Continent of Hunter-Gatherers New Perspectives in Australian Prehistory by Harry Lourandos This seminal book challenges traditional perceptions of Australian Aboriginal prehistory: that the environment is the major determinant of hunter-gatherers; that Aborigines were egalitarian and culturally homogeneous and therefore experienced few economic and demographic changes. Harry Lourandos argues that the social and economic processes of hunter-gatherers were complex and that the prehistoric period was dynamic and revolutionary. Lourandos presents prehistoric data, reviews archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence, and analyses environmental, demographic and socially-oriented perspectives – drawing from them an original hypothesis. He addresses initial colonisation, the role of Tasmanian Aborigines, the…
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‘The Code of Hammurabi’ is a well-preserved ancient law code, created circa 1760 BC in ancient Babylon. It was enacted by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi. The stele containing the Code of Hammurabi was discovered in 1901 by the Egyptologist Gustav Jéquier, a member of the expedition headed by Jacques de Morgan. The stele was discovered in what is now Khuzestan, Iran (ancient Susa, Elam), where it had been taken as plunder by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte in the 12th century BC. It is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Wildside Press (18 Feb 2009)
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Ancient World Season with Bettany Hughes by Bettany Hughes Historian Bettany Hughes gives her personal take on the diverse cultures of the ancient world in this 2010 documentary series on More 4. The series begins with an examination of Alexandria, the city founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC to become the world’s first global centre of culture. The programme explores Alexandria’s role as a powerhouse of science and learning, and focuses on the female mathematician, astronomer and philosopher Hypatia, the subject of the feature film Agora, starring Rachel Weisz. The series also offers a chance to catch Hughes’s…
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By the first century AD, Rome ruled an empire that stretched from Morocco in the West to Iraq in the East, and from Britain in the North to Egypt in the South. Within this territory was the Mediterranean, a ‘liquid continent’ that facilitated trade and exchange across it, and into which flowed a treasure trove of goods from far flung lands, including slaves, spices, precious stones, and coloured marble, not to mention an exotic array of foods and wine. By the time of the emperors, the Romans had created the world’s first global empire, and had plundered the provinces for…
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The Agricultural Revolution in Prehistory Why did foragers become farmers? by Graeme Barker The Agricultural Revolution in Prehistory addresses one of the most debated and least understood revolutions in the history of our species, the change from hunting and gathering to farming. Graeme Barker takes a global view, and integrates a massive array of information from archaeology and many other disciplines, including anthropology, botany, climatology, genetics, linguistics, and zoology. Against current orthodoxy, Barker develops a strong case for the development of agricultural systems in many areas as transformations in the life-ways of the indigenous forager societies, and argues that these…
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Roman Britain A New History by Guy de la Bédoyère In this lively, authoritative account of a crucial period in Britains history, Guy de la Bédoyère puts the Roman conquest and occupation within the larger context of Romano-British society and how it functioned.With nearly 300 illustrations and dramatic aerial views of Roman sites, and brimming with the very latest research and discoveries, Roman Britain will delight and inform all those with an interest in this seminal epoch of British history. Thames & Hudson (22 Feb 2010) 288 pages
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A coruscating, insightful history of the human soul. Cannibals, burials, vampires, human sacrifice, bog people – throughout history our ancestors have responded to death in numerous ways. The past has left us numerous relics of these encounters between the dead and those they leave behind: accounts of sacrifices in early histories, rituals that have stood the test of time, bodies discovered in caves and bogs, remains revealed by archaeological digs. Through these insights into the past, Timothy Taylor pieces together evidence of how our ancestors created their universe and asks how we have dealt with the idea of the end…
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Attribution: Amazon The Medici Conspiracy The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities from Italy’s Tomb Raiders to the World’s Greatest Museums by Peter Watson, Cecilia Todeschini The Medici referred to in the title of this book isn’t the famed Florentine family of the Renaissance, but rather Giacomo Medici, international art dealer – jailed for 10 years in 2004 for illegal antiquities trafficking. The narrative opens with a botched robbery and an ensuing police chase, followed by the discovery of eight Apuleian vases from the fourth century BC in the swimming pool of a German-based art smuggler. Even better than the antiquities…
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The Persians Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Iran by Homa Katouzian In recent years, Iran has gained attention mostly for negative reasons – for its authoritarian religious government, disputed nuclear programme, and controversial role in the Middle East – but there is much more to the story of this ancient land than can be gleaned from the news. This authoritative and comprehensive history of Iran covers the entire history of the area from the foundation of the ancient Persian Empire to today’s Iranian state. Writing from an Iranian rather than a European perspective, Katouzian integrates the significant cultural and literary history…
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The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, Robert Graves (translator) As private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, the scholar Suetonius had access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eyewitness accounts) to produce one of the most colourful biographical works in history. The Twelve Caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome. It covers the time from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus, to the decline into depravity and civil war under Nero, then the recovery that came with his successors. A masterpiece of observation, anecdote and…