MIDDLE EAST, ANCIENT

history of the region from prehistoric times to the rise of civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and other areas. Additional reading Works treating the rise of civilization in the Middle East specifically include Walther Hinz, The Lost World of Elam: Re-Creation of a Vanished Civilization (1972; originally published in German, 1964), an account of art, religion, and social mores in the Elamite empire; Chester G. Starr, Early Man: Prehistory and the Civilizations of the Ancient Near East (1973), a popular overview of the development of literacy, urban living, art, literature, and religion; Charles L. Redman, The Rise of Civilization: From Early Farmers to Urban Society in the Ancient Near East (1978), on agricultural development, urbanization, and cultural change from 10,000 to 2000 BC; Jack Finegan, Archaeological History of the Ancient Middle East (1979, reissued 1986), a reference work covering history, mythology, and art between 10,000 and 330 BC; and Donald O. Henry, From Foraging to Agriculture (1989), a discussion of the origins of agriculture in the Middle East and surrounding area.