Early Civilizations of the Old World

by Charles Keith Maisels

In this new paperback edition of Early Civilizations of the Old World, Charles Keith Maisels traces the development of some of the earliest and key civilizations in history. In each case the ecological and economic background to growth, geographical factors, cross-cultural intersection and the rise of urbanism are examined, explaining how particular forms of social structure and cultural interaction developed from before the Neolithic period to the time of the first civilizations in each area.
This volume challenges the traditional assumption of a band-tribe-chiefdom-state sequence and instead demonstrates that large complex societies can flourish without social classes and the state, as dramatically shown by the Indus civilization. Such features as the use of Childe's urban revolution theory as a means of comparison for each emerging civilization and the discussion of the emergence of archaeology as a scientific discipline, make Early Civilizations of the Old World a valuable, innovative and stimulating work.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

500 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 1999

Reviews

[Claudia González Da Silva]

Very hard to read for anyone who is not an archaeologist or ancient historian

[Iset]

A rather broad but useful overview of the origins and state formation of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus, and China, comparing the four, and making use of Childe’s checklist to determine whether his criteria are in fact useful for assessing early civilisations. The text can get a little technical at times, but for the most part is easily readable by the hobbyist or new student. Best treated as an introductory or comparative primer.

6 out of 10

[Joy]

I'm sure this is interesting for students of ancient cultures. It is very dry with only minimal mention of personalities - the focus is on how their structures developed. I know little enough about ancient India and China that I found both those sections interesting, and his interpretation of India seems to be a creative theory.