Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years - Softcover

Wenke, Robert J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195055225 ISBN 13: 9780195055221

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1990

Synopsis

This comprehensive review of world prehistory is organized around the five topics central to archaeology: the origins of culture, the development of physically "modern" people, Pleistocene cultures, the establishment of agricultural economies, and the rise of complex states and empires. It presents a coherent philosophy of the field, reflecting the "new archaeology" of the 1960s and 70s while reviewing the methodological revisions of the 80s, and relates the archaeological data from hundreds of sites to the great questions of prehistorical change. Thoroughly revised and updated to include new scholarship and the most recent discoveries, the third edition features new material on the Neanderthals, Pleistocene cave art, and ancient Egypt, as well as many new illustrations and an analysis of modern archaeological theory within the context of Western intellectual history. Always clear and lively, Patterns in Prehistory is that rare book that will fascinate general readers and scholars alike.

About this title

About the Author

Robert J. Wenke, Professor of Anthropology, University of Washington.

Review

"Solid, well-written, up-to-date, authoritative....The overall control of the literature is excellent, and the theoretical perspective is one congenial to that of most American archaelogists. It will continue to set a standard matched by few of its rivals."--American Antiquity (on the previous edition)

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195055225
• ISBN 13: 9780195055221
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 624