After the Ice

"After the Ice is the story of a momentous period: one in which a seemingly minor alteration in temperature could bring anything from the spread of lush woodland to apocalyptic floods - and one that contains the origins of civilisation itself. For, by its close, dogs, sheep and cattle had been domesticated; rice, wheat and cotton were being harvested; and permanent villages and towns had sprung up, supporting specialist craftsmen, priests, chiefs and newly developed religious beliefs. Indeed, even those who did not adopt farming and continued to live as hunter-gatherers had radically changed the way they lived." "Drawing on the latest cutting-edge research in archaeology, human genetics and the environmental sciences, Steven Mithen takes the reader on a sweeping global tour, bringing this world vividly back to life. Part history, part science and part time travel, After the Ice is breathtaking in its scope - an evocative, original, gripping yet intimate picture of minds, diverse cultures, lives and landscapes through 15,000 years that laid the foundations of the modern world."--BOOK JACKET.