Early Civilizations: Ancient Egypt in Context

by Bruce G. Trigger

For anthropologists an 'early civilization' is historically the earliest form of a class-based society. In this original and provocative book, Bruce Trigger places our understanding of ancient Egypt in perspective through a comparative examination of Egypt during the Old and Middle Kingdoms with the early civilizations of the Inkas, the Shang and Western Chou of China, the Aztecs and their neighbors, the classic Mayas, the Yorubas and Benin, and ancient Mesopotamia.
Professor Trigger investigates the economic foundations of these early civilizations, their politics and culture, and their religious traditions, drawing some surprising conclusions. His innovative work adds a new dimension to our understanding of early civilizations, charting new courses for their study in the future and indicating for both anthropologists and Egyptologists the value of comparative studies.
Enhanced by an important bibliographical essay, the book broadens our understanding of the similarities and differences among ancient civilizations.

Genres: History, Egyptology

168 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 1993

About the author

Bruce Graham Trigger, OC OQ FRSC was a Canadian archaeologist, anthropologist, and ethnohistorian.

He received a doctorate in archaeology from Yale University in 1964. His research interests at that time included the history of archaeological research and the comparative study of early cultures. He spent the following year teaching at Northwestern University and then took a position with the Department of Anthropology at McGill University in Montreal, and remained there for the rest of his career.