Ancient Lives is aimed at general courses in archaeology and prehistory that cover archaeological methods and theory, as well as world prehistory. The first half of the book covers the basic principles, methods, and theoretical approaches of archaeology. The second half is devoted to a summary of the major developments of human prehistory: the origins of humankind and the archaic world, the origins and spread of modern humans, the emergence of food production, and the beginnings of civilization. This is a book for complete beginners, written in a narrative style.