History of Humanity. Scientific and Cultural Development. Vol. 2 : From the Third Millennium to the Seventh Century B.C., 1996, 700 p., ill., fig., cartes, pl. -

After almost fifteen years of intensive work, UNESCO presents an entirely revised and updated edition of this major work in seven volumes. The new edition, now called History of Humanity, is a radical new work providing an account of cultural and scientific achievements in the light of new facts and methods of historiographical investigation. This major undertaking required an International Commission and the co-operation of some 450 distinguished specialists, in a great number of disciplines, from all over the world. A truly interdisciplinary work, the History of Humanity sheds new light on many hitherto unknown features of our common past. This second volume covers the first two and a halft thousand years of recorded history, from the start of the Bronze Age 5000 years ago to the beginnings of the Iron Age. Written by a team of over sixty specialists, this volume includes a comprehensive bibliography and a detailed index.