Between five and six thousand years ago, in a few favored areas of the world, humankind mastered the formulas that released it from the Stone Age. For the first time in history, people became civilized.

This book shows that at different times, in diverse places, and amid varying circumstances, a number of major civilizations emerged. Each made a rich contribution to the human experience. Most endured for many centuries, but they all faded, and their achievements were forgotten.

Vague memories of some of these lost worlds lingered throughout the centuries in the form of legends. Others were recalled in the Old Testament. Some left monuments whose meaning remained inscrutable to later ages. Still others vanished under desert sands, floods, or tropical jungles. This book unearths the stories that make us who we are.