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Book Review
The Horse in the Ancient World: From Bucephalus to the Hippodrome (Library of Classical Studies)
Most historical works covering human-animal interactions focus on the relative utility of the animal to society. Dogs are discussed in relation to war and protection of livestock herds, cats with regards to their use in the home, and horses...
Book Review
The Pharaoh’s Treasure: The Origin of Paper and the Rise of Western Civilization
Having completed his Ph.D. in Botany at the University of California at Berkeley, John Gaudet primarily worked as an ecologist throughout his career. His early work focused on studying papyrus in Africa, working as an Africa Region Environmental...
Book Review
Rise of the Early Roman Republic: Reflections on Becoming Roman
Thomas L. Dynneson received his PhD in Education and Anthropology in 1972 from the University of Colorado. From his time as a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, Dynneson primarily researched civism. As he describes it, civism “is a...
Book Review
Among Women: From the Homosocial to the Homoerotic in the Ancient World
Sexuality and gender in Graeco-Roman antiquity has piqued the interest of historians in recent years. Unlike modern Western society, the lives of men and women were often separated into different social spheres in both public and private...
Book Review
What Is Paleolithic Art? Cave Paintings and the Dawn of Human Creativity
Clottes' book, translated from the French, introduces the reader to current issues in the study of parietal art, the technical term for prehistoric paintings found on walls both outside and in caves. One can imagine the difficulty studying...
Book Review
Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell into Tyranny
In 12 chapters, Mortal Republic traces the Roman Republic's transformation into an autocratic empire by looking at key economic, social, and political developments. This book attempts to explain the death of the Roman Republic as its transformation...
Book Review
Decorated Roman Armour: From the Age of the Kings to the Death of Justinian the Great
In Decorated Roman Armour: From the Age of the Kings to the Death of Justinian the Great, Raffaele D'Amato and Andrey Evgenevich Negin provide a chronological and typological analysis of Roman army equipment, especially focusing on “the evolution...
Book Review
Women at War in the Classical World
Classical history tends to focus on the big-ticket war stories: Hannibal crossing the Alps, Alexander conquering Persia, Achilles and Hector's final epic battle at Troy or Caesar defeating the Gauls. War has historically been a man's world...
Book Review
Exploring the Life, Myth, and Art of the Ancient Near East
In Exploring the Life, Myth, and Art of the Ancient Near East, Michael Kerrigan attempts to present the cultural depth of the ancient Near East through its myths and art, writing primarily for grades 7-12. He does so by offering summaries...
Book Review
The First Signs: Unlocking the Mysteries of the World's Oldest Symbols
Genevieve von Petzinger is a Canadian author and paleoanthropologist who is currently the only researcher in the world focusing on the abstract signs that can be found at almost 400 sites across Europe. This research and the 32 signs that...
