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First Kings of Europe : From Farmers to Rulers in Prehistoric Southeastern Europe
$75.00
This book explores the transition from agricultural villages to tribal kingdoms in prehistoric Southeastern Europe. Accompanying an international exhibition, this book analyzes artifacts to reveal the evolution of political hierarchy and power. From the Copper Age necropolis at Varna to opulent Thracian and Illyrian tombs, it highlights the impact of technology, trade, ritual, and warfare on sociopolitical disparities. Featuring rare treasures, it offers insights into the roots of modern social dynamics.
Description
First Kings of Europe : From Farmers to Rulers in Prehistoric Southeastern Europe
Written by Attila Gyucha and William A. Parkinson
Over several millennia, early agricultural villages in southeastern Europe gave rise to tribal kingdoms and monarchies, replacing smaller, more egalitarian social structures with complex state organizations led by royal individuals invested with power. In this book, which accompanies an international exhibition, scholars analyze and interpret data and artifacts from the most important museum collections from the region to illustrate the evolution of political hierarchy, power, and status in this region from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. Echoing from antiquity are hints of how we got to the social and economic disparities of today.
From the rich burials of the famous Copper Age necropolis at Varna to the lavish tombs of Thracian kings and the Illyrian elite, troves of gold and silver ornaments, bronze and iron weaponry, rich metal hoards and magnificent ceremonial vessels reveal the roles of technology, trade, ritual, and warfare in developments toward marked sociopolitical inequalities. Many of the objects in the associated exhibition have never been displayed outside their countries of origin, and in this volume they come together in a wonderfully illustrated co-publication with Chicago’s Field Museum.
