Jennifer C. Ross is a Professor of Art & Archaeology at Hood College in Frederick, MD. She is the Associate Director of the Çadır Höyük excavations and has published on topics ranging from the invention of cuneiform to metallurgical technologies in the ancient Near East.Sharon R. Steadman is a Professor of Anthropology at the State University of New York College at Cortland.  She has published on the subjects of ancient religions in archaeological context and the archaeology of architecture and has edited several volumes on the archaeology of Anatolia.

• List of FiguresList of TablesAcknowledgments1. Complexity and Its Discontents 2. Human Cultural Institutions: Critical Elements in Complex Society 3. Ancient Systems: From Forager to State 4. Scales of Complexity: Case Studies 5. Southwest Asia: Ancient Mesopotamia and Its Neighbors 6. The Nile Valley of Egypt 7. The Aegean Bronze Age and the Classical World 8. The Indus Valley Civilization 9. Ancient Chinese Civilizations 10. Empires in Southeast Asia 11. The Mississippian System in the American Bottom12. Ancient Mesoamerican Cultures 13. Andean Civilizations and Empires14. Why Complex Societies CollapseBibliography Index

Jennifer C. Ross is a Professor of Art & Archaeology at Hood College in Frederick, MD. She is the Associate Director of the Çadır Höyük excavations and has published on topics ranging from the invention of cuneiform to metallurgical technologies in the ancient Near East.Sharon R. Steadman is a Professor of Anthropology at the State University of New York College at Cortland.  She has published on the subjects of ancient religions in archaeological context and the archaeology of architecture and has edited several volumes on the archaeology of Anatolia.

• List of FiguresList of TablesAcknowledgments1. Complexity and Its Discontents 2. Human Cultural Institutions: Critical Elements in Complex Society 3. Ancient Systems: From Forager to State 4. Scales of Complexity: Case Studies 5. Southwest Asia: Ancient Mesopotamia and Its Neighbors 6. The Nile Valley of Egypt 7. The Aegean Bronze Age and the Classical World 8. The Indus Valley Civilization 9. Ancient Chinese Civilizations 10. Empires in Southeast Asia 11. The Mississippian System in the American Bottom12. Ancient Mesoamerican Cultures 13. Andean Civilizations and Empires14. Why Complex Societies CollapseBibliography Index

Jennifer C. Ross is a Professor of Art & Archaeology at Hood College in Frederick, MD. She is the Associate Director of the Çadır Höyük excavations and has published on topics ranging from the invention of cuneiform to metallurgical technologies in the ancient Near East.Sharon R. Steadman is a Professor of Anthropology at the State University of New York College at Cortland.  She has published on the subjects of ancient religions in archaeological context and the archaeology of architecture and has edited several volumes on the archaeology of Anatolia.

• List of FiguresList of TablesAcknowledgments1. Complexity and Its Discontents 2. Human Cultural Institutions: Critical Elements in Complex Society 3. Ancient Systems: From Forager to State 4. Scales of Complexity: Case Studies 5. Southwest Asia: Ancient Mesopotamia and Its Neighbors 6. The Nile Valley of Egypt 7. The Aegean Bronze Age and the Classical World 8. The Indus Valley Civilization 9. Ancient Chinese Civilizations 10. Empires in Southeast Asia 11. The Mississippian System in the American Bottom12. Ancient Mesoamerican Cultures 13. Andean Civilizations and Empires14. Why Complex Societies CollapseBibliography Index