The Dawn of Civilization is the product of more than three years of unremitting and dedicated work by fourteen of the worlds leading archaeologists. It is the most complete survey, in text and pictures,of the rise of civilized man in publishing history. With its hundreds of illustrations, maps, and charts - in color and in black and white - the volume is not only a marvel of book production but a standard work of the greatest international importance for laymen and specialist alike.

Fourteen internationally known scholars, each an expert in his field, trace the history of man, from a half-animal in a hostile world to the literate human being he fought to become. The book tells the story of a procession of great men whose names will never be known, men of all races and countries in a awakening world - the Ancient Egyptians, the Sumerians, the people of the Indus and of China, the barbarians of the Steppes and Europe, the merchants, seamen, and warriors of the Mediterranean lands, and the macabre human flowering in the countries of Middle America. It is a story which extends over many thousands of years, a record of man as he emerged into the light of history, colored be his superstition and barbarity, his striving and pains, his gathering knowledge, and his triumph.

The birth of civilization in each region of the world - and the vast eras of Stone Age man who came first - are described in turn by the distinguished authors. Each section, brilliantly and profusely illustrated, is integrated with the whole volume by Professor Stuart Piggott. In all, nearly a thousand color plates, reconstructions, plans, black and white illustrations, line drawings, maps and charts - the result of international research on the widest scale - bring the distant past vividly and authentically to life. Many of the photographs have been specially taken for this book, and many more appear in print for the first time. The full-color reconstruction alone occupied a team of artist for more than two years.