This extensively illustrated softback is the first of a two-volume set, sold separately, which together look at the span of human history and the ways in which historians interpret evidence as to the nature of its evolution over 6000 years. Primary, visual, and secondary evidence is shown to give insights into civilizations and human societies since the Early Egyptian period of the third millennium BCE. Relevant primary, visual and secondary sources are cited and often illustrated for each of the 15 periods in Volume I. Reading lists, maps, timelines and other graphics, quotations, and questions for discussion together with lively illustrations make this a stimulating read for the students of junior college level but also for the general reader.