ANCIENT PEOPLES AND PLACES

Brilliant horsemen and great fighters, the Scythians were nomadic horsemen who ranged wide across the grasslands of the Asian steppe from the Altai mountains in the east to the Great Hungarian Plain in the first millennium BC. Their steppe homeland bordered on a number of sedentary states to the south - the Chinese, the Persians and the Greeks - and there were, inevitably, numerous interactions between the nomads and their neighbours. The Scythians fought the Persians on a number of occasions, in one battle killing their king and on another occasion driving the invading army of Darius the Great from the steppe. 0Relations with the Greeks around the shores of the Black Sea were rather different - both communities benefiting from trading with each other. This led to the development of a brilliant art style, often depicting scenes from Scythian mythology and everyday life. It is from the writings of Greeks like the historian Herodotus that we learn of Scythian life: their beliefs, their burial practices, their love of fighting, and their ambivalent attitudes to gender. It is a world that is also brilliantly illuminated by the rich material culture recovered from Scythian burials, from the graves of kings on the Pontic steppe, with their elaborate gold work and vividly coloured fabrics, to the frozen tombs of the Altai mountains, where all the organic material - wooden carvings, carpets, saddles and even tattooed human bodies - is amazingly well preserved. 0Barry Cunliffe here marshals this vast array of evidence - both archaeological and textual - in a masterful reconstruction of the lost world of the Scythians, allowing them to emerge in all their considerable vigour and splendour for the first time in over two millennia.

Presents the pictures of Iron Age man against the background of his ecology and his economy. Portrays the Iron Age cultures of Southern Africa: Zambia, Rhodesia and South Africa. Tells the stories of Ophir, of King Solomon's Mines, and of the fantastic Kingdom of Monomatapa.

A world-wide survey of the eating and drinking habits of early peoples, Don and Patricia Brothwell's Food in Antiquity covers a broad geographical range, from the early populations of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Americas to the more familiar Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, and Roman worlds. From Meat, insects, vegetables, and fruits to cooking oils and beverages, each source of sustenance is described in terms of who consumed it, how it was prepared, and how it spread from its region of origin. This paperback edition includes a new afterword in which Don Brothwell offers a "progress report" on recent discoveries and developments in the archaeology of food.

"Angkor and the Khmer Civilization presents a concise but complete picture of Khmer cultural history from the Stone Age until the establishment of the French Protectorate in 1863, and is lavishly illustrated with maps, plans, drawings and photographs. Drawing on the latest archaeological research, the book brings to life the extraordinary society and culture of medieval Angkor."--Jacket.

Discusses the culture, religion, government, and ideals of the Incan society that thrived in South America until the Spanish Conquest in 1532.

Presents a history of North American settlement, from the first settlers over 15,000 years ago to the arrival of the Europeans in the fifthteenth century.

An illustrated history of the pre-Spanish civilizations of Mexico, beginning with the early hunters and continuing through the Aztecs; covering early village life, the rise of Olmec civilization, archaeological findings, Aztec society, and other topics.