UNIT 1. Natural History and the Spread of Humankind

1. The Evolution of Life on the Earth, Stephen Jay Gould, Scientific American, October 1994.

Humankind is a late arrival among living species on Earth and might not appear at all if it had to evolve all over again. Life is neither progressive nor predictable. Thousands of fortunate events created human beings, and the linkages might have been broken in many ways.

2. Mapping the Past, Adam Goodheart, Civilization, March/April 1996.

Genetic historians are using DNA analysis to track the migration of human beings. American Indians can be traced to a region of Mongolia and Polynesians are tracked to Southeast Asia. DNA markers may eventually provide a "map" of the entire human species.

3. Japanese Roots, Jared Diamond, Discover, June 1998.

The origins of the Japanese people offer a mystery. Genetically they are similar to other Asians, especially Koreans. Their language, however, is distinctly different. Interpretations of Japanese origins are complicated by myth and long-standing enmities.

4. Rediscovering America, Charles W. Petit, U.S. News & World Report, October 12, 1998.

The earliest theory about New World population is that Clovis hunters crossed the Bering Strait to populate North and South America about 15,000 years ago. However, evidence of maritime peoples indicates earlier migrations, perhaps even of some Europeans, who became the ancestors of American Indians.

UNIT 2. The Beginnings of Culture, Agriculture, and Cities

5. New Clues Show Where People Made the Great Leap to Agriculture, John Noble Wilford, New York Times, November 18, 1997.

Over 10,000 years ago, people in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East learned that farming provided a better food supply. Early crops included wheat, barley, legumes, grapes, melons, dates, pistachios, and almonds. Repeated harvesting of wild einkorn may have resulted in a domesticated grain.

6. New Dig at a 9,000-Year-Old City Is Changing Views on Ancient Life, Edward DeMarco, New York Times, November 11, 1997.

Catalhoyuk in Turkey, established at the time when humankind moved from hunting to farming, was one of the largest Neolithic settlements in the world. Archaeological excavations in the 1960s seemed to point to an organized city with a mother-goddess fertility cult. But recent work indicates independent family groups with a religious concern about death and destruction.

7. When No One Read, Who Started to Write?, John Noble Wilford, New York Times, April 6, 1999.

By inventing writing about 3200 B.C.E., the urban Sumerians established the line between history and prehistory. There is much disagreement among scholars, however, but writing seems to have been independently invented in Sumeria, China, and Mesoamerica. The earliest examples record economic information.

8. A Tale of Two Cultures, Charles Fenyvesi, U.S. News & World Report, November 4, 1996.

Han Ping Chen, a Chinese scholar, claims that the ancient Olmec of Mexico were influenced by the Shang Chinese. Opponents of this diffusionist theory say that the Olmecs developed their culture on their own.

9. City of the Gods, Michael D. Lemonick, Time, December 21, 1998.

With a population of 150,000, Teotihuacan, near modern Mexico City, was the largest city of Mesoamerica in 500 C.E. Burial sites of sacrificial victims have been uncovered, but the culture and history of the Teotihuacan people remain largely a mystery.

10. The Cradle of Cash, Heather Pringle, Discover, October 1998.

With the growth of cities and markets there arose a need for a standard way to express the value of varied items. Simple barter became impossible. Silver rings, gold, and ingots provided this necessary medium of exchange in Mesopotamia as early as 2500 B.C.E.

UNIT 3. The Early Civilizations to 500 B.C.E.

11. Indus Valley, Inc., Shanti Menon, Discover, December 1998.

Starting around 3300 B.C.E., the Indus Valley civilization built some of the earliest planned cities at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, and they flourished for 700 years. Streets were laid out in a grid, and houses were constructed with standard-sized bricks. Practical and business-like, the remains of the civilization reflect little warfare or elaborate burials.

12. Saving Knossos, Spencer P. M. Harrington, Archaeology, January/February 1999.

Minoan civilization, which emerged in the eastern Mediterranean around 2000 B.C.E., was Europe's first literate society. The elaborate palace of Knossos on Crete, now a major tourist site, was made of soft stone that threatens to dissolve through erosion.

13. Five Ways to Conquer a City, Erika Bleibtreu, Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1990.

Archaeological excavations and drawings of Assyrian palaces built from 883-627 B.C.E. reveal themes of warfare and conquest. Ladders, fire, siege, battering, and burrowing were all methods of attack against a walled city.

14. Empires in the Dust, Karen Wright, Discover, March 1998.

A 300-year drought may explain why cities in the upper Tigris-Euphrates area were abandoned around the year 2200 B.C.E. The drought that struck the Mesopotamian civilization also affected peoples in Egypt, Crete, and the Indus Valley.

