Introduction ; Parte I. 5000-600 BCE: The Rise of Cities, States and Pastoralism ; 1. From human origins to the farming transformation ; 2. Cities and states ; 3. People on the move ; Parte II. 600 BCE-600 CE: A World of Regions ; 4. Africa and the Americas: making history in challenging environments ; 5. East, Central and South Asia: the religious foundations of empires ; 6. The Ancient Mediterranean ; Parte III. 600-900 CE: States, Empires, and Religions ; 7. The Middle East and Europe ; 8. The heyday of the Silk Road ; 9. The rise and fall of states in the Americas and Africa, 600-1200 CE; Part IV. 900-1200 CE: Fragmentation, Feudalism, and Urbanization ; 10. Europe and the Muslim World ; 11. Paradoxes of plenty in Song China, Byzantium, and Kievan Russia; Part V. 1200-1500 CE: Conquest and Commerce ; 12. The Americas and Africa ; 13. The Mongol Conquests and their legacies ; 14. Europe and the world

The first textbook to present world history via social history, drawing on social science methods and research. This interdisciplinary, comprehensive and comparative textbook is authored by distinguished scholars and experienced teachers, and offers expert scholarship on global history that is ideal for undergraduate students. Volume 1 takes us from the origin of hominids to ancient civilizations, the rise of empires, and the Middle Ages. The book pays particular attention to the ways in which ordinary people lived through the great changes of their times, and how everyday experience connects to great political events and the commercial exchanges of an interconnected world. With 65 maps, 45 illustrations, timelines, boxes, and primary source extracts, the book moves students easily from particular historical incidents to broader perspectives, enabling them to use historical material and social science methodologies to analyze the events of the past, present and future.