Origins and Revolutions: Human Identity in Earliest Prehistory

by Clive Gamble

In this study Clive Gamble presents and questions two of the most famous descriptions of change in prehistory. The first is the 'human revolution', when evidence for art, music, religion and language first appears. The second is the economic and social revolution of the Neolithic period. Gamble identifies the historical agendas behind 'origins research' and presents a bold alternative to these established frameworks, relating the study of change to the material basis of human identity. He examines, through artefact proxies, how changing identities can be understood using embodied material metaphors and in two major case-studies charts the prehistory of innovations, asking, did agriculture really change the social world? This is an important and challenging book that will be essential reading for every student and scholar of prehistory.

Genres: Science, History, Prehistory, Archaeology, Anthropology, Evolution

366 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 2003

Reviews

[Amy]

I skimmed this, and it's fantastic. Need to read it when I have time to really focus and think about it.

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quoted this in my dissertation title page thank you Clive