Oliphant Margaret. The Atlas of the Ancient World. Charting the Great Civilizations of the Past

London: Ebury Press, 1992. — 220 p. — ISBN: 0-09-177040-8."This is a book that takes the reader back over several thousand years through many lands and their very different ancient cultures. As a specialist in the civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East, I have found it as absorbing to explore cultures from those parts of the world not in my specific field of study as those which fall within it. As such, mindful of the people I have accompanied as lecturer on tours of archaeological sites, I have seen my role as that of a guide and interpreter.
In writing about matters as varied as the influence of Hellenism on the Roman world, Shang burial customs in ancient China or the gods of Egypt, my aim has been to stir the readers’ interest and imagination, with the hope that they will go on to read more specialized works, some of which have been listed in the bibliography. Illustrations and maps have been carefully chosen, and chronological tables provide a means of comparing the different civilizations. The importance of this was brought home to me on my first tours to Turkey. Here, the remains of ancient cultures span thousands of years, and visitors to sites such as Hattusas or Sardis invariably wanted to know what was happening in the world when these ruins were the living cities of the Hittites and Lydians, respectively. The past survives in archaeological sites, books and museums, but a historical imagination is required to enjoy the pursuit of antiquity to its fullest. And imagination often needs to be stimulated, something which this book will, I hope, achieve."
(Preface by the Author).