World prehistory and archaeology : pathways through time / Michael Chazan.

pt. 1. The past is a foreign country; getting from here to there -- Getting started in archaeology -- Putting the picture together -- pt. 2. Human evolution -- Early hominins -- From Homo erectus to Neanderthals -- The origin of modern humans -- The peopling of Australia and the New World -- pt. 3. Perspectives on agriculture -- Towers, villages, and longhouses -- Mounds and maize -- A feast of diversity -- pt. 4. The development of social complexity -- Complexity without the state -- Urban states -- Enigmatic states -- Empires -- Epilogue: Bringing it back home.

World Prehistory and Archaeology: Pathways through Time integrates world prehistory with a discussion of archaeological methods and techniques--emphasizing the relevance of how we know what we know about our human prehistory. It provides the tools to allow for a lifelong engagement with archaeology, and draws students into the process of archaeological research and discovery. The author, Michael Chazan, brings students to the cutting edge of archaeological research by presenting the most recent discoveries and theoretical perspectives. For how we know the past is inseparable from what we know of the past. His text allows students to see that archaeology is a dynamic field in which knowledge is continually refined through scientific inquiry--while providing a sense of the relevance of archaeology in the contemporary world.