Fagan Brian M. People of the Earth. An Introduction to World Prehistory

Fifth Edition. — Little, Brown and Company, 1986. — xxii+545 p. — ISBN: 0-316-27322-8."People of the Earth is an attempt at a straightforward narrative of human history from the origins of humankind up to the beginnings of literate civilization. To make the book accessible to those who have not previously studied archaeology, I keep technical terms to a minimum and define them where they do occur... I have revised about 40 percent of the book for this edition, with the greatest changes coming in the first two parts. I have recast the beginning of Chapter 1 to make it of more general appeal, made major changes in the "approaches" chapter, and completely rewritten the background on the Pleistocene, as sea-core researches have revolutionized our knowledge of the Ice Age. The chapters on early human evolution have been rewritten to reflect an explosion of new data and ideas, especially on the evolution of human behavior. I have also taken account of new fossil finds. Throughout the book I have updated and refined the text and illustrations, changing chronologies here, adding new sites there, and updating references throughout. There are exciting new finds relating to the Bering Land Bridge and new insights into pre-Clovis sites. These have been added to this edition, as well as a recasting of the European prehistory chapters. The previous edition saw a major rewrite of the chapters on the early civilizations. These revisions have stood the test of time well. Some of the latest research in areas such as Mexico or Sumer is so detailed that it has little impact on a basic text such as this, except, perhaps, in the addition of a reference, a few sentences, or a brief paragraph. The publication of many highly important pieces of research, foreshadowed in preliminary reports cited in earlier editions, has been noted."Prehistory.
Archaeology.
Approaches to World Prehistory.
The Pleistocene Epoch.
The First Humans.
Human Origins: The Emergence of "Handy Person".
Toward Modern Humanity.
Hunter-Gatherers.
Europeans and Northern Asians.
The First Americans.
Africans and Australians.
Farmers.
Plenteous Harvest: The Origins.
Origins of Food Production: Europe and the Near East.
Early Farmers of Africa.
Asia: Rice, Roots, and Ocean Voyagers.
New World Agriculture.
Old World Civilizations.
The Development of Civilization.
Mesopotamia and the First Cities.
Pharaohs and African Chiefs.
The Harappan Civilization and Southeast Asia.
Anatolia, Greece, and Italy.
Temperate Europe Before the Romans.
Shang Civilization in East Asia.
New World Civilizations.
Mesoamerican Civilizations.
Early Civilization in Peru.