After the Ice - Steven Mithen

The sub title of this book is an ideal summation of the books subject and at the same time an audacious claim, "A Global Human History 20000-5000BC." That is a long period of time to condense into one volume, even one like this that runs to over 600 pages. The advantage of looking at this period though is that unlike mans more recent development this period is a simpler time. There are no borders or countries, no politics, little evidence of religion beyond tribal custom and superstition, no money and no large-scale war. What the book then is left with is the growth of hunter-gatherer communities across the world and when viewed in these more specific terms is ...