Geography and Ethnography: Perceptions of the World in Pre-Modern Societies (Ancient World: Comparative Histories): 17 - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1118589858 ISBN 13: 9781118589854

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013

Synopsis

This fascinating volume brings together leading specialists, who have analyzed the thoughts and records documenting the worldviews of a wide range of pre-modern societies. * Presents evidence from across the ages; from antiquity through to the Age of Discovery * Provides cross-cultural comparison of ancient societies around the globe, from the Chinese to the Incas and Aztecs, from the Greeks and Romans to the peoples of ancient India * Explores newly discovered medieval Islamic materials

About this title

Review:

"The basic premise, not to be dismissed, is that other 'ancient' or 'pre-modern' societies can inform us about the Classical and Near Eastern progenitors of our own, if we are prepared to look and learn." (Ancient West and East, 2014)

"In sum, the editors, and the publisher, are to be congratulated on producing, a stimulating volume which provides expert guidance to many aspects of the foreign country which is the past." (Aestimatio: Critical Reviews in the History of Science, 2011)

"The 20 papers originated in a workshop held at Brown University in March 2006 and fully reflect the series' world focus and broad definition of ancient societies." (CHOICE, July 2010)

From the Back Cover:

Societies have typically reflected upon their place in the world in relation to the space in which they live, those who surround them, the universe, and divine forces that they believe determine their fate. In this fascinating volume, the editors bring together leading specialists who have analyzed the thoughts and records of a wide range of pre-modern societies from around the globe and across the ages. Some societies, like the Chinese, Greeks, and Arabs, have left extensive written cultural and scientific documentation. Others, as in India and Mesopotamia, used myth and epic for memory and understanding. Still others, such as the Incas and Aztecs, did not write, but their ideas and beliefs can be recovered from later narratives, as well as from their artwork, monuments, and shaping of the landscape.

A wide range of common questions are examined, from evidence, interpretations, and methodology, to the way geographic and ethnographic concepts and views of the cosmos were developed and expressed. The resulting cross-cultural comparisons clearly describe the specific characteristics of these societies, how they differ and overlap. What emerges is a rich and astonishing variety of responses developed to meet universal challenges.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1118589858
• ISBN 13: 9781118589854
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 376
• Editor: Raaflaub Kurt A., Talbert Richard J. A.