This book introduces readers to the famous setting where human civilization began. The geography, religion, and lasting impact Mesopotamia had on the world is explored in easy-to-read text and colorful photos. Sidebars, maps, more facts, and QR codes are included in this title.

Learn about the Hohokam, a people who made beautiful art, employed cooperative decision making with strong centralized leadership, and developed extensive public architecture. But see why their real claim to fame was building more than 700 miles of sophisticated irrigation canals, segments of which are still visible today.

About 3,500 years ago, while most North Americans were still nomadic, see how one group of ancient people developed a planned community on more than 900 acres to accommodate 4,000 to 5,000 inhabitants. Designed with exceptional engineering skills, the fascinating city of Poverty Point functioned for 1,000 years and included one of the oldest pyramids ever built on Earth.

At the time of European contact, two main groups existed in the northeast - the hunter-gatherer Algonquian and the agrarian Iroquois. Delve into how the Iroquois created the first North American democracy as a solution to their increasing internal conflicts. Today, we know much of the U.S. Constitution is modeled on the Iroquois' "Great League of Peace" and its 117 articles of confederation.

From southern California to Alaska, witness a vast array of complex hunter-gatherer cultures that thrived along the Pacific Coast for centuries before European contact. In this most densely populated area of the continent, peoples developed highly stratified societies, sophisticated systems of resource distribution and trade, advanced methods of food storage, and unique artwork.

DNA evidence points to Asia, and only Asia, as the origin of all human migration to North America. While there were many migration episodes, each episode involved passage across the Bering Strait. Sites of ancient habitation have been found all across the continent, under water and on dry land. See why, even with current technologies, scientists cannot yet agree on the ages of these sites.

It would be difficult to decide if the ancient Greeks are best known for their literature or mythology, for their philosophy or their government. On all fronts, ancient Greece paved the way for civilizations to come, making momentous contributions to humanity unmatched by other societies. This authoritative, upper elementary volume covers all aspects of Greek society, including daily life, deities and legends, and the political systems of Greek city-states....

This fascinating narrative introduces young readers to the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica. Evolving from their primitive ways to complex societies, these ancient peoples left records for archaeologists to piece together to glean what these peoples were really like more than 3,000 years ago. Among the civilizations examined are the Olmec, Zapotec, Aztec, and Maya. Lands, cultures, religions, and daily life activities are considered, as well as...

Rome was the city that conquered the entire Mediterranean world. For almost 500 years, it presided over that world, shaping it, and providing instruction for all those who came later. The city fell to the barbarians, and the empire ceased to exist, but the ideas and ideals that built both the city and the empire can still be felt today. This book presents the fascinating empire of Ancient Rome, from its rise to its fall. Readers will learn how Romans...

"The oldest civilizations on Earth started in ancient Mesopotamia. There, small settlements grew into large, complex cities. Some were completely forgotten until archaeologists began to dig up their foundations, but the contributions they made to the world live on today. Informative main text is supplemented with full-color photographs and engaging sidebars. A thorough timeline gives readers a clear idea of the sequence of events in ancient Mesopotamia,...