The Book
The story of the human species unfolded across millions of years, through extreme climate events, continuous ecological churn, and the demands of everyday survival. But how much do we know about this complex story? What did the earliest human societies look like? How did they go from upright mobility to tool use, from small groups to civilisations with complex social structures, from cave paintings to written scripts, gigantic burial sites, and intricate religious rituals?
The Ancient World: Social Formations and Cultural Patterns addresses these questions. This volume reconstructs the human journey on Earth in rich detail, covering:
- Biological evolution, resource extraction, social organisation, tool use, and artistic expression during prehistoric times (the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic eras);
- Emergence of states, civilisations, cities, stratified social structures, scripts, trade relations, and advanced material cultures during the Bronze Age (Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China);
- Relations between nomadic and settled peoples and the role of resource-based economic decision-making while moving from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age.
Each epoch, region, and theme is explored closely, drawing on archaeological and academic work that has shaped our understanding of the distant past. Also bringing the past to life are the 50 maps and photographs included in this book.
This textbook is specially designed as per the latest undergraduate history syllabus, in accordance with the National Education Policy (2020). Students of history and archaeology will find it invaluable.
The Author(s)
Srimanjari is a retired Associate Professor of History. She taught at Miranda House, Delhi University, for 35 years.
Professor M. V. Shobhana Warrier is an Associate Professor of History at Kamala Nehru College, Delhi University, where she has been teaching since 2005.
Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures
List of Abbreviations
1. Debating Human Evolution
Human Evolution: A Long Journey • Tracing the Human Line: Fossil Evidence • Environmental Context: Climatic Stress and Survival • ‘Becoming Human’: From Australopithecus to Homo Sapiens Sapiens • Cultural Adaptations: Tools, Subsistence, Use of Fire, Migrations, Symbolism
2. The Upper Palaeolithic Period in Prehistory
Environmental Background and Resource Procurement • Characteristic Features of the UP Period • Tool-making and Culture
3. The Mesolithic Age: Debates and Sites
Debating the Mesolithic as a Phase in Prehistory • Environmental Changes and Shifts in Technology and Subsistence Mobilisation • Characteristic Features of the Mesolithic of Northern and Western Europe and Natufian West Asia • Sites and the Mesolithic Transformation
4. The Emergence of Agricultural Societies
From Hunting-Gathering to Food Production • Definition and Implications of Domestication of Plants and Animals • Transition to Agriculture: Theoretical Approaches • Early Agriculture in Different Regions
5. Bronze Age Mesopotamia
Introduction • The Bronze Age: A Definition • ‘The State, the Chicken, and the Egg; or, What Came First’ • The Environmental Setting of Mesopotamia • From Villages to Towns • The Cities of Sumer • From Temples to Palaces: Early Political Organisations • The Economic Basis of Mesopotamian Society • Aspects of Social Stratification
6. Ancient Egypt: From the Neolithic to the Old Kingdom
Introduction • Sources • Geography and Environment • The Development of the Civilisation • Old Kingdom (4186–3945 BP) • Bronze Age State in Egypt • Social and Economic Complexity • Beliefs and Practices
7. Bronze Age China
Sources • The Shang Context: Geography and Environment in China • Debating the Rise of the State in Shang China • Stages of Development of Complexity in China • Bronze Age China: Erli Kang and Anyang, the Mature Shang or Yin Period • Shang State
8. Pastoral Nomadism
Introduction • Situating the Concept of Nomadic Pastoralism • Nomadic Pastoralism in the Ancient World: Some Case Studies
9. The Advent of Iron
Introduction • Growing Familiarity with Iron • Technological Breakthroughs in Ironworking • The Context of the Advent of Iron • Conclusion
Glossary
About the Authors
Index