 3 regions with barely a mention of other ancient cultures -- is the exact opposite problem with this book. First there is the problem of defining when ancient civilizations existed. This book goes from pre-history to the 16th century after the Europeans start settling the Americas! Second so many cultures are touched upon that very few get the treatment they deserve. It feels as though these authors are attempting to compensate for an "too Mediterranean view" but as a result note dealing with them in any acceptable way. A much better survey book would first limit the time periods it looks at (I'd suggest beginning of cities to fall of Rome in the West) then think about the themes you want to cover. Use those themes (urbanization, status, economics, trade, military, gender, intellectual matters) to look at a variety of civilizations in that period. So basically, I'm still waiting for a better ancient survey textbook to come out.