Julian Maxwell Heath – författare

The remarkable archaeology of pharaonic Egypt continues to captivate countless people worldwide but evidence for Egypt's prehistoric or Stone Age past has been relatively neglected. This is perhaps understandable, as the archaeology of Stone Age Egypt often seems crude in comparison, and the number of works published on the subject is diminutive compared to those dealing with the revered ancient civilization that emerged in the Nile Valley some five thousand years ago. However, although less spectacular, the numerous remnants of prehistoric life found throughout Egypt represent an important chapter in the story of humanity's distant past. They also cast compelling light on the shadowy Stone Age peoples who lived in the Nile Valley and surrounding deserts, long before the mighty monuments of the pharaohs ever existed.This book examines the fascinating archaeology of stone Age Egypt, from its very beginnings, when early members of the human species arrived in Egypt from sub-Saharan Africa, to its end, when the impressive Naqada Culture emerged, setting in motion the processes that led to the formation of one of the world's greatest ancient civilizations.

In a companion book to the best-selling Stories from Ancient Egypt, Joyce Tyldesley re-tells some of the most interesting and entertaining myths and legends from the Classical world. These stories tell us how the spider spun the first web, how a simple ball of string defeated the fearsome minotaur, and how Romulus founded the mighty city of Rome. The “this book belongs to” introduction teaches the reader how to write their name using ancient Greek letters, and their age using Roman numerals. Each of the stories includes a question and answer section for enthusiastic young archaeologists. The book is illustrated with imaginative and amusing line-drawings by acclaimed artist and archaeologist Julian Heath. Stories from Ancient Greece and Rome is primarily aimed at children between the ages of 7-11, but it offers an entertaining and informative introduction to the myths of ancient Greece and Rome to readers of all ages.

The Neolithic ('New Stone Age') marks the time when the prehistoric communities of Europe turned their backs on the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that they had followed for many thousands of years, and instead, became farmers. The significance of this switch from a lifestyle that had been based on the hunting and gathering of wild food resources, to one that involved the growing of crops and raising livestock, cannot be underestimated. Although it was a complex process that varied from place to place, there can be little doubt that it was during the Neolithic that the foundations for the incredibly complex modern societies in which we live today were laid. However, we would be wrong to think that the first farming communities of Europe were in tune with nature and each other, as there is a considerable (and growing) body of archaeological data that is indicative of episodes of warfare between these communities. This evidence should not be taken as proof that warfare was endemic across Neolithic Europe, but it does strongly suggest that it was more common than some scholars have proposed.Furthermore, the words of the seventeenth-century English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, who famously described prehistoric life as 'nasty, brutish, and short', seem rather apt in light of some of the archaeological discoveries from the European Neolithic.