Prehistoric Europe
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
This book owes its existence to a need felt, we believe, by many people who are trying to teach European prehistory, for an elementary textbook suitable for students taking their first course in the subject with little or no previous experience in archeology. Several years of struggling with the literature in its present form finally convinced us that there was no alternative but to write it for ourselves. The primary evidence, where published at all, is notoriously scattered through a bewildering range of books, pamphlets and journals, written in almost every European language and in any case frequently unobtainable except in a few specialist libraries. For some areas and periods secondary works, sometimes excellent, exist, but their coverage if far from complete and they are mostly at too advanced a level for first-year students. Some general books exist, but none covers the chronological and geographical range that we thought desirable, with a proper concentration on the themes characteristic of modern archaeology at a level suitable for our intended readership.
From the Back Cover
The study of European prehistory has been revolutionized in recent years by the rapid growth rate of archeological discovery, advances in dating methods and the application of scientific techniques to archaeological material and new archaeological aims and frameworks of interpretation. Whereas previous work concentrated on the recovery and description of material remains, the main focus is now on the reconstruction of prehistoric societies and the explanation of their development.
For some time now there has been a need for an elementary and comprehensive synthesis of the new discoveries and the new interpretations of European prehistory. This book aims to supply this need. After and introductory chapter on the geographical setting and the development of prehistoric studies in Europe, the text is divided chronologically into nine chapters. Each one describes, with numerous maps, plans and drawings, the relevant archaeological data, and proceeds to a discussion of the societies they represent. Particular attention is paid to the major themes of recent prehistoric research, especially subsistence economy, trade, settlement, technology and social organization.
Prehistoric Europe,Timothy Champion,Clive Gamble,Stephen Shannan,Alasdair Whittle,Academic Press,0121675521,Ancient - General,Antiquities,Antiquities, Prehistoric,Europe,History - General History,Prehistoric peoples,European history: BCE to c 500 CE
Books Review:
Recommended Books