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The Visual Dictionary of Ancient Civilizations
"The Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries differ from the Eyewitness books in that the text is longer and the vocabulary more difficult.... The photographs are outstanding.... The brief text compresses many details into a few sentences, The vocabulary is scholarly...and charts combined with the text give a clear overview of the subject[s]". -- RQ
64 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 22, 2017
I have students who LOVE long form text both to read for themselves and to enjoy through read alouds or audio books. These students are academic and ideas driven and they thrive on volumes of data looking at a topic from various perspectives. But this is not every student.
Other students are concrete and experience driven. For them, this book's short text and large images are the perfect introduction to ancient civilizations. They want to SEE the artifacts and learn HOW we learn from the objects themselves. For example, in reading about the Standard of Ur, we talked about how the detailed craftsmanship revealed things about the people such as class structures, types of weapons, use of horse and chariots in war, domestication of cows and sheep, and the general look of clothing worn by the people. Then we talked about what the standard was made of (shells, lapis lazuli, wood, etc) and how those resources had to be procured and where they got them from. And finally, the skill of the artist in assembling it. They will mentally work their way through much of the same information, but through a question/ answer/ discovery process, is most beneficial, and an overload of words is intimidating and ineffective.
The lack of text will be disappointing to academic/ ideas students mentioned in the first paragraph. But for the second paragraph students, this book is a treasure box for learning. Highly recommended.
Other students are concrete and experience driven. For them, this book's short text and large images are the perfect introduction to ancient civilizations. They want to SEE the artifacts and learn HOW we learn from the objects themselves. For example, in reading about the Standard of Ur, we talked about how the detailed craftsmanship revealed things about the people such as class structures, types of weapons, use of horse and chariots in war, domestication of cows and sheep, and the general look of clothing worn by the people. Then we talked about what the standard was made of (shells, lapis lazuli, wood, etc) and how those resources had to be procured and where they got them from. And finally, the skill of the artist in assembling it. They will mentally work their way through much of the same information, but through a question/ answer/ discovery process, is most beneficial, and an overload of words is intimidating and ineffective.
The lack of text will be disappointing to academic/ ideas students mentioned in the first paragraph. But for the second paragraph students, this book is a treasure box for learning. Highly recommended.
February 4, 2008
I've had this in my collection for a while but I'm willing to part with it because it's not complete in its survey of ancient civilizations. Only Egypt is represented for Africa, and I'm not satisfied with that. Admittedly, probably not enough scholarship was done at the time to include other known peoples from ancient Africa (Nok, Nubia). But, there is no mention of any Pacific cultures other than Japan.
Also, I'm not in love with the composition of text and visuals. There's a paragraph of text crammed to one side, and then beautiful objects are marred with multiple indicating lines and names. This could be useful to a teacher/instructor who is using it in tandem with a more thorough source.
Also, I'm not in love with the composition of text and visuals. There's a paragraph of text crammed to one side, and then beautiful objects are marred with multiple indicating lines and names. This could be useful to a teacher/instructor who is using it in tandem with a more thorough source.
April 23, 2015
Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries were some of my favorite books to check out at my school library as a kid. Each book bearing a different unique and interesting topic. Pages consist of text, vocabulary, and many pictures.
In this book; ancient civilizations such as Rome, Egypt, and Greece are discussed extremely generally. However, at a level necessary for comprehension for students intended. I would recommend this series for ages 10 and up.
4/5 for intriguing pictures and vocabulary
In this book; ancient civilizations such as Rome, Egypt, and Greece are discussed extremely generally. However, at a level necessary for comprehension for students intended. I would recommend this series for ages 10 and up.
4/5 for intriguing pictures and vocabulary
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews