Ancient and medieval world Krishna Vergy social formations and cultural patterns

Includes bibliographies and index

Evolution of Humankind and Paleolithic Cultures; Environmental Context of Human Evolution; Biological Evolution of Hominins; Social and Cultural adaptations: mobility and migration; development of lithic and other technologies; changes in the hunting gathering economy; social organization; art and Graves; Understanding the Mesolithic; Mesolithic as a stage in prehistory; Environmental change and changes in subsistence strategies based on case studies from West Asia, Europe and Meso-America: seasonal and broad-spectrum exploitation of resources, food storage, tools, semi-sedentism and features of social complexity; The Neolithic; Debating the origins of food production— climate change; population pressure; ecological choices; cognitive reorientations; Features of the Neolithic based on sites from West Asia, Europe and East Asia: nature and size of settlements; tool-kits, artifacts and pottery; family and household; Features of social complexity in late Neolithic communities; ceremonial sites and structures; The Bronze Age; Concepts: ‘Bronze Age’, ‘Urban Revolution’, ‘Civilization’ and ‘State’; Ecological context of early civilizations; Aspects of social complexity: class, gender and economic specialization; Forms of kingship, religion and state; Nomadic Pastoralism; Conceptualizing nomadic pastoralism.