Emergence of Civilization

<p><em>The Emergence of Civilisation</em> is a major contribution to our understanding of the development of urban culture and social stratification in the Near Eastern region. Charles Maisels argues that our present assumptions about state formation, based on nineteenth century speculations, are wrong. His investigation illuminates the changes in scale, complexity and hierarchy which accompany the development of civilisation. The book draws conclusions about the dynamics of social change and the processes of social evolution in general, applying those concepts to the rise of Greece and Rome, and to the collapse of the classical Mediterranean world.</p> 1 Introduction 1 The disciplines of archaeology and anthropology 2 The premisses of social succession 3 The ecology of the Zagrosian Arc 4 The origin and growth of villages 5 The heartland of cities 6 The institutions of urbanism 7 Theories of the state 8 From status to state 9 Modelling societies: modes of production 10 Ideology and political economy of the Mesopotamian state 11 Summary and overview