Books in the Case Studies in Early Societies series

This book is for students and scholars of ancient civilizations who would benefit from an approach to Ancient Greece which compares anthropological approaches to other early civilizations, including ancient China, the Maya, the Inca, the Harappan, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Japan.

This important but accessible 2004 text presents an overview of the archaeology of the Jomon period of Japan (circa 14,500-300 BC), and aims to bridge the gap between academic traditions in Japanese and Anglo-American archaeology. It represents an invaluable source of reflection on the development of complexity in human history.

Ancient Maya comes to life in this new holistic and theoretical study of the rise, florescence and decline of the cities of this most sophisticated civilization. Drawing on new, unpublished data, Arthur Demarest draws lessons for contemporary society and the modern Maya peoples struggling to re-emerge.

Susan Pollock's detailed treatment of early state and urban societies in lowland Mesopotamia covers nearly three millennia, from approximately 5000 to 2100 BC. Written for an undergraduate audience, her approach is explicitly anthropological, drawing on contemporary theoretical perspectives to enrich our understanding of the ancient Mesopotamian past.

The ancient city of Cahokia developed in the Mississippi valley in North America a millennium ago and has left an extraordinarily rich archaeological record. In this important new survey, Timothy Pauketat offers an outline of the development of Mississippian civilization, presenting a wealth of archaeological evidence.

This 2004 book introduces the reader to the history and archaeology of the Puebloan Southwest from the AD 1000s to the sixteenth century. Drawing on archaeological data, it also explores traditionally neglected sources such as oral histories and historical accounts and is essential reading for the student of the region.

In the first major synthesis on the subject in nearly fifteen years, John Wayne Janusek explores Tiwanaku civilization in its geographical and cultural setting. This fascinating book will appeal to upper-undergraduates, graduates and professionals interested in American anthropology and the history of Native American peoples.

This book looks at the ancient cities of Middle Niger, the most recently 'discovered' ancient urban civilization. Highly-illustrated throughout, it explores the emergence of these unique clustered city plans which developed without a centralised power and which have a profound effect on how archaeologists view ancient urbanism.

Beginning from the phase when Egyptians first farmed wheat and barley and ending as their central government fell into disorder, Wenke examines the cycle of ancient Egypt's development. Integrating evidence with anthropology, geology, and archaeology, this text is ideal for undergraduates and graduates taking courses on early civilizations and states.

The Colonial Caribbean is an archaeological analysis of Jamaican coffee plantation landscapes at the turn of the nineteenth century. Framed by Marxist theory, the analysis considers plantation landscapes using a multiscalar approach to landscape archaeology.

In this volume, Rita P. Wright uses both Mesopotamian texts and the results of archaeological excavations and surveys to draw a rich account of the Indus civilisation's well-planned cities, its sophisticated alterations to the landscape, and the complexities of its agrarian and craft-producing economy.

This book focuses on what archaeology can tell us about the development of towns in early medieval Britain. Beginning with the decline of many Roman towns in the fourth and fifth centuries, the books examines the conditions that led to the development of new Anglo-Saxon towns between the seventh and eleventh centuries CE.

Long before the Aztecs and 800 miles from Classic Maya centers, Teotihuacan was part of a broad Mesoamerican tradition but had a distinctive personality. This book synthesizes a century of research, including recent finds, and covers the lives of commoners as well as elites.

This book provides a detailed account of the Inca Empire, describing its history, society, economy, religion and politics, but most importantly the way it was managed. It offers a sophisticated new interpretation of Inca power politics and especially the role of religion in shaping an imperial world of great ethnic, social and cultural diversity.

This book is an archaeological study of regional landscape in the upper and middle Yangzi River region of Central China. The book reviews anthropological perspectives on interregional interaction and landscape and provides an up-to-date synthesis of archaeological discoveries in the region, including the recently flooded Three Gorges Dam area.