After The Ice: A Global Human History 20,000-5000 Bc

‘Immense erudition, lightly worn; mastery of vast material, wielded with impressive deftness. For clarity of exposition, fluency of language, vividness of imagination, he is unrivalled in his field … it probably represents the most readable and, in most respects, the most reliable general survey of the subject since Jack Harlan’s, now more than a decade old’ Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Literary Review ‘In After the Ice, [Steven Mithen] has done for the world what is hinted at in the poetry of one garden … the lucidity of Mithen’s thought and prose will inform the professional and illuminate the general reader. After the Ice is that rare event: the right book at the right time’ Alan Garner, The Times ‘Original and refreshing … [Mithen] has in fact visited many of the locations himself, sometimes while the relevant archaeological excavations were under way …These are often the best bits of writing, and they give the book the authenticity of first-hand experience … It is not a compendium put together at second hand, but in large measure the product of personal experience … This is a book which does not set out to reach easy conclusions, although the inferences may be there to be drawn. Rather it offers for our examination a major and crucial phase in human history in a direct and coherent way. Anyone who reads it will find fresh information and new insights …This is an important book, which succeeds in writing about the prehistoric past in a new way, restraining though not eliminating the preoccupations of the writer and offering a wealth of experienced detail for each continent …a sympathetic and informed introduction to a formative period in world history’ Colin Renfrew, TLS ‘Steven Mithen has written a magnificent account of archaeology worldwide, and in this first edition …I am happy to hail the success of a great World Archaeologist’ Current World Archaeology ‘A big and important book, but oddly informal in its approach: Mithen’s use of a fictive 21st-century time-traveller is especially disconcerting …the device enables him both to acknowledge and explore the element of anachronism that’s intrinsic to the entire archaeological project … Ambitious and original and stimulating study’ Scotsman ‘Mithen has not only mastered his material, he has delivered a charming read and an up-to-date informative resource. After the Ice is an exceptional book …a wonderful book that students, specialists or anyone else with curiosity about our early history can enjoy’ Mike Pitts, New Scientist For my parents Pat and Bill Mithen AFTER THE ICE A Global Human History 20,000–5000 BC STEVEN MITHEN CONTENTS Cover Praise Dedication Title Page Preface THE BEGINNING 1. The Birth of History Global warming, archaeological evidence and human history 2. The World at 20,000 BC Human evolution, the causes of climate change and radiocarbon dating WESTERN ASIA 3. Fires and Flowers Hunter-gatherers and the forest steppe, 20,000–12,300 BC 4. Village Life in the Oak Woodland Early Natufian hunter-gatherer communities, 12,300–10,800 BC 5. On the Banks of the Euphrates Abu Hureyra and the rise of hunter-gatherer sedentism, 12,300–10,800 BC 6. One Thousand Years of Drought Economy and society during the Younger Dryas, 10,800–9600 BC 7. The Founding of Jericho Neolithic architecture, burial and technology of the Jordan valley, 9600– 8500 BC 8. Pictograms and Pillars Neolithic ideology, symbolism and trade, 9600–8500 BC 9. In the Valley of Ravens Architecture, textiles and animal domestication, 8500–7500 BC 10. The Town of Ghosts Ritual, religion and economic collapse, 7500–6300 BC 11. Heaven and Hell at Çatalhöyük Florescence of the Neolithic in Turkey, 9000–7000 BC 12. Three Days on Cyprus Extinctions, coloni