World Prehistory: In New Perspective

Description

'To qualify as human, a hominid has, so to say, to justify himself by works: the criteria are no longer biological so much as cultural'. Professor Grahame Clark goes on to trace the origins and development of human culture, in all its diversity, throughout the world. He follows the intellectual, material and social progress of mankind in each major region, from the earliest stone industries of two million years ago to the gradual and still incomplete attainment of literacy over the last five thousand years. He takes full account of peoples still preliterate when encountered in recent times by anthropologists as well as of those which nourished the great historic civilizations of mankind. Throughout he emphasized the close relationship between environment and the character and speed of cultural development. The archaeological record on which we have to rely for the greater part of man's early history is still incomplete but the spread of excavation and the almost universal adoption of radiocarbon dating do now make possible a provisional but integrated account of world prehistory. This edition contains a much more detailed and up-to-date coverage of the various territories, particularly America and Australasia, than did its predecessors. The narrative is generously illustrated with photographs, drawings and maps, and there is a carefully selected list of references to the main sources used. This provides a bibliography designed to give access to the whole of man's history before written records began.

'... there can be no doubt that for the student or general reader who needs an overview of world prehistory this is essential reading.' Geography 'It is amazing how much information, and how many ideas, Professor Clark managed to pack into this book. Nothing of importance seems to have been omitted ... Similarly there are few prehistorians who could have written such a wide-ranging survey and yet have fallen into so few errors ... Taken as a whole, World Prehistory is the most up-to-date survey not only of world prehistory as a whole but of the individual areas with which it is concerned.' The Times Literary Supplement