The Origin of Civilization
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The Origin of Civilization
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Narrated by:
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Scott MacEachern
About this listen
What defines a civilization? How did the first states emerge? How were the world's ancient states similar and different? Answer these and other dramatic questions with this grand 48-lecture course that reveals how human beings around the world transitioned from small farming communities to the impressive cultural and political systems that would alter the course of history.
Taking a gripping archaeological and historical approach to formative states such as the ancient Egyptians, the Chinese, and the Maya, Professor MacEachern completes your understanding of the history of civilization by exploring it at its earliest stages. Unlike traditional surveys of ancient civilizations, which tend to focus only on the glorious achievements of these cultures, you'll look at those first all-important steps that the world's first civilizations would take on the road to glory.
You'll investigate places such as Mesopotamia, where agriculture laid the foundation for groundbreaking experiments in social and political development in places like Uruk and Sumer; the eastern Mediterranean, where expanding maritime trade during the Bronze Age increasingly knit the different societies of these islands into a web of political and economic relationships; and Mesoamerica, where the indigenous states in and around what are now Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua reveal the full flowering of Olmec and Maya civilization.
You'll also take an engaging look at what archaeologists have learned from some of the world's oldest and most intriguing sites. In the end, these lectures will leave you awestruck at the diverse ways that ancient people crafted complex systems - systems whose broad strokes remain with us even today.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
©2010 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2010 The Great CoursesWhat listeners say about The Origin of Civilization
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Keep on learning
- 16-12-2022
Detailed but easily digestible
Well worth the extended listen and an eye-opener when it comes to lesser known civilisations
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Adam
- 16-04-2018
Not great bang for your buck
This is the first of all the Great Courses lecture series that I have listened to that I didn't enjoy. Most courses are incredibly well-balanced - they expect a certain amount of pre-existing knowledge on the topic but then give you plenty of new and interesting information to go on top.
This did not. It expected a huge amount of pre-existing knowledge (I have listened and read a fair bit on this topic and was still in the dark at times) but didn't really give you anything much new to chew on.
Presenter was okay, but very stilted with very long pauses at times, which make it hard to follow and even a little unsettling (kept checking to see if Audible had stopped working)
A swing and a miss.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- S.Attenborough
- 08-01-2023
Civilisations
Apparently only occur in the Northern Hemisphere… and North American archaeologists … good! All others… questionable.
If you desire a North American view of the ancient world this is for you. If you want a holistic view of the past… move on. Nothing to see here. By the way, the Australian Aboriginal people are the oldest continuous civilisation in the world today. You devoted 3 sentences to them.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anne Williams
- 25-04-2023
Don’t bother
I’ve enjoyed all the other Great Courses but this one was so awful I couldn’t even leave it playing while I went to sleep. The lecturer was repetitive, rambling and over emphasising words in a way that sets teeth on edge. The subject matter should have been so interesting but was monotonous and boring. By chapter 19 I had to delete it.
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