Taking readers on a fascinating journey through the 7-million-year-old landscape of the human past, this internationally renowned book provides a narrative account of human prehistory from the earliest times up to the earliest civilizations. KEY TOPICS: Written in a jargon-free, easily accessible style, the Eleventh Edition is designed to show how today's diverse humanity developed biologically and culturally over millions of years against a background of constant climatic change. Exploring all areas of the world evenly and covering all periods of prehistory from human origins to the appearance of literate civilizations, this book highlights recent discoveries, new archaeological methodologies, and the latest theories of human biological and cultural evolution. MARKET: For professionals with a career or interest in anthropology, archaeology, history, sociology, or education.

• NEW - Major discoveries examined—Including the 7–million–year-old mysterious primate Sahelanthropus tchadensis in Chad and new insights into the date of the famous Ice Man in the Italian Alps.

  • Provides absolutely up-to-date perceptions of the significance of major discoveries, especially of early human evolution.

• NEW - Latest advances in the field are explored—Includes the increasing impact of refined AMS chronologies, genetic fingerprinting, research into the origins of rice cultivation, new perceptions of the Mississippian and other farming societies in eastern North America, and new data on the origins of wheat in Turkey.

  • Provides up-to-date information on how archaeologists write world prehistory.

• NEW - Striking visual package with new illustrations, expanded picture captions, fresh maps, and vivid line art.

  • Helps students visualize the subject matter, making the material under study more tangible and appealing.

• NEW - AnthroNotes Study Companion —Available Free in a package. Contains commentary on the narrative, tables, and line drawings. This is an easy way for students to combine important concepts from the book with lecture notes.

  • Enhances the learning process for students and motivates further study.

• Interactive technology program—Includes an interactive CD-ROM and a Companion Website packed with additional practice questions and Web links.

  • Allows students to visit actual archaeological sites via the Internet as well as interactively test their mastery of the material.

• Site Boxes in each chapter—Discuss key locations and discoveries, including the spectacular Grotte de Chauvet cave paintings in France and the Lords of Sipán from coastal Peru.

• Superior pedagogical aides—Includes chapter-opening vignettes and chronological tables, time-line columns, chapter summaries, key terms, and further readings at the end of each chapter.

Brian Fagan is one of the leading archaeological writers in the world and an internationally recognized authority on world prehistory. He studied archaeology and anthropology at Pembroke College, Cambridge University, and then spent seven years in sub-Saharan Africa working in museums and in monument conservation and excavating early farming sites in Zambia and East Africa. He was one of the pioneers of multidisciplinary African history in the 1960s. Since 1967, he has been Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he has specialized in lecturing and writing about archaeology to wide audiences.

Professor Fagan has written six best-selling textbooks:

Ancient Lives: An Introduction to Archaeology and Prehistory; In the Beginning Archaeology: A Brief Introduction; World Prehistory; Ancient Civilizations (with Chris Scarre); and this volume—all published by Prentice Hall—which are used around the world. His general books include The Rape of the Nile, a classic history of Egyptology; The Adventure of Archaeology; Time Detectives; Ancient North America; The Little Ice Age; and Before California: An Archaeologist Looks at Our Earliest Inhabitants. He was also General Editor of the Oxford Companion to Archaeology. In addition, he has published several scholarly monographs on African archaeology and numerous specialized articles in national and international journals. He is also an expert on multimedia teaching and the recipient of the Society for American Archaeology's first Public Education Award for his indefatigable efforts on behalf of archaeology and education.

Brian Fagan's other interests include bicycling, sailing, kayaking, and good food. He is married and lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and daughter, four cats (who supervise his writing), and last but not least, a minimum of four rabbits.