Books in the Understanding Ancient Civilizations series

Defying many of the supposed rules of civilization building, and lacking the advantages of a written language, hard metals, the wheel, or draft animals, the Incas forged one of the greatest imperial states in history.

So many myths and legends. So many senators and Caesars. So many documents, archaeological finds, movie-made misconceptions, and scholarly histories. With so much information available on the civilization of ancient Rome, and more discoveries happening all the time, where do you start?

This work is a revealing study of the enigmatic Indus civilization and how a rich repertoire of archaeological tools is being used to probe its puzzles.

The ancient Greeks established the very blueprint of Western civilization-our societies, institutions, art, and culture-and thanks to remarkable new findings, we know more about them than ever, and it's all here in this up-to-date introductory volume.

How did a bedraggled band of nomads manage to evolve into a Mesoamerican superpower in such a brief time? This volume looks at the essential elements in the Aztecs' rise, fall, and enduring influence.

Thanks to powerful innovations in archaeology and other types of historical research, we now have a picture of everyday life in the Mayan empire that turns the long-accepted conventional wisdom on its head.