"A graphic, lucid account of the Anasazi, Hohokam, and Mogollon highlights how these ancient cultures evolved so successfully in response to their... changing habitat."—Science NewsMost people are familiar with the famous pre-Columbian civilizations of the Aztecs and Maya of Mexico, but few realize just how advanced were contemporary cultures in the American Southwest. Here lie some of the most remarkable monuments of America's prehistoric past, such as Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. Ten thousand years ago, humans first colonized this seemingly inhospitable landscape with its scorching hot deserts and upland areas that drop below freezing even during the early summer months. The initial hunter-gatherer bands gradually adapted to become sedentary village groups. The high point of Southwestern civilization was reached with the emergence of cultures known as Anasazi, Hohokam, and Mogollon in the first millennium AD. Interweaving the latest archaeological evidence with early first-person accounts, Stephen Plog explains the rise and mysterious fall of Southwestern cultures. For this revised edition, he discusses new research and its implications for our understanding of the prehistoric Southwest. As he concludes, the Southwest is still home to vibrant Native American communities who carry on many of the old traditions. 150 illustrations, 17 in color

Written to appeal to professional archaeologists, students, and the interested public alike, this book is a long overdue introduction to the ancient... peoples of the Great Basin and northern Colorado Plateau. Through detailed syntheses, the reader is drawn into the story of the habitation of the Great Basin from the entry of the first Native Americans through the arrival of Europeans. Ancient Peoples is a major contribution to Great Basin archaeology and anthropology, as well as the general study of foraging societies.

This second edition to the art, archaeology and history of Ancient Persia, includes new discoveries and ideas and corrects errors from the first... edition. This concise introduction to the subject continues to form a guide to the collection of the British Museum whilst also commenting extensively on the Ancient Persian communities from 6000BC to the 7th century AD.

In this re-titled and substantially revised update of his Classical Philosophy (2003), Christopher Shields expands his coverage to include the... Hellenistic era, and now offers an introduction to more than 1,000 years of ancient philosophy.  From Thales and other Pre-Socratics through Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and on to Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Scepticism, Ancient Philosophy traces the important connections between these periods and individuals without losing sight of the novelties and dynamics unique to each. The coverage of Plato and Aristotle also has been expanded.  It now includes, for example, updated coverage of Plato's allegories of the cave and the divided line and the metaphor of the sun as well as features of Plato's epistemology.  Shields also adds new discussion on Aristotle's theory of virtue and his approach to the Socratic problem of akrasia, or weakness of will. In terms of its structure, Ancient Philosophy is presented so that each philosophical position receives: (1) a brief introduction, (2) a sympathetic review of its principal motivations and primary supporting arguments, and (3) a short assessment, inviting readers to evaluate its plausibility.  The result is a book that brings the ancient arguments to life, making the introduction truly contemporary.  It will serve as both a first stop and a well visited resource for any student of the subject. Ancient Philosophy offers a vivid picture of the ideas that flourished at philosophy's long birth and considers their relevance, both to the historical development of the Western philosophical tradition, and to philosophy today.

Sir Anthony Kenny here tells the fascinating story of the birth of philosophy and its remarkable flourishing in the ancient Mediterranean world. This is... the initial volume of a four-book set in which Kenny will unfold a magisterial new history of Western philosophy, the first major single-author history of philosophy to appear in decades. Ancient Philosophy spans over a thousand years and brings to life the great minds of the past, from Thales, Pythagoras, and Parmenides, to Socrates, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Augustine. The book's great virtue is that it is written by one of the world's leading authorities on the subject. Instead of an uncritical, straightforward recitation of known facts--Plato and his cave of shadows, Aristotle's ethics, Augustine's City of God--we see the major philosophers through the eyes of a man who has spent a lifetime contemplating their work. Thus we do not simply get an overview of Aristotle, for example, but a penetrating and insightful critique of his thought. Kenny offers an illuminating account of the various schools of thought, from the Pre-Socratics to the Epicureans. He examines the development of logic and reason, ancient ideas about physics ("how things happen"), metaphysics and ethics, and the earliest thinking about the soul and god. Vividly written, but serious and deep enough to offer a genuine understanding of the great philosophers, Kenny's lucid and stimulating history will become the definitive work for anyone interested in the people and ideas that shaped the course of Western thought.

The tradition of ancient philosophy is a long, rich and varied one, in which the notes of discussion and argument constantly resound. This book... introduces ancient debates, engaging us with the ancient developments of their themes. Moving away from the presentation of ancient philosophy as a succession of great thinkers, the book gives readers a sense of the freshness and liveliness of ancient philosophy, and of its wide variety of themes and styles. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.

Part of The Blackwell Readings in Philosophy Series, this survey of ancient philosophy explores the scope of ancient philosophy, focusing on the key... philosophers and their texts, examining how the foundations of philosophy as we know it were laid.Focuses on the key philosophers and their texts, from Pre-Socratic thinkers through to the Neo-PlatonistsBrings together the key primary writings of Thales, Xenophanes, Parmenides, Anaxagoras, Gorgias, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Lucretius, Seneca, Sextus Empiricus, Plotinus, and many othersIs broken down into eight chronological sections for easy comprehension and comparisonThe readings are accompanied by expert commentary from the editors

John Kantner traces the evolution of Pueblo society in the American Southwest from the emergence of the Chaco and Mimbres in the AD 1000s through the... early decades of contact with the Spanish in the sixteenth century. Based on a diverse range of archaeological data, historical accounts, oral history and ethnographic records, this introduction for students of the Pueblo Southwest is vital reading for any archaeologist concerned with the origins of early civilizations.

Exploding the traditional myth that view queens as simply an appendage to the king, these essays explore the social and cultural constructions of female... power. This volume does more than merely identify and describe queens, but rather, offers its readers an understanding of the roles of these 'dominant women', situated within archaeological discourse that change our assumptions about female-ruled societies. Examining the ancient societies in Asia, North and South America, Europe and Africa, the authors explore the powerful positions held by queens, as well as the role that gender played in their kingdoms. Spearheading the notion that 'women's work' is not the same in all cultures, the contributions in this volume compel readers to rethink gender relationships and ideology in our cultures.