Ancient Cultures: A Research Guide
As agriculture further developed around 9000 B.C., people began to settle in one place, since
they were not as nomadic and could grow their own food. These settlements began the world’s
first civilizations. Many materials exist to help us better understand the everyday life of ancient of
civilizations and the events that shaped the people and places of this time. The materials below
will help researchers to begin their research. The terms and phrases listed in the subject
headings below can be used to search for more materials in the library’s catalog and research
databases. If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian.
Reference Books
The Cambridge Ancient History, 3rd ed. edited by Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards. 14 vols.
New York: Cambridge University Press, 1970.
Originally published between 1924 and 1939, this definitive work covers all time periods from
prehistory to late antiquity.
Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome by Michael Grant and Rachel
Kitzinger. 3 vols. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1988. ISBN: 0684175940.
Entries arranged by broad topics like history, population, agriculture, technology, government,
and society.
Chronologies and Time Lines
Chronology of the Ancient World, 2nd ed. by Elias Joseph Bickerman. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press, 1980. ISBN: 080141282X.
Great Events from History: Ancient and Medieval edited by Frank Northen Magill. Series (3 vols).
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1972.
Covers these time periods: vol. 1. 4000–1 B.C.; vol. 2. A.D. 1–950.; vol. 3. 951–1500.
Smithsonian Timelines of the Ancient World edited by Christopher Scarre Washington, DC:
Smithsonian Institution, 1993. ISBN: 1564583058.
Chronology of the ancient world spanning the first life on earth, the ice age, crossing to America,
the age of monuments, imperial realms, and conquests and crusades.
Specialized Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Greek and Roman Women: Notable Women from Sappho to
Helena by Marjorie and Benjamin Lightman. New York: Facts On File, 2000. ISBN:
0816031126.
Over 400 entries illustrate the lives of women including poets, wives, and mistresses to rulers,
slaves, and businesswomen from archaic Greece in the 6th century BCE to the fall of Rome in
476 CE.
Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations by Arthur Cotterell. New York: Mayflower Books, 1980.
ISBN: 083172790X.
Covers the ancient civilizations of Egypt, West Asia, India, Europe, China, and America.
Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire, rev. ed. edited by Matthew Bunson. New York: Facts On
File, 2002. ISBN: 0816045623. Covers the personalities, places, events, and ideas of this time
period.
Larousse Encyclopedia of Ancient and Medieval History edited by Marcel Dunan. New York:
Excalibur Books, 1981, 1964. ISBN: 0896730832.
An illustrated overview covering ancient times to the 15th century in Europe and the rise of the
Aztec and Incan empires in America.
Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd ed. rev. edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN: 0198606419.
Six thousand entries ranging from long articles to brief identifications, covering topics like beekeeping, botany, magic, Roman law, religious rites, postal service, slavery, navigation, and the
reckoning of time.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt edited by Donald B. Redford. 3 vols. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2001. ISBN: 0195102347.
Covers all aspects of Egyptology including 600 articles on history, archaeology, economics,
science, and literary and religious studies.
Web Sites
BBC Online Ancient History
www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient
Explore ancient history through feature articles, 3-D virtual tours, games and animations.
PBS on the Ancient World
www.pbs.org/history/history_ancient.html
A PBS series dedicated to ancient civilizations and topics such as the ice cities of the Inca and
Peter and Paul and the Christian revolution.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001327.html
Provides a listing of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Subject Headings
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names of country of antiquity (i.e. Rome—Antiquities)
names of ancient races and peoples (i.e. Hittites)
names of individuals (i.e. Tutankhamen)
ancient Greece (or Rome, or Egypt, etc.)
civilization—history
civilization, ancient
civilization, classical
costume—history
Greece (or Rome or Egypt, etc.), antiquities
history, ancient