The Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World traces the course of human ingenuity and innovation from the first crude stone tools of our earliest ancestors two and a half million years ago up to the early medieval period, drawing on the very latest research and discoveries, and addressing some of the most fundamental questions about our past. The seventy articles take us on an eye-opening and unusual journey through a panoply of inventions, some fundamental, others just intriguing or bizarre - the taming of fire, cereal agriculture, eyed needles, camel saddles, chariots and contraceptives. There are six sections: Technologies; Shelter & Subsistence; Transportation; Hunting, Warfare & Sport; Art & Science; and Adorning the Person.
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Fagan organizes into six categories the 70 things his three dozen scholarly contributors present. The first category describes the basic natural materials--stone, clay, and wood--with which humanity began to alter the environment. Ensuing categories catalog their uses, such as in hunting, farming, or artwork. With the rise of civilizations, anonymous inventors devised instruments of communication, and the authors informatively cover ships, roads, irrigation and plumbing, literacy, and so forth. Stuffed with hundreds of color photographs, Fagan's work is an estimable spruce-up option for any library. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
Brian M. Fagan is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara. He has written numerous books, including The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Ancient World, Ancient North America and The Long Summer: Climate Change and Civilization.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good choices,
By
This review is from: The Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World (Hardcover)
If you are interested in history, Fagan gives a fascinating look at how past civilisations discovered certain crucial inventions, and used these as much of the basis for their societies. Typically, standard history books might only give cursory mention of these inventions. But here Fagan gives them their proper place.The limitation to a total of 70 is of course arbitrary. But probably as a practical necessity, he needed some means of constraining the size of his subject matter. In any event, it is hard to argue with his choice of inventions. All of these were pivotal to those who used them. The illustrations in the book are also a pleasure to view. Care has also gone into preparing these, and they do show glimpses of vanished worlds.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A focus on extraordinary world inventions,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World (Hardcover)
Thames and Hudson's 'Seventy' series provides a blend of discipline contributions in including essays by scientists, historians and more, along with a focus on extraordinary world inventions to tackle all the technological facets which have made modern society so important. Hundreds of photos and special maps and diagrams unique to THE SEVENTY GREAT INVENTIONS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD pack a coverage which examines not just the origins of these inventions, but their lasting impact on the world. Where would we be without coffee, chocolate and board games? Find out in Brian Fagan's engagingly informative and visually impressive survey.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book,
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This review is from: The Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World (Hardcover)
Was required supplementary reading for a class. But the book is so cool that it now resides on an end-table for guests to look at and enjoy.
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