Early Civilizations of the Old
Early Civilizations of the Old World by Charles Keith Maisels, now available in a new paperback edition, traces the development of some of the earliest and most significant civilizations in history and explains how specific types of social organisation and cultural interaction emerged prior to the Neolithic period. The development of specific social structures and modes of intercultural interaction from pre-Neolithic times to the emergence of the first civilizations in each region is discussed, with the ecological and economic conditions that influenced growth, geographical considerations, cross-cultural intersection, and the rise of urbanism all being taken into account.
This volume contradicts the conventional view that huge complex societies may thrive without social classes and the state, as spectacularly demonstrated by the Indus civilization. Instead, it provides evidence against the band-tribe-chiefdom-state sequence. Early Civilizations of the Old World is a valuable, original, and exciting work because of aspects like the comparison of each growing civilisation using Childe's urban revolution thesis and the explanation of the beginnings of archaeology as a scientific profession.
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