First civilizations : ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt / Robert Chadwick.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chadwick, Robert, 1941-

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Iraq--Civilization--To 634.

Iraq.

Civilization.

Egypt--Civilization--332 B.C.-638 A.D.

Egypt.

Physical Description:

xviii, 269 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 19 x 25 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Oakville, Conn. : Equinox Pub., 2005.

Summary:

First Civilizations is the second edition of a popular student text first published in 1996 in Montreal by Les Editions Champ Fleury. This much updated and expanded edition provides an introductory overview of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. It was conceived primarily for students who have little or no knowledge of ancient history or archaeology. The book begins with the role of history and archaeology in understanding the past, and continues with the origins of agriculture and the formation of the Sumerian city-states in Mesopotamia. Three subsequent chapters concentrate on Assyrian and Babylonian history and culture. The second half of the book focuses on Egypt, beginning with the physical environment of the Nile River, the formation of the Egyptian state and the Old Kingdom. Subsequent chapters discuss the Middle Kingdom, the Hyksos period, and the 18th Dynasty, with space devoted to Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, and the Ramesside period. The text ends with the Persian conquest of Mesopotamia and Egypt.

First Civilizations also contains sections on astronomy, medicine, architecture, eschatology and burial practices, mummification, and religion, and discusses the myths of Gilgamesh, Isis, and Osiris. The bibliography emphasizes English language encyclopedias, books, and journals specializing in the ancient Near East.

Contents:

Mesopotamia: Agriculture and the origins of civilization

The early dynastic period and the Sumerian city-states

The Akkadians and the Ur III Dynasty

Mesopotamia in the Second Millennium BC

The Assyrians

The last Babylonian dynasty

Mythology and religion

Science and nature

Egypt: Egypt

The old kingdom and the pyramid age (2572 -2134 BC)

The middle kingdom

The Hyksos period and the new kingdom

Akhenaten and the Amarna period

The 19th dynasty and the Ramesside kings

Egypt in the late Second and First Millennium BC

The Persians.

Notes:

Previous ed.: Montreal : Les Editions Champ Fleury, 1996.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [250]-261) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

1904768776

1904768784

OCLC:

55678895