Geography and Ethnography: Perceptions of the World in Pre-Modern Societies (Ancient World: Comparative Histories): 3 - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1405191465 ISBN 13: 9781405191463

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010

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 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)

Synopsis:

Most societies think about their place in the world: in relation to the space in which they live, to other peoples who surround them, and to the cosmos and divine forces that are believed to determine their fate. They record and describe such relations in various ways, and sometimes they use them to reflect upon themselves and to define their own identities by similarity and contrast. This is no less true for ancient or early societies. Some have left us abundant written documentation in historical and scientific texts and documents such as maps and administrative records. Others engraved their memory and thinking in mythical and epic texts, among others. Yet others left few written records but their ideas can be retrieved from narratives written down by others, from pictorial maps and histories that survive, and from monuments carved into the landscape like road systems and canals, walls, boundary markers, and inscriptions.The proposed volume, based on a conference at Brown University in the spring of 2006, brings together specialists in many cultures who have assembled and analyzed these records.

They examine a wide range of common questions, from evidence, interpretations, and methodology to the way geographic and ethnographic concepts and views of the cosmos were developed and expressed, and how these differ from or overlap with each other. Comparison serves many purposes. In particular, focusing on analogies and similarities in various cultures, it reveals patterns and common traits. In exposing differences, it brings out in sharper profile the specific characteristics of any given society. Overall, it illustrates the remarkable variety of responses humankind developed to meet common challenges.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1405191465
• ISBN 13: 9781405191463
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 376
• Editor: Raaflaub Kurt A., Talbert Richard J. A.