|
| By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean : The Birth of Eurasia
ISBN: 9780191003356
Platform/Publisher: Ebook Central / Oxford University Press
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Limited; Download: 7 Days at a Time
Subjects: History;
Renowned British archaeologist Cunliffe (Britain Begins) explores the social, climatic, and environmental factors that set the inhabitants of the Fertile Crescent and the Yangtze and Yellow River basins on the path "from simple foraging to organized food production and urban living" in this sweeping and ambitious capstone to his long career. Proposing that history has been far more influenced by geography than great personalities, he explores how a densely interconnected web of natural dynamics shaped human behavior and molded the emerging cultures. He apologizes in the preface for barely mentioning well-known human dramas such as Alexander the Great's conquests, yet his pithy observations will engross adherents of the social sciences as much as the natural sciences: Macedonia in the 4th century B.C.E., for instance, "was a macho world, boisterous and dangerous, ready to be set alight by any charismatic leader who chanced his luck." The importance of climate change as a driver of mass migration and social flux recurs throughout, sounding an ominous note for the Earth's current circumstances. Cunliffe is a master storyteller, explaining his carefully researched conclusions through polished language and apropos turns of phrase that make his book a breeze despite its depth and breadth. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Barry Cunliffe taught archaeology in the Universities of Bristol and Southampton and was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2008, thereafter becoming Emeritus Professor. He has excavated widely in Britain (Fishbourne, Bath, Danebury, Hengistbury Head, Brading) and in the Channel Islands, Brittany, and Spain, and has been President of the Council for British Archaeology and of the Society of Antiquaries, a Governor of the Museum of London, and a Trustee of the British Museum. He is currently a Commissioner of English Heritage. His many publications include The Ancient Celts (1997), Facing the Ocean (2001), The Druids: A Very Short Introduction (2010), and Britain Begins (2012), all also published by Oxford University Press. He received a knighthood in 2006. |
