Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations

By: Brian M. Fagan, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Brian M. Fagan

Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Where do we come from? How did our ancestors settle this planet? How did the great historic civilizations of the world develop? How does a past so shadowy that it has to be painstakingly reconstructed from fragmentary, largely unwritten records nonetheless make us who and what we are?

These 36 lectures bring you the answers that the latest scientific and archaeological research and theorizing suggest about human origins, how populations developed, and the ways in which civilizations spread throughout the globe. It's a narrative of the story of human origins and the many ties that still bind us deeply to the world before writing. And it's a world tour of prehistory with profound links to who we are and how we live today.

Woven through this narrative is a set of pervasive themes: emerging human biological and cultural diversity (as well as our remarkable similarities across surprising expanses of time and space); the impact of human adaptations to climatic and environmental change; and the importance of seeing prehistory not merely as a chronicle of archaeological sites and artifacts, but of people behaving with the extraordinary intellectual, spiritual, and emotional dynamism that distinguish the human. Among the corners of our mysterious past you'll explore: human prehistory from Australopithecus africanus through Homo habilis and Homo erectus; the beginnings of agriculture and animal domestication; theories behind the appearance of urban civilization and overall attributes of preindustrial civilizations; the maritime trading revolutions in Africa, India, and Southeast Asia; and much more.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses

A comprehensive introduction into human history

Very interesting, I actually expected it would cover more extensively the early hominids times and was initially disappointed that it would spend most of the course on the "usual" prehistory. But the approach was different from anything I studied before and made the course very interesting. The narrative voice is a bit peculiar and as a non native speaker I had to get used to it.

a must hear for me

inlteresting. covers a large scope and provde a wide picture of where all is coming from.

Difficulty understanding this professor

Would you be willing to try another book from The Great Courses and Brian M. Fagan ? Why or why not?

No. While I believe the professor to be very knowledgable in his area, I did not enjoy his delivery of the lecture materials.

Would you be willing to try another one of Professor Brian M. Fagan’s performances?

No. Professor Fagan's unusual accent was frequently difficult for me to understand. I'm from the USA. His accent is British but mixed with something else. Even the British don't pronounce the word "prove" with a long "o," to rhyme with "rove." Do they? He also made what I consider to be an unusually high number of speaking mistakes. He meant to say one thing but said another. He would always correct himself but it was distracting.

Wonderful

Great narration. vivid and lively. well organized material. excellent teacher. joy to listen to him

Excellent lectuwe. Hawder listen

Were you concerned about what happened to the officiant from The Princess Bride? No wowwies. He went on to be a successful and highly wegawded awceologist. The lectwe is well thought out and the ideas hewein are intewesting and engaging.

Infowtunately, the nawater has a subtle speech impediment the will slowly dwive you insane.

Good But Needs Updating

As Dr. Dayan expressed throughout the course, the narrative will change as new discoveries come about. This course, as is, captured the narrative as it was 20 years ago. It needs revising - especially with regards to archaic humans such as the Neanderthal and Denisovan. But overall, a great course.

La narración es aburriiiiiidaaaa

El tema es en extremo interesante pero la narración es más sosa que nada. Una lástima. Creo que no lo terminaré.

Dull delivery, some interesting facts.

First, I am a college professor, so it pains me to give this lecture series anything but the highest praise. But I feel like they pick people who don't get the basic need for storytelling in the lecture format, and instead go with people with a professorial flair in the delivery. This lecture is the third in this series that I have attempted to plod through, and I am stopping at hour 7 even though the subject is of great interest to me. It may just be me, but I find nothing particularly compelling about this lecture- it's just okay. Most of the time I realize that even if I am listening intently, most of the information is just deserting me and I am needing to go back and listen again, as my mind seems to be completely uninterested in what Professor Fagan is saying. This lecture may work well in a room where you can see his gestures and visual aids, but in this format I find that I am retaining little and enjoying less.

One of the world's greatest orators.

How do you describe such an amazing collection of knowledge? This volume is a cherished piece of my collection.

Out of date

What did you like best about Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations? What did you like least?

The sweeping coverage of humanity from earliest time until ~1500. It is very difficult to cover so much time in a linear fashion; and it was not very successful here. We know so much more about more recent events than we do the far past that it was very skewed. It is also very out of date so I will be more vigilant about checking dates on my great courses from now on. The professor said with absolute certainty, now and forever, things that are impossible which have since been proven possible and highly likely; and indeed with certainty to be true.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

It is some of the best lectures I have heard on Meso-American prehistory.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I tried unsuccessfully not to be put off by his pompous and florid delivery. He also often made very interesting and mysterious word slips, some corrected immediately, some not. I often listen to courses several times, but this one I will not. Too irritating!

Do you think Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It definitely needs updating.