YOFFEE, NORMAN & COWGILL, GEORGE L., EDS,

Collapse of Ancient States and Civilizations.

Tucson: University of Arizona Press, [1988]. 1st Edition. x+[2]+333+[7]pp. Blue cloth. VG w/o dust-jacket. ISBN: 0816510490. Binding: HB.

-- John Gach Books

Book number: 091756

YOFFEE, NORMAN & SHERRATT, ANDREW

ARCHAEOLOGICAL THEORY Who Sets the Agenda?

Cambridge University Press, 1995 149pp. Soft covers. Fine Without rejecting the insights either of traditional or more recent approaches, it considers the issues raised in current claims and controversies about what is appropriate theory for archaeology

-- Magis Books

Book number: 41516

Keywords: 0521449588

YOFFEE, NORMAN AND GEORGE L. COWGILL EDS.

The Collapse of Ancient States and Civilizations

Arizona, 1991. 333 pp. Paperback. Very good.

-- Windows Booksellers

Book number: 382256

YOFFEE, NORMAN.

Myths Of The Archaic State: Evolution Of The Earliest Cities, States, And Civilizations.

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 2006. Softcover. Brand new book. In this ground-breaking work, Norman Yoffee shatters the prevailing myths underpinning our understanding of the evolution of early civilisations. He counters the emphasis in traditional scholarship on the rule of 'godly' and despotic male leaders and challenges the conventional view that early states were uniformly constituted bureaucratic and regional entities. Instead, by illuminating the role of slaves and soldiers, priests and priestesses, peasants and prostitutes, merchants and craftsmen, Yoffee depicts an evolutionary process centred on the concerns of everyday life. Drawing on evidence from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and Mesoamerica, the author explores the variety of trajectories followed by ancient states, from birth to collapse, and explores the social processes that shape any account of the human past. This book offers a bold new interpretation of social evolutionary theory, and as such it is essential reading for any student or scholar with an interest in the emergence of complex society. - Offers a radical new interpretation of the origins of early civilization - Presents a new multi-layered model for the development of states - An invaluable introduction to theories of social evolution. The contents of the book is as follows: 1. Evolution of a factoid; 2. Dimensions of power in the earliest states; 3. The meaning of cities in the earliest states and civilizations; 4. When complexity was simplified; 5. Identity and agency in early states: case studies; 6. The collapse of ancient states and civilizations; 7. Social evolutionary trajectories; 8. New rules of the game; 9. Altered states: the evolution of history. Includes an Index. Myths of the Archaic State clears away the cobwebs of an earlier generation of anthropological thought and, in its strongest moments, points toward a new configuration of global history. - Science Norman Yoffee identifies a series of what he terms 'myths' in archaeological thought, and then proceeds to demolish them one by one, using an astonishing array of case studies, from Mesopotamia to Chaco Canyon. His book is provocative, inspirational, transformative, and so full of small (and weighty) gems that it is a pleasure to read. - Katharina Schreiber, University of California, Santa Barbara A highly stimulating book that expounds a clear line of argument while maintaining an entertaining line of discourse. Yoffee has written a superb and exciting book that will provoke thought and discussion wherever it is read. - Roger Matthews, Institute of Archaeology, University College London Norman Yoffee has written an elegant witty, and substantive critique of neo-evolutionary theory in archaeological anthropology. Philip Kohl, Wellesley College I strongly recommend Myths of the Archaic State to anyone interested in social evolution. - David Webster, Pennsylvania State University Profoundly interesting volume. - Bruce Trigger, McGill University
¶ 277 pages.

-- Ad Infinitum Books

Book number: 30230X2

Catalogue: CITIES

Keywords: (Civilization Ancient Teotihuacan Wealth Mesopotamia Archaeology Kinship Leadership Neo Evolutionism Power Egypt China Chiefdoms). 0521521564

YOFFEE, NORMAN

Myths of the Archaic State: Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States, and Civilizations

Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, (2006). reprint. orig.wrappers. 24x15cm, xiii,277 pp. PAPERBACK.. Minor rubbing. VG.
¶ Contents : Evolution of a factoid -- Dimensions of power in the earliest states -- The meaning of cities in the earliest states and civilizations --When complexity was simplified -- Identity and agency in early states : case studies -- The collapse of ancient states and civilizations -- Social evolutionary trajectories -- New rules of the game -- Altered states : the evolution of history. ["In this ground-breaking work, Norman Yoffee shatters the prevailing myths underpinning our understanding of the evolution of early civilisations. He counters the emphasis in traditional scholarship on the rule of 'godly' and despotic male leaders and challenges the conventional view that early states were uniformly constituted bureaucratic and regional entities. Instead, by illuminating the role of slaves and soldiers, priests and priestesses, peasants and prostitutes, merchants and craftsmen, Yoffee depicts an evolutionary process centred on the concerns of everyday life. Drawing on evidence from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and Mesoamerica, the author explores the variety of trajectories followed by ancient states, from birth to collapse,and explores the social processes that shape any account of the human past. This book offers a bold new interpretation of social evolutionary theory, and as such it is essential reading for any student or scholar with an interest in the emergence of complex society" - Publisher's description].

-- Expatriate Bookshop of Denmark

Book number: BOOKS016492I

Keywords: Social Evolutionary Theory, Ancient History, Civilization, Archeology, Archaeology, , , , ,