In the Beginning: World History from Human Evolution to the First States (Explorations in World History) [Paperback]

Lauren Ristvet (Author)

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Product details

Paperback: 204 pages
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Higher Education; 1/e edition (1 Feb 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0072848030
ISBN-13: 978-0072848038
Product Dimensions: 22.1 x 15.2 x 1 cm
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,563,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

This engaging and accessible volume draws on the most recent historical archeological scholarship to tell the stories of human evolution, "gathering and hunting" societies, and the distinct breakthroughs that led to the emergence of the earliest cities, states, and civilizations. Highlighting both the separate paths and the intersecting journeys of diverse human communities, In the Beginning provides the essential but often neglected foundation on which all subsequent historical development was constructed.

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Amazon.com: 2 reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

Excellent Book on Pre-History 8 Mar 2008

By Tiffany Earley - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Paperback

In the beginning, according to all our western civilization textbooks, the dawn rose on the towering zigurats of Sumer, a thriving civilization, fully formed with irrigated agriculture and distinctive cuneiform script. This premise begs a lot of questions about what precisely happened during prehistory that led to the emergence of complex human societies and all of the associated accouterments.

Ristvet fills this pedagogical gap with her excellent book. She synthesizes the most current anthropological research using a multi-regional approach (both Old World and New World) addressing essential topics such as early religions, the development of technologies and material culture, and the origins of agriculture and literacy. Most importantly the author manages to present these complex topics in a prose that is engaging, straight-forward, and current.

I highly recommend this text to instructors of ancient history, western civilization, anthropology, and archaeology courses. Though, I bought it simply because I thought it would be a fascinating and enjoyable read. I was not disappointed.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful

Good Book 14 Nov 2007

By Andrew Murphy - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Paperback

I studied under this Prof at Georgia State University and she knows what she is talking about. I loved the book and bought it because she does excellent work.

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