This Book Takes An Analytical Approach To World History. Instead Of Proceeding Through History Descriptively, It Looks At Several Major Questions And Ideas, Such As The Role Of Technology, The Development Of Universal Religions, Global Trade, Or Participatory Politics. If This Sounds Thematic, It Is. But It Also Progresses Chronologically, Analyzing These Themes As They Apply In Certain Eras. We Use Both Primary Sources In-text, And The Latest Scholarship As Secondary Source. These We Use Frequently In Each Chapter Both To Employ The Voices Of Scholars Where They Say Things Better Than We Could, And Footnote Them For Students' Reference. We Also Hope To Convey The Sense That All This Content Is Part Of An Ongoing Debate Amongst Historians--and Scholars From Different Disciplines. Finally We Attempt To Keep The Text Accessible By Focusing On Narrative Elements Of History, And Keeping In Mind That The Readers Are Undergraduates, Often With Little Exposure To The Subject Matter. However, The Level Of Ideas Remains High--provided By Publisher. About The Authors -- Why Are Humans Dominant? Earliest Orgins To 10,000 Bce -- What Were The Consequences Of Settling Down? 10,000 Bce To 5,000 Bce -- How Did The Development Of Cities Affect The Human Experience? 5,000 Bce To 1,000 Bce -- War (!) What Is It Good For? From Earliest Beginnings To 200 Bce -- Was Greece The First Democracy? From 1000 Bce To 300 Ce -- What Is An Empire? 550 Bce-400 Ce -- How Can We Explain The Similarities And Differences Between Religions? 12,000 Bce To 600 Ce -- What Does Trade Do? 3000 Bce To 1000 Ce -- What Role Did Technology Play In Cultural Exchange And Expansion? 800 Ce-1300 Ce -- What Types Of Conflicts Existed Between Core Areas And Peripheries? 900 Ce-1400 Ce -- How Did The Environment Limit Human Endeavors, And How Did It Produce Unpredictable Consequences? 1300-1400 Ce -- Was The European Renaissance Unique? 1350 Ce-1650 Ce -- What Changed In Global Interactions Between 1450 And 1750? -- Epilogue: History And The Future -- Glossary. Adrian Cole And Stephen Ortega. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.