Maps of time : an introduction to big history / David Christian ; foreword by William H. McNeill ; with a new preface.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

An introduction to a new way of looking at history, from a perspective that stretches from the beginning of time to the present day, Maps of Time is world history on an unprecedented scale. Beginning with the Big Bang, David Christian views the interaction of the natural world with the more recent arrivals in flora and fauna, including human beings. Cosmology, geology, archeology, and population and environmental studies--all figure in David Christian's account, which is an ambitious overview of the emerging field of "Big History." Maps of Time opens with the origins of the universe, the stars

Print version record.

COVER; CONTENTS; ILLUSTRATIONS; TABLES; FOREWORD; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; PREFACE TO THE 2011 EDITION; Introduction: A Modern Creation Myth?; PART I. THE INANIMATE UNIVERSE; 1. The First 3OO, OOO Years: Origins of the Universe, Time, and Space; 2. Origins of the Galaxies and Stars: The Beginnings of Complexity; 3. Origins and History of the Earth; PART II. LIFE ON EARTH; 4. The Origins of Life and the Theory of Evolution; 5. The Evolution of Life and the Biosphere; PART III. EARL Y HUMAN HISTORY: MANY WORLDS; 6. The Evolution of Humans; 7. The Beginnings of Human History.

PART IV. THE HOLOCENE: FEW WORLDS8. Intensification and the Origins of Agriculture; 9 From Power over Nature to Power over People: Cities, States, and "Civilizations"; 10. Long Trends in the Era of Agrarian "Civilizations"; PART V. THE MODERN ERA: ONE WORLD; 11. Approaching Modernity; 12. Globalization, Commercialization, and Innovation; 13. Birth of the Modern World; 14. The Great Acceleration of the Twentieth Century; PART VI. PERSPECTIVES ON THE FUTURE; 15. Futures; APPENDIX 1; APPENDIX 2; NOTES; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX.

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