This book is the culmination of 15 years of research and travels that have taken the author completely around the world twice, as well as on other travels in the Mediterranean, the Baltic, and around the Pacific rim. Its purpose has been to try to understand the role of cultural differences within nations and between nations, today and over centuries of history, in shaping the economic and social fates of peoples and of whole civilizations. Focusing on four major cultural areas(that of the British, the Africans (including the African diaspora), the Slavs of Eastern Europe, and the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere -- Conquests and Cultures reveals patterns that encompass not only these peoples but others and help explain the role of cultural evolution in economic, social, and political development.

Anthropologists and other social scientists from the US and Latin America look at physical evidence for the resistance of Native Americans first against Spanish conquest, and later against occupation and domination during the centuries of colonial rule. Their topics include Juan Pardo and the shrinking of Spanish Le Florida 1566-1568, producing early colonial hybridity at a doctrina in highland Peru, the multiple roles of early colonial red wares in the basin of Mexico, and the archaeology of indigenous heritage at Spanish colonial military settlements. The essays are from a short seminar in November 2008. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

An exploration of the ways in which ancient theories of empire can inform our understanding of present-day international relations, Enduring Empire engages in a serious discussion of empire as it relates to American foreign policy and global politics. The imperial power dynamics of ancient Athens and Rome provided fertile ground for the deliberations of many classical thinkers who wrote on the nature of empire: contemplating political sovereignty, autonomy, and citizenship as well as war, peace, and civilization in a world where political boundaries were strained and contested. The contributors to this collection prompt similar questions with their essays and promote a serious contemporary consideration of empire in light of the predominance of the United States and of the doctrine of liberal democracy. Featuring essays from some of the leading thinkers in the fields of political science, philosophy, history, and classics, Enduring Empire illustrates how lessons gleaned from the Athenian and Roman empires can help us to understand the imperial trajectory of global politics today.

"Makes the case that the everyday should and does matter in archaeology. The content is fresh, the approaches are varied, and the case is convincing."--Adam King, editor of Archaeology in South Carolina: Exploring the Hidden Heritage of the Palmetto State Focusing on the daily concerns and routine events of people in the past, Investigating the Ordinary argues for a paradigm shift in the way southeastern archaeologists operate. Instead of dividing archaeological work by time periods or artifact types, the essays in this volume unite separate areas of research through the theme of the everyday. Ordinary activities studied here range from flint-knapping to ceremonial crafting, from subsistence to social gatherings, and from the Paleoindian period to the nineteenth century. Contributors demonstrate that attention to everyday life can help researchers avoid overemphasizing data and jargon and instead discover connections between the people of different eras. This approach will also inspire archaeologists with ways to engage the public with their work and with the deep history of the southeastern United States.