Includes bibliographical references and index.

(NOTE: Volume I includes Chs. 1-12; Volume II includes Chs. 12-23; Combined Volume includes Chs. 1-23).Preface. Introduction. I. HUMAN ORIGINS AND HUMAN CULTURES: 5 MILLION BCE-10,000 BCE — BUILDING AN INTERPRETIVE FRAMEWORK: WHAT DO WE KNOW AND HOW DO WE KNOW IT? 1. The Dry Bones Speak: 5 Million BCE-10,000 BCE — What Is Paleoanthropology and Why Is It Important? II. SETTLING DOWN: 10,000 BCE-1000 CE — THE FIRST CITIES AND WHY THEY MATTER: DIGS, TEXTS, AND INTERPRETATIONS. 2. From Village Community to City State: 10,000 BCE- 750 BCE — What Are Cities and Why Are They Important? 3. River Valley Civilizations: 7000 BCE-750 BCE — The Rise of Cities and States Along the Nile and the Indus. 4. A Polycentric World: 1700 BCE-1000 CE — Cities and States in East Asia, West Africa, and the Americas. III. EMPIRE AND IMPERIALISM: 2300 BCE-1100 CE —WHAT ARE EMPIRES AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT? 5. Dawn of the Empires: 2300 BCE-300 BCE — Empire-Building in West Africa, West Asia, and the Mediterranean. 6. Rome and the Barbarians: 750 BCE-480 CE — From Conquest, Colonization, and Alliance to Revolt, Bankruptcy, and Dismemberment. 7. China: 220 BCE-910 CE — Fracture and Unification: The Qin, Han, Sui, and T'ang Dynasties. 8. Indian Empires: 1500 BCE-1100 CE — Cultural Cohesion in a Divided Continent. IV. THE RISE OF WORLD RELIGIONS: 600 BCE-1500 CE — NOT BY BREAD ALONE: HOW DO HISTORIANS UNDERSTAND RELIGION IN WORLD HISTORY? 9. Hinduism and Buddhism: 300 BCE-1200 CE — The Sacred Subcontinent: The Spread of Religion in India and Beyond. 10. Judaism and Christianity: 600 BCE-1100 CE — Peoples of the Bible: God's Evolution in West Asia and Europe. 11. Islam: 570 CE-1500 CE Submission to Allah: Muslim Civilization Bridges the World. V. WORLD TRADE: 1100-1776 CE — CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION: THE EXCHANGE OF COMMODITIES, DISEASES, AND CULTURE. 12. Establishing World Trade Routes: 1100-1500 CE — The Patterns and Philosophies of Early Economic Systems. 13. The Unification of World Trade: 1500-1776 — The Invisible Hand Reaches Out: A Capitalist World System Appears. VI. MIGRATION: FREE PEOPLE AND SLAVES: 1300-1750 — “BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY, FILL UP THE EARTH AND SUBDUE IT”: DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN A NEW GLOBAL ECUMENE. 14. Demography and Migration: 1300-1750 — The Movement of Peoples Around the Earth. VII. SOCIAL CHANGE: 1688-1914 — WESTERN REVOLUTIONS AND THEIR EXPORT. 15. Political Revolutions in Europe and the Americas: 1688-1850 — The Birth of Human Rights in the Age of Enlightenment. 16. The Industrial Revolution: 1740-1914 — The Global Consequences of Industrial Expansion and Imperialism. 17. Social Revolutions: 1830-1914 — Urbanization, Gender Relations, and Nationalism West and East. VIII. EXPLODING TECHNOLOGIES: 1914-2000 — CONTESTED VISIONS OF A NEW INTERNATIONAL ORDER. 18. Technologies of Mass-Production and Destruction: 1914-2000 — What Is a Technological System and Why Is It Important? 19. The Soviet Union and Japan: 1914-2000 — Playing Technological Catch-Up with the West. 20. China and India: 1914-2000 — The Giant Agrarian Nation-Worlds. 21. The Middle East and North Africa: 1880s-2000 — Nationalism, Culture, and Technology. 22. Sub-Saharan Africa: 1914-2000 — Colonialism, Independence, and their Aftermath. 23. Latin America: 1870-2000 — The Search for an International Policy on Economics and Technology and a Domestic Policy on Ethnicity and Culture. Afterward — So What? Making Sense Of It All. Glossary. Index.