Understanding early civilizations : a comparative study
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Understanding early civilizations : a comparative study
Cambridge University Press, 2003
- : hardback
Available at 12 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 689-731) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This book offers the first detailed comparative study of the seven best-documented early civilizations: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Shang China, the Aztecs and adjacent peoples in the Valley of Mexico, the Classic Maya, the Inka, and the Yoruba. Unlike previous studies, equal attention is paid to similarities and differences in their sociopolitical organization, economic systems, religion, and culture. Many of this study's findings are surprising and provocative. Agricultural systems, technologies, and economic behaviour turn out to have been far more diverse than was expected. These findings and many others challenge not only current understandings of early civilizations but also the theoretical foundations of modern archaeology and anthropology. The key to understanding early civilizations lies not in their historical connections but in what they can tell us about similarities and differences in human behaviour.
Table of Contents
- Part I. Introduction: 1. Rationalism and relativism
- 2. Comparative studies
- 3. Defining 'early civilization'
- 4. Evidence and interpretation
- Part II. Sociopolitical Organization: 5. Kingship
- 6. States: city and territorial
- 7. Urbanism
- 8. Class systems and social mobility
- 9. Family organization and gender roles
- 10. Administration
- 11. Law
- 12. Military organization
- 13. Sociopolitical constants and variables
- Part III. Economy: 14. Food production
- 15. Land ownership
- 16. Trade and craft specialization
- 17. Appropriation of wealth
- 18. Economic constants and variables
- Part IV. Cognitive and Symbolic Aspects: 19. Conceptions of the supernatural
- 20. Cosmology and cosmogony
- 21. Cult
- 22. Priests, festivals, and the politics of the supernatural
- 23. The individual and the universe
- 24. Elite art and architecture
- 25. Literacy and specialized knowledge
- 26. Values and personal aspirations
- 27. Cultural constants and variables
- Discussion: 28. Culture and reason
- 29. Conclusion
- References
- Index.
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