Product Description

The cities of West Africa's Middle Niger, only recently brought to the world's attention, make us rethink the 'whys' and the 'wheres' of ancient urbanism. They present the archaeologist with a novelty; a non-nucleated, clustered city-plan with no centralized, state-focused power. This book explores the emergence of these cities in the first millennium B.C. and the evolution of their hinterlands from the perspective of the self-organized landscape. Cities appeared in a series of profound transforms to the human-land relations and this book illustrates how each transform marked a leap in complexity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1137522 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 278 pages

Review
"...an impressive, path-breaking explanation of the origin of urban settlements on the Middle Niger River, climaxed by a fascinating final chapter in which the author offers a comparative overview of the archaeology of urban landscapes in Mesopotamia, the Nile valley, and northern China." -David C. Conrad, Emeritus, SUNY Oswego, American Historical Review

Review
"...an impressive, path-breaking explanation of the origin of urban settlements on the Middle Niger River, climaxed by a fascinating final chapter in which the author offers a comparative overview of the archaeology of urban landscapes in Mesopotamia, the Nile valley, and northern China."
-David C. Conrad, Emeritus, SUNY Oswego, American Historical Review

About the Author
Roderick J. McIntosh is Professor of Anthropology at Rice University and visiting Professor of Archaeology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. His recent publications include The Peoples of Middle Niger: Island of Gold (1998), The Way the Wind Blows: Climate, History, and Human Action (2000) and Geomorphology and Human Palaeoecology of the Méma, Mali (2005).