Patterns in Prehistory... | Buy

Summary

Generations after generations have been living and dying on this planet for millions and millions of years. These ancestors have built societies, created cultures, and produced technologies. Yet many questions still remain about our ancestry and what relevance, if any, these past cultures hold for us.Patterns in Prehistory takes an in-depth look at humankind's first three million years. From the origins of early hominids several million years ago to the evolution of the first great states and civilizations, this comprehensive survey of world prehistory also confronts important philosophical issues about the study of the past. The author reflects on the archaeological methods and theories of the 1960s and 70s while reviewing the methodological revisions of the 80s and 90s, relating the archaeological data from hundreds of sites to the great questions of prehistorical change. He focuses on the four great transformations in the history of our genus: the evolution of culture itself; the first appearance of us, Homo Sapiens; the evolution of agriculture; and the first appearances of cultural and social complexity in the form of the great civilizations of antiquity.Thoroughly revised and updated, this fourth edition incorporates the most recent archaeological discoveries and addresses the insights and limitations of the new wave of "post-processual" or "cognitive" archaeology. It incorporates the latest research, particularly the new discoveries in Mesoamerican sites, Peru, southwest Asia, and Egypt, as well as new scholarship and theories on the origins of complex societies. Wenke also places more emphasis on gender, race, ideology, and religion. Ideal for courses in world prehistory and archeology, this new edition has been shortened to be more accessible to students.

Chapters 1-15 end with a Summary and Conclusions.
Preface
Prehistory, History, and Archaeology
What Are Archaeologists Looking For? (The Meaning of the Past)
Archaeology as the Reconstruction of Extinct Cultures and Their Histories
Archaeology as a Body of Theories and Methods for Explaining the Past
A Short History of Attempts to Understand the Past
Fundamentals of Archaeology
Archaeologists and the Practice of Archaeology
The Basic Data of the Past
Analyses of the Past
Dating the Past
The Origins of Culture
The Problem of Cultural Origins
The Nature of Culture
The Ecological Context of Cultural Origins
Models of Cultural Origins
The Origins of Homo sapiens sapiens
Human Evolution and Radiation: 1.8 million to Circa 300,000 Years Ago
Homo sapiens: Models of Origins
The Middle to Upper Paleolithic Period
Human Colonization of the World: Circa 30,000-10,000 Years Ago
The First Americans
Routes for the Initial Colonization of the Americas
Evidence for the First Americans
Early Paleoindian Economies
The Origins of Agriculture
Agriculture, Domestication, and Sedentary Communities
Hypotheses About the Origins of Domestication, Agriculture, and Sedentary Communities
Early Domestication and Agriculture: The Post-Paleolithic Background
The Origins of Domestication, Agriculture, and Sedentary Communities in Southwest Asia
Other Old World Domesticates
Agricultural Origins in the New World
The Evolution of Complex Societies
Social Complexity and Human Values
Traditional Sociocultural Typologies
Contemporary Approaches to Sociocultural Typology
The Archaeology of Complex Societies
Explaining the Evolution of Civilizations: The Search for Causes
Origins of Complex Societies in Southwest Asia
The Ecological Setting
Fundamentals of the Southwest Asian Archaeological Record
The Neolithic Origins of Southwest Asian Civilization
Initial Cultural Complexity
Early States: The Uruk and Jemdet Nasr Periods
The Early Dynastic Period
Southwest Asia After 2350 B.C.
The Origins of Complex Societies in Egypt
The Ecological Setting
Early Egyptian Agriculture
The Predynastic Period
The Archaic, Old Kingdom, and First Intermediate Periods
The Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Periods
The New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Periods
Ancient Egyptian Art and Thought
Egyptian Writing and Literature
Who Were the Ancient Egyptians?
The Evolution of Complex Societies in the Indus Valley
The Ecological Setting
The Neolithic Background to South Asian Cultural Complexity
The Neolithic-Urban Transition
Early Harappan Culture
Mature Harappan Civilization
The Decline of Harappan Civilization
The Evolution of Complex Societies in China
The Ecological Setting
Early Farmers
Regional Neolithic Developments in North China
Early Complex Chinese Societies
Erh-li-t'ou Culture
Shang Civilization and Its Contemporaries
Early Imperial China
Later Complex Societies of the Old World
Temperate Europe
A Brief Overview of Other Later Old World Complex Societies
Colonization of the Western Pacific Islands
The Evolution of Complex Societies in Mesoamerica
The Ecological Setting
Early Mesoamerican Farming
The Archaeological Record of Early Complex Mesoamerican Societies
The Archaeological Record of Mesoamerican States in the Valleys of Mexico and Oaxaca
The Maya
Postclassic Mesoamerica
The Spanish Conquest
The Evolution of Complex Societies in Andean South America
The Ecological Setting
Early Hunters and Gatherers
The Agricultural Basis of Andean Civilization
The First Complex Societies in Andean South America
The Early Horizon
The Early Intermediate Period: Early States
The Middle Horizon: Competing States
The Late Intermediate Period: Early Empires
The Late Horizon: The Imperial Transformation
The European Conquest
Early Cultural Complexity in North America
The Ecological Setting
The North American East
The North American Southwest
Prehistory in Perspective
Our Intellectual Heritage
Lessons of Prehistory
The Future of Archaeology
Art Credits
Index
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