Early Civilizations of the Old World: The Formative Histories of Egypt, The Levant, Mesopotamia, India and China

Early Civilizations of the Old World traces the development of civilization in Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, India and China from before the Neolithic period to the emergence of the State. The ecological and economic background to growth, geographical factors, cross-cultural intersection and the rise of urbanism are examined in each case, explaining how particular forms of social structure and cultural interaction developed. In its broad scope and comparative approach this accessible volume is an ideal introduction to the birth of civilization from the Mediterranean to the Far East. This volume challenges the traditional assumption of a band-tribe-chiefdom-state sequence in the development of civilization. It demonstrates that large complex societies can flourish without social classes and the state, as dramatically shown by the Indus civilization, and presents new evolutionary mechanisms.