ABSTRACT
The modern visitor can see the scene of King Assurbanipal’s lion hunt, carved in stone, in the Assyrian gallery of the British Museum. It is one of the many monuments of “civilization” that fi ll great Western museums, be it the Louvre in Paris or the Metropolitan in New York. Wander into adjacent galleries and you will fi nd mummiform coffi ns from ancient Egypt and intricate bronze ritual vessels from early China. Just around the corner will be red-fi gured vases from classical Athens or marble busts of Roman emperors. Many enthusiastic and intrepid tourists venture further afi eld and visit the places from which these priceless relics originated. They wonder at the sheer size of the pyramids in Egypt or at the desolation that now surrounds many of the ancient cities of Mesopotamia. They sail the Aegean, tracing the routes taken by ancient Greek mariners 2,500 years ago. Or they wander over the Maya ball courts of lowland
CHAPTER OUTLINE
What is a “Civilization”? 5 Comparing Civilizations 8 Civilizations and their Neighbors 9 “Primary” and “Secondary” Civilizations 10 The Rediscovery of Ancient Civilizations 11
Classical Civilizations: Greece and Rome 11 Egypt 13 Mesopotamian Civilizations: Assyrians and Sumerians 14 Greece and Crete: Minoans and Mycenaeans 16 The Indus and Eastern Asia 17 The Americas: Mesoamerica 18 The Americas: Peru 20
Mexico, pondering just how the game was played, or climb the steep hill to the “lost” Inka city of Machu Picchu in Peru.
