Susan W. (Suz) reviewed Mysteries of the Ancient World (Special Publications Series 13, No. 4) on + 721 more book reviews
Another fabulous National Geographic book. Full of color pictures; hardcover.
From the dustjacket: "Massive sentinels of stone guard the rock-bound shores of tiny Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean. Man-made mountains, the pyramids of Egypt loom above the Nile. Sprawling ruins of Minoan palaces share the hillsides of Crete with age-old olive groves.
Despite decades of research, many such intriguing remnants of the past remain enigmas, often provoking question rather than providing answers. In MYSTERIES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD you will search through the secrets of long-dead cultures and civilizations and discover the riddles that still persist.
Ice Age hunters of more than 10,000 years ago painted the walls of scores of caves in France and Spain. Why? What do the drawings of these earliest artists mean? Without iron tools, horses, or even wheels, how did the Egyptians build the pyramids-and for what purpose? In a short span of time, the Mycenaeans of Greece amassed vast treasure. How? And what fears haunted their final decades? A startling demise overtook two other flourishing peoples: the Harappans of ancient India and the Etruscans of Italy. What chains of events brought these mighty civilizations to ruin?"
From the dustjacket: "Massive sentinels of stone guard the rock-bound shores of tiny Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean. Man-made mountains, the pyramids of Egypt loom above the Nile. Sprawling ruins of Minoan palaces share the hillsides of Crete with age-old olive groves.
Despite decades of research, many such intriguing remnants of the past remain enigmas, often provoking question rather than providing answers. In MYSTERIES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD you will search through the secrets of long-dead cultures and civilizations and discover the riddles that still persist.
Ice Age hunters of more than 10,000 years ago painted the walls of scores of caves in France and Spain. Why? What do the drawings of these earliest artists mean? Without iron tools, horses, or even wheels, how did the Egyptians build the pyramids-and for what purpose? In a short span of time, the Mycenaeans of Greece amassed vast treasure. How? And what fears haunted their final decades? A startling demise overtook two other flourishing peoples: the Harappans of ancient India and the Etruscans of Italy. What chains of events brought these mighty civilizations to ruin?"
