History : the definitive visual guide : from the dawn of civilization to the present day

Homo Sapiens Have Remained The Same Species, Largely Unchanged In Genetic Makeup And Anatomy Since The Cro-magnon Era. By Contrast, The Cultural, Social, And Technological Changes Since Then Have Been Nothing Less Than Extraordinary. At The Core Of This Development Is The Ability Of Humans To Store And Transmit Knowledge, So That Each New Generation Stands Upon The Shoulders Of Its Predecessors. This Ability To Use What Has Gone Before Is What Sets Humans Apart. Telling Our Story, From Prehistory To The Present Day, Dk's History Is A Thought-provoking Journey, Revealing The Common Threads And Forces That Have Shaped Human History. Taking A Broad-themed Approach, Acknowledging Varied Factors At Work, From Climate, Ecology, Disease, And Geology And Their Roles In The Human Story, This Visual Celebration Makes History Accessible And Relevant, Putting Events In Their Wider Context And Showing How They Have Shaped The World We Live In. Features Inventions, Discoveries, And Ideas That Have Shaped World History Looks At Human Achievement Through Artifacts, Painting, Sculpture, And Architecture Places Humankind In Context As Part Of The Natural World Includes Eyewitness Accounts And Biographies Of Key Figures At Turning Points In History Gives Factors Such As Climate And Natural Disasters Their Full Place In The Human Story Uncovers The Past, From Analyzing Ice Cores To Deciphering Extinct Languages A Comprehensive Timeline Chronicles The Key Events Of The Countries Of The World. Contents 6 Reina 4.5 MYA – 3000 BCE 12 Introduction and Timeline 14 Our Remote Ancestors 16 The Art of Communication 20 The Ice Age 22 Out of Africa 24 Hunters and Gatherers 30 The Spirit World 32 EARLY SOCIETIES 34 First Harvest 36 Village Life 38 Rites and Rituals 40 Precious Metal 42 Town Planning 44 3000 – 700 BCE 46 Introduction and Timeline 48 Sickness and Health 52 The Cradle of Civilization 54 The Divine Pharaohs 56 Mysteries of the Indus 58 Bronze Age China 60 The Writing on the Wall 62 Egypt in Order and Chaos 64 RAMESES II 66 The Realm of Osiris 68 EGYPTIAN ARTIFACTS 70 Building for Eternity 72 People of the Jaguar 74 Europe’s First Civilization 76 Bronze Age Collapse 78 Rulers of the Iron Age 80 Conquering Sea and Desert 82 700 BCE – 600 CE 84 Introduction and Timeline 86 Frontiers of Power 90 The Persian Empire 92 The Greek City-States 94 ALEXANDER THE GREAT 96 The Greeks in Asia 98 The Birth of Democracy 100 From Myth to History 102 Triumphs of Greek Science 104 The Rise of Rome 106 JULIUS CAESAR 108 From Republic to Empire 110 The Roman Army 114 Classical Art 116 Greek and Roman Egypt 118 CLEOPATRA 120 The Revival of Persia 122 India’s First Empire 124 The Unification of China 126 The Centralized State 128 Classical Thought 130 A Wider World 132 Celtic Warriors 134 CELTIC METAL 136 Nomads of the Steppes 138 Early American Civilizations 140 Gods and Goddesses 142 Spreading the Faith 144 BATTLE OF MILVIAN 148 Decline and Fall? 150 600 – 1450 152 Introduction and Timeline 154 Diffusion of Knowledge 158 China’s Golden Age 160 The Song Dynasty 162 GENGHIS KHAN 164 The Ming Dynasty 166 The Rise of the Samurai 168 Korea in the Middle Ages 170 Lost Empires 172 The Ascent of Islam 174 ISLAMIC TREASURES 178 The Delhi Sultanate 180 South