15. Out of Africa: The Superb Artwork of Ancient Nubia, David Roberts, Smithsonian, June 1993.

Due to prejudice, undeciphered writing, lack of archaeological exploration, inhospitable climate, and information that came mainly from enemies, the Nubian civilization is largely unknown except through recent displays of art. It was once thought to be an offshoot of Egyptian culture, but this black civilization flourished at the same time as Egypt's and once conquered all of Egypt around 730 B.C.E.

UNIT 4. The Later Civilizations to 500 C.E.

16. Tiny Sacrifices at 22,000 Feet, Jonah Blank, U.S. News & World Report, April 19, 1999.

Archaeologists have recovered the intact bodies of three childen from the peak of an Andean volcano. These sacrificial offerings of the Inca civilization have been frozen for 500 years and should reveal information about diseases and genetic relationships with distant native populations.

17. In Classical Athens, a Market Trading in the Currency of Ideas, John Fleischman, Smithsonian, July 1993.

The agora was the heart of urban life for Greek city-states. In this public plaza, people met to trade, gossip, argue, and vote. An open space surrounded by civic buildings and religious sites, the agora of Athens was the place where Socrates taught and died.

18. Old Sports, Allen Guttmann, Natural History, July 1992.

The ancient Greeks were not the only people to use sports as a political or religious statement. Pharaohs had to prove their physical fitness to rule, murals in Egyptian tombs depicted wrestling scenes, a Minoan fresco pictured two boxing boys, and Etruscans enjoyed chariot races.

19. Cleopatra: What Kind of a Woman Was She, Anyway?, Barbara Holland, Smithsonian, February 1997.

Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt in the first century B.C.E., has been one of the most fascinating women of history. Characterized in various ways by Afrocentrists, Hollywood movies, George Bernard Shaw, William Shakespeare, and Plutarch, she never had the chance to tell her own story.

20. Countdown to the Beginning of Time-Keeping, Robert Garland, History Today, April 1999.

The names of our calendar months are Roman, New Year's Day was once a celebration for the Greek goddess Athena, the days of the week in Britain were names for Anglo-Saxon gods, and years are marked from the presumed year of Christ's birth. Recent millennium fears echo back to Romans who tended to connect large blocks of time with extinction or renewal.

UNIT 5. The Great Religions

21. Ancient Jewel, T. R. (Joe) Sundaram, The World & I, October 1996.

Indian civilization is more than 6,000 years old. Its culture produced Hinduism and Buddhism and influenced philosophic thinking. Ideas about cycles of life and acceptance of diversity are only a part of the Indian contribution to the world.

22. Buddha in the Round, Pico Iyer, Civilization, December 1998/January 1999.

A traveler cannot help but be impressed with the versatility and reasoned practicality of Buddhism. Its central message is compassion for the suffering that is a part of all human existence, and this message permeates the cultures it touches.

23. What Is the Koran?, Toby Lester, The Atlantic Monthly, January 1999.

Orthodox Muslims believe that the Koran has reached us today as the perfect and unchanged word of God. Comparisons with older versions of the Koran that indicate changes and attempts to place the Koran in an historical context thus far have raised disturbing questions. Yet, this is necessary for an understanding of the Islamic civilization and all of its permutations.

24. State and Society under Islam, Bernard Lewis, The Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 1989.

Although Christianity and Islam share a common background of religion and philosophy, they are profoundly different in their attitude toward government and society. Christians under Roman rule created a church separate from the state while Muhammad created a state and religion together. Separation of church and state, honored in the West, thus has no equivalent in Islam.

25. The Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem's Epicenter, Walid Khalidi, Aramco World, September/October 1996.

Jerusalem is as sacred to Muslims as it is to Jews and Christians. The Dome of the Rock, an octagonal sanctuary covering the rock from which Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven, dominates the skyline of the old city. It is a point where humanity is joined to God.

26. The Reason God Tested Abraham, Jeffery L. Sheler, U.S. News & World Report, July 7, 1997.

In 1947 a shepherd discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Judean desert. The task of pasting together and interpreting the fragments has been slow, but they provide the oldest version of the Old Testament and add some additional interpretation. For example, the Qumran text reveals that a Satan figure goaded God to test the faith of Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son.

27. 2000 Years of Jesus, Kenneth L. Woodward, Newsweek, March 29, 1999.

After two millennia, about one-third of the world's population claim to be Christian, and the world measures time by the birthday of Jesus. His teachings have influenced art, culture, politics, and ethics in the West. The religion gave women greater protection and the concept of personal salvation gave worth to the individual.

28. Live Longer, Healthier, & Better, Rodney Stark, Christian History, February 1998.

In the ancient world, Christians lived longer than their fellow human beings because they were willing to nurse the sick in time of disease, gave women higher status and security, and offered charity and hope in a chaotic world. Persecutions were rare and the Christian community learned to support its members.

