The Human Past: World History & the Development of Human Societies

by Chris Scarre

The Human Past has established itself as a thorough and authoritative survey of human prehistory and the development of civilizations. Written by an international team of respected experts in the field, it presents a streamlined overview that can be broken down into a series of chapters focusing on individual regions and time periods. The Fourth Edition has been completely revised with key theme feature boxes, a new chapter on the peopling of the Americas, a section on methods and theories, full-color maps, timelines, illustrations, new coverage of sites and discoveries, and a fully updated e-media package, including all images from the book, test questions, and videos.

Genres: History, Archaeology, Nonfiction, Anthropology, Prehistory, Academic, Reference

768 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2005

Reviews

[Siri Olsen]

Listen. I understand what people are saying about information overload and the unwieldy size of the book. I also understand that it can be difficult to remember all of the information if you're reading it as part of your studies. But if you are interested in archaeology, this book is a treasure trove. I read it front to back, not because I had to as part of my studies, but because the human past fascinates me. As a Danish student of archaeology, having primarily been taught Danish and Northern European archaeology, being able to get a sense of the archaeology of the entire world in one book was incredible. There are places included in the book, such as the archaeology of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia, that is rarely mentioned in other general archaeology books and would otherwise require purchasing a separate, much more specific book to get an introduction. As an archaeologist, it was incredible to me to realise just how many different places, times and cultures I found interesting as I was reading through. It seemed to me that each chapter was a new experience and a new possibility for further study. Reading this book was an absolute pleasure and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the human past and in world archaeology, provided you have the time to read through the book at your own pace and really absorb the content.

[Siobhan]

Sometimes course books fail to give you enough information whereas other times you are given an information overload. This book falls into the latter category.

At the very least, it is a great reference point. If you’re new to archaeology I would suggest finding another book to help you work your way through this as it is a bit heavy handed at times, but once you have the general background knowledge it is extremely useful.

Still, it can be a bit daunting at first glance. Just know it is worth it.

[Jo Harrison]

Fab book, shame about the course I had to use it for....

[Janaki]

Wow, I've only read a few chapters, but they're so full of information, so well written. I love reference books & will keep this one.

[Meh Guy]

Good encyclopedia, not a good introduction

[Blake]

needs more maps

[Mehwish]

Information overload. Not sure whether I would retain any of it but at least I know I can use it as a reference point in the future.

[Jane]

I got this book initially for my Origins to Civilisations class at uni but have also used it for my Australian Archaeology, European Prehistory, and History of Archaeology class too. This was such a helpful book, and I have used it so much would 100% of every Archaeology student buy it.

[Austin09jj]

This is a school text book, yet it is full of grammar errors and comma splices.

[❀Nelly❀]

👌👌

[karla]

had to read this for my world prehistory module but lowkey was addicting 😭

[Melanie]

The paperback is heavy and unwieldy with the glossy pages catching the light and making it hard to read in anything but daylight. It is full of spelling errors so I am surprised that an English uni chose it as a core text. It presumes you have a degree in Geography as it skims over many places without decent maps. A very frustrating read.

[AskHistorians]

A very readable, although also very expensive, overview of all of human history from an archaeological perspective. It's very detailed, and used as an introductory book in many universities. Still updated.

[Mel]

I'm a writer of historical/dystopian fiction, and this text has proved to be an indispensable reference. It's comprehensive, the layout is excellent, and it provides an incredible amount of information that's easy to access.