Synopses & Reviews
When a melting Swiss glacier recently revealed the body of a hunter millennia old, the world sat up and took notice. Here, in his well-preserved arrows, tools, and leather garments (not to mention his own remains) was a rare glimpse of life in prehistoric Europe, and it captured the public imagination. Elsewhere more obvious remnants of the pre-classical past have long been objects of fascination: the megaliths of northwestern Europe, the palaces of Crete, the mysterious cave paintings of France. Now archeologist Barry Cunliffe and a team of distinguished experts shed light on this astonishing, long-silent world in a comprehensive and lavishly illustrated account.
Ranging from the earliest settlements through the emergence of Minoan civilization to the barbarian world at the end of the Roman Empire, The Oxford Illustrated Prehistory of Europe provides a fascinating look at how successive cultures adapted to the landscape of Europe. In synthesizing the diverse findings of archeology, the authors capture the sweeping movements of peoples, the spread of agriculture, the growth of metal working, and the rise and fall of cultures. They provide intriguing insight on the Minoan and the Mycenean past underlying classical Greek history, and on the disasters that destroyed Minoan civilization. They explore the increasingly sophisticated societies of northern Europe, revealing surprisingly far-reaching trade between different areas. The peoples of Bronze Age Denmark, for instance, sent amber to Germany in return for scarce metal, while new technologies spread widely across the continent. The book continues through the end of the Roman Empire, exploring the barbarian world beyond Rome's northern frontier.
For centuries, we knew little of the European civilizations that preceded classical Greece or arose outside of the Roman Empire, beyond ancient myths and the writings of Roman observers. Now the most recent discoveries of archeology have been synthesized into one exciting volume. Featuring hundreds of stunning photographs (many in full color), this book provides the most complete account available of the prehistory of European civilization.
Review
"Fascinating....Should appeal to all archaeological tastes."--
Booklist"Complete prehistory of Europe in one full-color volume....Outstanding."--Indianapolis News
Synopsis
Ranging from the earliest settlements through the emergence of Minoan civilization to the barbarian world at the end of the Roman Empire, this extraordinary volume provides a fascinating look at how successive cultures adapted to the landscape of Europe. In synthesizing the diverse findings of archeology, Barry Cunliffe and a team of distinguished experts capture the sweeping movements of peoples, the spread of agriculture, the growth of metal working, and the rise and fall of cultures, blending superb detail with ornate illustrations.
For centuries, we knew little of the European civilizations that preceded classical Greece or arose outside of the Roman Empire, beyond ancient myths and the writings of Roman observers. Now the most recent discoveries of archeology have been synthesized into one exciting volume. Featuring hundreds of stunning photographs, this book provides the most complete account available of the prehistory of European civilization.
About the Author
Barry Cunliffe is Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford. The author of over 40 books, including The Ancient Celts, published by Oxford University Press, he has served as President of the Council for British Archaeology and the Society of Antiquaries, and is currently a member of the Ancient Monuments Board of English Heritage.
Table of Contents
List of Colour Plates
List of Maps
Acknowledgements
Introduction, Barry Cunliffe
1. The Peopling of Europe, 700,000-400,000 Years before the Present, Clive Gamble
2. The Upper Paleolithic Revolution, Paul Mellars
3. The Mesolithic Age, Stephen J. Mithen
4. The First Farmers, Alasdair Whittle
5. The Transformation of Early Agrarian Europe: The Later Neolithic and Copper Ages, 4500-2500 BC, Andrew Sherratt
6. The Palace Civilizations of Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece, 2000-1200 BC, K. A. Wardle
7. The Emergence of Elites: Earlier Bronze Age Europe, 2500-1300 BC, Andrew Sherratt
8. The Collapse of Aegean Civilization at the End of the Late Bronze Age, Mervyn Popham
9. Reformation in Barbarian Europe, 1300-600 BC, Anthony Harding
10. Iron Age Societies in Western Europe and Beyond: 800-140 BC, Barry Cunliffe
11. Thracians, Scythians, and Dacians, 800 BC-AD 300, Timothy Taylor
12. The Impact of Rome on Barbarian Society, 140 BC-AD300, Barry Cunliffe
13. Barbarian Europe, AD 300-700, Malcolm Todd
Further Reading
Chronological Tables
Acknowledgement of Sources
Index