of the Sahara 182 The Silk Road 184 The Black Death 186 Medieval Europe 188 BATTLE OF HASTINGS 192 The Power and the Glory 194 The Byzantine Empire 198 The Crusades 200 Raiders and Traders 202 BATTLE OF ’AYN JALUT 204 The Rise of Ottoman Power 206 Cities and Trade 208 Pre-Columbian Americas 210 AZTEC TO INCA 214 Polynesian Expansion 216 1450 – 1750 218 Introduction and Timeline 220 Voyages of Discovery 224 ISABELLA OF CASTILE 226 COLUMBUS LANDS IN 228 Contact Americas 230 The Great Exchange 232 Spanish Silver 234 The Pilgrim Fathers 236 Trade and Empire 238 The Three Emperors 240 Japan’s Great Peace 242 The Great Mughals 244 The Ottoman Empire 246 BATTLE OF LEPANTO 248 The Renaissance 250 LEONARDO DA VINCI 254 The Reformation 256 ELIZABETH I 260 The 30 Years War 262 The English Civil War 264 Scientific Revolution 266 LISBON EARTHQUAKE 268 The Enlightenment 270 Masters of War 272 ARMS AND ARMOR 274 The Rise of Capitalism 276 LOUIS XIV 278 The Slave Trade 280 Exploring the Pacific 282 1750 –1914 284 Introduction and Timeline 286 The Food Revolution 290 The Industrial Revolution 292 The First Global Conflict 296 US Declaration of 298 STORMING OF THE 300 Revolution in France 302 NAPOLEON BONAPARTE 304 The Napoleonic Wars 306 WILLIAM WILBERFORCE 308 Expanding the Frontier 310 AMERICAN INDIAN 300 The American Civil War 314 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 316 Latin America Liberated 318 Completing the Map 320 City Living 322 Germ Warfare 326 Our Country 328 Europe Redefined 330 KARL MARX 334 Workers Unite! 336 The Romantic Movement 338 Origin of Species 340 Science vs. God 342 Ingenious Inventions 344 The Imperial World 346 QUEEN VICTORIA 348 Colonial Resistance 350 The British Raj 352 The Opium Wars 354 Rising Sun 356 The Young Turks Revolt 358 The Scramble for Africa 360 1914 – present 362 Introduction and Timeline 364 THE ASSASSINATION AT SARAJEVO 370 The Great War 372 The Russian Revolution 376 JOSEPH STALIN 378 The Hammer and Sickle 380 SOVIET PROPAGANDA 382 The Great Depression 384 Fascism 386 Spanish Civil War 388 ADOLF HITLER 390 Blitzkrieg 392 STALINGRAD 394 Total War 396 D-DAY 398 The Holocaust 400 War in the Pacific 402 HIROSHIMA 404 The Cold War 406 MAHATMA GANDHI 408 The Partition of India 410 End of the Colonial Era 412 The Promised Land 414 ALBERT EINSTEIN 416 The American Dream 418 THE DEATH OF KENNEDY 420 Viva la Revolución! 422 China’s Long March 424 BERLIN WALL 426 The Sixties 428 The Vietnam War 430 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 432 Civil Rights 434 The Troubles 436 Dictatorship and Democracy 438 The Oil Crisis 440 The Iranian Revolution 442 War in Afghanistan 444 Perestroika 446 Raising the Iron Curtain 448 War in Yugoslavia 450 United Europe 452 Apartheid and Beyond 454 Tiger Economies 456 Modern Technology 458 Feeding the World 462 World Health 464 9/11 466 The Gulf Wars 468 Globalization 470 Superpower China 472 Dynamic Populations 474 Climate Change 476 Shrinking World 478 NATIONAL HISTORIES 480 North and Central America 482 South America 494 Europe 502 Africa 548 Asia 562 Oceania 588 INDEX 594 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 608 Chronologically traces the course of human history and civilization from prehistoric times to the present day, covering key events, people, inventions and discoveries, and ideas and beliefs