29. Confucius, Jonathan D. Spence, The Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 1993.

Despite attacks upon Confucian ideas in the twentieth century, there has been a resurgence of interest in the fifth century B.C.E. teacher during the past two decades. Confucius did not speak about life after death, but his compelling humanity and belief in the importance of culture and learning make him worthy of contemporary study.

UNIT 6. The World of the Middle Ages, 500-1500

30. Cracking the Maya's Code: New Light on Dark History, The Economist, December 21, 1996.

At the heart of Mesoamerican civilization was the complex writing of the Maya. After World War II, scholars recognized Mayan inscriptions as the script of a spoken language. This opened new interpretations of the Maya as a warlike people who believed in blood sacrifice and whose civilization lasted from the fifth or sixth century B.C.E. to the ninth century C.E.

31. The Islamic Legacy of Timbuktu, Tahir Shah, Aramco World, November/December 1995.

Founded around 1100 on the southwestern edge of the Islamic world, Timbuktu, an oasis city of the southern Sahara, was a mixture of West African and Arab peoples bound together by the Koran. It developed into a trading city of 60,000, noted for its Islamic schools and libraries and as a staging point for pilgrims on the way to Mecca.

32. The Arab Roots of European Medicine, David W. Tschanz, Aramco World, May/June 1997.

Following the end of the Roman Empire and the rise of Islam, Arab physicians benefited from translations of Greek medical works. The Arabs established the first hospitals and pharmacies, and, beginning in the ninth century, they contributed their own ideas. In the tenth century translations from Arabic to Latin began to educate European physicians.

33. The Viking Longship, John R. Hale, Scientific American, February 1998.

Fleets of long, slender Viking ships raided the Atlantic coasts from Northumberland to North Africa from 800 to 1100. The Norse shipwrights created the ultimate raiding vessels of their time, with shallow draft, speed, and propulsion by sail and oars. The boats could carry up to 60 warriors and land upon almost any beach. "From the fury of the Norsemen, good Lord deliver us," said a medieval prayer.

34. The Persistence of Byzantium, Warren Treadgold, The Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 1998.

The Byzantine Empire lasted 1,200 years and spanned ancient, medieval, and modern times. Compared to modern standards it was poor, backward, and illiterate, but by medieval standards it was an advanced society. Its current reputation is burdened with misconceptions, but there is a lasting legacy that still influences the region.

35. The Making of Magna Carta, Ruth I. Mills, British Heritage, October/November 1990.

The Magna Carta, the famous statement of personal liberties for the barons of England in the thirteenth century, resulted from almost a century of struggle. It was revised and reconfirmed many times and, in 1297, became a part of the Revised Statutes.

36. Clocks: Revolution in Time, David Landes, History Today, January 1984.

The mechanical clock was the key machine of the industrial revolution. This technology from the Middle Ages differentiated Europe from the rest of the world.

UNIT 7. 1500: The Era of Global Explorations

37. Images of Earth in the Year 1000, David C. Lindberg, Earth, December 1996.

Educated people in Europe and the Middle East thought the Earth was round and located at the center of the universe. Schematic maps symbolized what they knew of the world, but local geographic knowledge was much greater. They knew much about local plants and animals, but they imagined distant lands populated by monsters. Like people of other times, they tried to make sense of their world with the information that they possessed.

38. Columbus and the Labyrinth of History, John Noble Wilford, The Wilson Quarterly, Autumn 1991.

The assessment of Christopher Columbus and his accomplishment has changed with time and politics. The quincentenary of his 1492 voyage brought controversy, with Columbus seen as a symbol of oppression, but there can be little denial about the historical impact of the voyage.

39. How Many People Were Here before Columbus?, Lewis Lord, U.S. News & World Report, August 18-25, 1997.

With the exception of a city or two in Europe, no one was counting population at the time of Columbus, so there are only guesses about the numbers of Indians in North America. The high estimate is 112.5 million; the low estimate is 8.4 million. The only consensus is that the death rate in the 150 years after Columbus was catastrophic.

40. A Taste of Adventure, The Economist, December 19, 1998.

When Vasco da Gama's men at last reached Calicut in India in 1498, they shouted as they came ashore, "For Christ and spices!" With trails leading to India and the Spice Islands of Indonesia, the global spice trade reaches back in time at least to 2600 B.C.E., when Egyptians fed spices to the builders of the pyramids. The allure of spices continues to the present time.

41. After Dire Straits, an Agonizing Haul across the Pacific, Simon Winchester, Smithsonian, April 1991.

Following the wake of Christopher Columbus, other European explorers set forth. One of Magellan's ill-starred ships succeeded in the first circumnavigation of Earth.

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.