The Atlas of Early Man: The Rise of Man Across the Globe, From 35,000 B.C. to A.D. 500 With Over 1,000 Maps And Illustrations (Paperback)

~ Jaquetta Hawkes (Author) "I am beginning this series of time steps through history at 35,000 BC because that was when, within a few thousands years, modern man was..." (more)
Key Phrases: reaping knife, reaping knives, mastaba tombs, Bronze Age, Advanced Hunters, Near East (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"For both professionals and the purely curious, archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes now provides a brilliant series of answers-a chart of all the ancients whose past is our prologue." --Time

"Well-organized, profusely illustrated...invaluable." --Library Journal

"Jacquetta Hawkes, a distinguished archaeologist, historian and writer, has imposed a measure of order on this age-long, complex story...A splendid introduction to the subject." --Houston Post

"Superbly illustrated...A useful reference and fun for the casual browser." --Publishers Weekly

"Up to now, historians of man have been linear, starting with the first Homo Sapiens and moving up to the present day. This work attempts noting less than to show what was occurring simultaneously in eight geographical areas in as many time periods...A fascinating book to read and an invaluable reference work." --Columbus Dispatch
-- Review

Review

"For both professionals and the purely curious, archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes now provides a brilliant series of answers-a chart of all the ancients whose past is our prologue." --Time

"Well-organized, profusely illustrated...invaluable." --Library Journal

"Jacquetta Hawkes, a distinguished archaeologist, historian and writer, has imposed a measure of order on this age-long, complex story...A splendid introduction to the subject." --Houston Post

"Superbly illustrated...A useful reference and fun for the casual browser." --Publishers Weekly

"Up to now, historians of man have been linear, starting with the first Homo Sapiens and moving up to the present day. This work attempts noting less than to show what was occurring simultaneously in eight geographical areas in as many time periods...A fascinating book to read and an invaluable reference work." --Columbus Dispatch

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (August 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312097468
• ISBN-13: 978-0312097462
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #229,703 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #3 in

  Books > History > Ancient > Prehistory

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Geo-Historical Overview, December 14, 2001

By	Viknord (California USA) - See all my reviews

I stumbled upon this book in a bookstore one day and knew I had to add it to my collection.

The book format:

Overall segmentation of book into "eight distinct chunks of time" (35000 to 8000 BC, 8000-5000 BC, 5000-3000 BC, 3000-2000 BC, 2000-1000 BC, 1000-500 BC, 500 BC-1 AD, and 1-500 AD)in chronological order. Hawkes has done a fine job mixing valuable visual content with written content.

Each segment of time has the following sub-segmentation:

1. Overview of time period
2. technology
3. architecture
4. art
5. chart of important occurrences by region (Mesopotamia, Egypt/Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, Western Mediterranean, Continental Europe, Iran-India, Far East, and the Americas), to include: economy (irrigation, hunting, urban life, trade), centres (important locations/cities), events and developments, people, religion, technology and inventions, architecture, and art.

As a bonus, Hawkes throws in an atlas of archaeological site maps of the regions discussed in the book.

The book has a nice "index" as well. There is nothing that irks me more than turning to a shoddy index and being thwarted in my attempts to locate something specific within a text.

But let me re-iterate. This is a great overview of cultural events occurring throughout this time span. I have yet to see any other book that does this in such a holistic manner. I have used this book frequently when I wanted to get a better understanding of the relation of events occurring during specific periods in time. For example, what was the state of world architecture during the Roman Republic, or, what were the religious practices at the time of tombs of Alaca Huyuk were built?

This book is well worth the investment. It's one of those book that gets pulled from the bookshelf repeatedly.

2.0 out of 5 stars not convincing, November 13, 2009

By	e_j_buster - See all my reviews

Although this book focuses on the alleged history of man from 35,000 B.C. to around 500 A.D., it states that prehistoric men were using tools TWO MILLION years ago. But it provides no evidence to support such an outlandish claim. Sure, there are lots of crude drawings of buffalos in this book, and some pictures of bones and things that I guess are shaped like tools. But there is nothing convincing. It almost seems like the author is making things up as she goes along.

Anybody can go out and find some crude drawings of buffalos on a cave wall. It doesn't prove that there were people living on The Earth two million years ago. I've made crude drawings of buffalos (and arrows) on rocks in the mountains many times throughout my life.
In a few years, will scientists say that my drawings prove that prehistoric men used bows and arrows to hunt buffalo?