History: California, North American & World History Resources

In today's world of globalization, there is a growing trend among historians and students alike to study the common challenges and experiences that unite the human past. ""Facts On File"" is pleased to announce its new seven-volume ""Encyclopedia of World History"", a truly groundbreaking work and one of the first to offer a balanced presentation of human history for a global perspective of the past.

From classical times to the twentieth century, Gender in World Historyis a fascinating exploration of what happens to established ideas about men and women, and their roles, when difficult cultural systems come into contact.

An illustrated record covering all the major events and achievements in human history. Designed for history aficionados, trivia buffs, or anyone with a curious mind, Timelines of World History takes an innovative approach to the traditional, text-driven style of a date-by-date chronology. Tracing the progress of humanity from the dawn of history to the present day, the book follows major historical events, cultural milestones, the expansions of empires, and the inventions and achievements of civilizations. Important events are cross-referenced with specific dates, important historical figures are profiled, and introductory essays profile what was happening and why. With more than 500 photographs and illustrations and over 25 maps, this is the most authoritative visual chronological record of the last 20,000 years.

This new text offers a comparative study of all the early civilizations both the old world and the new. It explores the ties and links between civilizations and analyses how environments, ideologies and institutions have shaped civilizations and contributed to their collapse.

Drawing on many avenues of inquiry: archaeological excavations, surveys, laboratory work, highly specialized scientific investigations, and on both historical and ethnohistorical records; Ancient Civilizations, 3/e provides a comprehensive and straightforward account of the world's first civilizations and a brief summary of the way in which they were discovered.

Knowledge about the roles of women in ancient civilizations has been limited to traditionally held notions, but recent discoveries and research have led to exciting insights into the great variety of ways in which women contributed to ancient cultures. This reference work, designed for student research, features lengthy essays and a wealth of new information about women's roles in twelve ancient civilizations around the world--China, India, Japan, Mesopotamia, the Levant, Egypt, West Africa, Greece, Rome, the Maya, the Inca, and Native North America. Historical studies have tended to ignore women's roles in ancient civilizations and to devalue their contributions to the community. These essays examine women's religious, political, public, economic, and domestic roles, their legal status, creative expression in art and literature, and notions of beauty. Students can then compare women's roles across cultures. The contributors, each of whom is a subject specialist, examine not only the nature of women's limitations in patriarchal culture but the ways in which women often succeeded, despite these limitations, in becoming agents of social change. Each essay begins with a timeline of events in the history of that culture to place the narrative in historical context, and concludes with suggestions for further reading about women in that culture.

Beautifully illustrated in full-color with detailed maps and lavish photographs throughout, The Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations of the Near East and Mediterranean provides a comprehensive political and social history of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. This handsome, accessibly written reference work presents in one convenient volume a detailed view of each civilization using specially prepared and researched maps, site plans from archeological fieldwork, highly informative text, and colorful photographs and illustrations. Fifty-four magnificent full-color spreads supplement the material, providing an in-depth, visually exciting focus on specific aspects of the history, including Ziggurats, The Origins of Writing, Warfare in the Ancient Near East, Greek Medicine, Pompeii, Roman Roads, and Constantinople.

With contributions from experts in the field, this is an encyclopedia of ancient civilizations.

Classic study of pre-Columbian civilizations in the New World. Maya, Olmecs, Toltecs, Aztecs, many others. History, gods, calendars, religions, ceremonies, etc. 47 black-and-white plates. 86 text figures.

In Civilizations of Ancient Iraq, Benjamin and Karen Foster tell the fascinating story of ancient Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements ten thousand years ago to the Arab conquest in the seventh century. Accessible and concise, this is the most up-to-date and authoritative book on the subject. With illustrations of important works of art and architecture in every chapter, the narrative traces the rise and fall of successive civilizations and peoples in Iraq over the course of millennia--from the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians to the Persians, Seleucids, Parthians, and Sassanians. Ancient Iraq was home to remarkable achievements. One of the birthplaces of civilization, it saw the world's earliest cities and empires, writing and literature, science and mathematics, monumental art, and innumerable other innovations. Civilizations of Ancient Iraq gives special attention to these milestones, as well as to political, social, and economic history. And because archaeology is the source of almost everything we know about ancient Iraq, the book includes an epilogue on the discovery and fate of its antiquities. Compelling and timely, Civilizations of Ancient Iraq is an essential guide to understanding Mesopotamia's central role in the development of human culture.