Synopses & Reviews
The Atlas of Early Man is a unique, and uniquely fascinating, work of popular natural history. For nearly two decades, it has been the definitive survey of the human developments that were the building blocks of scores of different civilizations, offering the kind of irresistible blend of history, science, and cultural study that will capture the interest and imagination of almost any reader.
Now, in the first new edition since 1981, Jacquetta Hawkes's landmark volume is at last available in paperback. It is a book that fills in the gaps in our overall understanding of the ancient world: Through one thousand maps, diagrams, drawings, and illustrations, it compares the cultures of historical contemporaries, placing simultaneous developments in art, religion, technology, science, architecture, and government in graphic perspective. What was happening in China when the pyramids were being built in Egypt? What had been achieved in the Americas when wheeled vehicles first rolled across Sumeria? What point of progress had been reached in Western Europe when the Roman Empire was at its height? Hawkes's eloquent and comprehensive text brings these worlds alive for us, not just as historical entities but as living, thriving civilizations. Did the advances of man occur independently across the oceans and continents, or were they the results of a spreading influence? The provocative clarity of Hawkes's treatment enables us to draw our own conclusions to such questions-and dispels the clouds that have been so long blocked our view of early history.
Review
"For both professionals and the purely curious, archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes now provides a brilliant series of answers-a chart of all the ancients whose past is our prologue." --
Time"Well-organized, profusely illustrated...invaluable." --Library Journal
"Jacquetta Hawkes, a distinguished archaeologist, historian and writer, has imposed a measure of order on this age-long, complex story...A splendid introduction to the subject." --Houston Post
"Superbly illustrated...A useful reference and fun for the casual browser." --Publishers Weekly
"Up to now, historians of man have been linear, starting with the first Homo Sapiens and moving up to the present day. This work attempts noting less than to show what was occurring simultaneously in eight geographical areas in as many time periods...A fascinating book to read and an invaluable reference work." --Columbus Dispatch
About the Author
Jacquetta Hawkes, the distinguished archaeologist, historian, and author, lives at Stratford-upon-Avon in England. she studied at Cambridge and has traveled extensively; among her best-known books are
A Land, Man on Earth, The World of the Past, The Dawn of the Gods, The First Great Civilizations, and the
Atlas of Ancient Archaeology.