A Brief History
On November 15, 2024, we take pleasure in reviewing a new book about some of the less well known and popular ancient civilizations, aptly titled The Other Ancient Civilisations by renowned scholar and archaeologist Raven Todd DaSilva of London, England, which is hinted at by the British spelling of “civilization” in the title.
Digging Deeper
A book suitable for the casual reader or college classroom, the author blends academic information with an eminently readable style that does not bore or confuse the reader. Each of the 20 chapters about one of the title civilizations starts with a fictional vignette about a typical person or persons from that culture going about a typical activity emblematic of the way those people lived, a technique that puts a human face on the subject culture and its people. The work does not neglect the Americas, Africa, or Asia in favor of the usual suspects, Europe and the Middle East, though those regions are also covered.
DaSilva covers the generally accepted views about each culture while making it clear that there are alternative interpretations of the actual history of each society, and she effortlessly covers those various theories in a way that does not betray her own bias. Da Silva makes it clear that much of the information available about these sometimes obscure or neglected civilizations often lack a written record by which to understand the people and how they lived.
The bibliography is extensive and shows just how thorough this writer is in her research and analysis of the available information before presenting a synopsis to the reader. For a book with 315 pages of text, the bibliography is an amazing 24 ½ pages long,
The text is complimented by appropriate illustrations, including maps, drawings, and photos of artifacts. Meticulous crediting of photographs and other references is likewise excellent.
We strongly recommend this book for use as a text book for classes in ancient civilizations and in history classes about the non-Western world, especially for teachers/professors that want to expose their students to a world that existed outside of the commonly covered cultures and civilizations.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: What is your favorite ancient civilization?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
DaSilva, Raven Todd. The Other Ancient Civilisations: Decoding Archaeology’s Less Celebrated Cultures. Mango, 2024.
O’Neill, Bill. The Ultimate History Buff Challenge: Over 600 Quiz Questions for Curious History Lovers. LAK Publishing, 2024.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Gary Todd of a gold crown belonging to a Xiongnu king, from the early Xiongnu period, is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
