Europe Before Rome: A Site-By-Site Tour of the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages

Preface; Chapter 1. Frameworks for Europe's Past; Geography and Environment; Geology; Raw Materials; Past Climates; Time and Chronology; A Very Short History of European Archaeology; Chapter 2. The First Europeans ; Early Europeans; Atapuerca, Spain, 1,300,000 year ago; Boxgrove, England, UK, 500,000 years ago; Schoningen, Germany, 400,000 years ago; Neanderthals; Krapina, Croatia,130,000 years ago; Salzgitter-Lebenstedt, Germany, 55,000 years ago; El Sidron, Spain, 43,000 years ago; Grotte du Renne, France, 40,000 years ago; Vindija Cave, Croatia, 34,000 years ago; Ancient DNA; Neanderthal Diet; Some Reflections; Chapter 3. The Creative Explosion; Origin and Spread of Modern Humans; The Upper Paleolithic; Pestera cu Oase, Romania, 40,000 years ago; Grotte Chauvet, France, 32,000 years ago; Grande Grotte, France, 32,000 years ago; Dolni V?stonice, Czech Republic, 27,500 years ago; Grotte de la Vache, France, 14,000 years ago; Gonnersdorf, Germany, 11,500 years ago; Pincevent, France, 12,000 years ago; Doggerland, North Sea, 11,000 BC; The Last Hunters; Franchthi Cave, Greece, 9000 BC; Mount Sandel, Ireland, 7000 BC; Moita do Sebastaio, Portugal, 6000 BC; Polderveg, Netherlands, 5500 BC; Tybrind Vig, Denmark, 5000 BC; Vedbaek, Denmark, 5000 BC; Rock Art: Vingen, Norway, 5000 BC; Some Reflections; Chapter 4. The First Farmers ; The Origins and Spread of Agriculture; Shillourokambos, Cyprus, 8200 BC; Nea Nikomedeia, Greece, 6200 BC; Lepenski Vir, Serbia, 6200 BC; Vinca, Serbia, 5500 BC; Rudna Glava, Serbia, 5000 BC; Varna, Bulgaria, 4500 BC; Passo di Corvo, Italy, 6000 BC; Linearbandkeramik; Vaihingen, Germany, 5300 BC; Polished Flint Axes; Spiennes, Belgium, 4400 BC; La Draga, Spain, 5000 BCArbon Bleich, Switzerland, 3384 BC; Otzi, Italy, 3300 BC; The Megaliths of Western Europe; Skara Brae, Orkney Islands, UK, 3200 BC; Stonehenge, UK, 3100 BC; Newgrange, Ireland, 3100 BC; Los Millares, Spain, 3200 BC; Hal Saflieni, Malta, 3600 BC; Rock Art: Barranco de la Valtort,

T. Douglas Price is Weinstein Professor of European Archaeology Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His books include Images of the Past, Europe's First Farmers, and the leading introductory textbook in the discipline, Principles of Archaeology.

"In this richly illustrated, elegantly written guide to European prehistory, archeologist Price...takes us on a remarkable journey from the very earliest prehuman cultures to the Iron Age of warfare, empires, and human strife.... Focusing on dozens of specific sites at particular times, (e.g., Pincevent, France, 12,000 years ago), Price's lush survey of major archeological sites in Europe provides a rich and engrossing introduction to what he calls an 'extraordinary heritage.'"--Publishers Weekly"Price takes readers on a grand tour of prehistoric Europe.... A great book for the lay reader as well as for specialists."--Brian Renvall, Library Journal"Archaeologist Price deftly covers a very wide range of significant European archaeological sites, and for each does an extraordinary job of situating them in space, reviewing their discovery, and summarizing the important contributions they make to understanding the past. He does this with abundant illustrations of the countryside, the excavations themselves, artifacts, and reconstructions based on the sites.... [T]he volume will have wide appeal, finding readers in college and university libraries and more generally in public libraries, large and small. Highly recommended."--R. B. Clay, CHOICE"Engagingly written and lavishly illustrated, this thoughtful, place-by-place survey to the latest discoveries at 65 important archaeological sites across Europe will serve as a wonderful introduction for undergraduates as well as a fascinating guide-book for archaeological tourists, real and armchair."--David Anthony, Hartwick College"Europe Before Rome is an outstanding overview of European prehistory, a story of human accomplishments known only through archaeology that established the foundations for later civilizations. By illuminating landmark sites and placing them in a wider context, Professor Price has constructed a compelling and very readable narrative of prehistoric life."--Peter Bogucki, P