Cultural history book recommendations?
March 2, 2021 7:53 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for cultural histories of precolonial North and South America , as well as Egypt as a Roman province during the Ptolemy era. Any book recommendations for me?
I'm trying to grasp what life would have looked and felt like to your average citizen in these areas and times For the Americas, I'm interested in any Native cultural histories but would really, really love any sources for the Great Plains/moundbuilders, as close to first contact with colonizers as possible. In Egypt, I'm specifically interested in their years under Roman rule and how this would have affected their day to day life.
- how did they eat? How was their food sourced and cooked? what was farm life like?
- how did they dress?
- what were their transportation options?
- what were their daily schedules like? did they go to a temple for religious services?
- what did they do for fun?
I'm trying to grasp what life would have looked and felt like to your average citizen in these areas and times For the Americas, I'm interested in any Native cultural histories but would really, really love any sources for the Great Plains/moundbuilders, as close to first contact with colonizers as possible. In Egypt, I'm specifically interested in their years under Roman rule and how this would have affected their day to day life.
- how did they eat? How was their food sourced and cooked? what was farm life like?
- how did they dress?
- what were their transportation options?
- what were their daily schedules like? did they go to a temple for religious services?
- what did they do for fun?
Response by poster: I should have mentioned - I have read 1491 and loved it and wanted more!
posted by House of Leaves of Grass at 8:01 AM on March 2, 2021
posted by House of Leaves of Grass at 8:01 AM on March 2, 2021
Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England by William Cronon [1983]. Tne extraordinary revelation is just how BIG the trees were in the old growth forest before they were converted to masts and lumber.
One River by Wade Davis isn't history but it's an interesting investigation of the uses found for a wide variety of plants by indigenous people in S. America. Case cd be made that the practices go back to Before Columbus BC.
posted by BobTheScientist at 8:27 AM on March 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
One River by Wade Davis isn't history but it's an interesting investigation of the uses found for a wide variety of plants by indigenous people in S. America. Case cd be made that the practices go back to Before Columbus BC.
posted by BobTheScientist at 8:27 AM on March 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: A great book for Roman Egypt would be Nephtali Lewis' Life in Egypt Under Roman Rule, (originally published OUP 1983, repr. 1999 by American Society of Papyrologists/UMich Press), which is not a popular book in the sense that it would've been stocked at your local Barnes and Noble, but it is attempting to be an introduction for those who are not specialists in the topic (papyrology and/or Roman Egypt). It's based on primary sources (documentary papyri from the Roman period), of which we have a ton. It covers exactly what I think you are interested in; here is the table of contents for reference:
1. The Coming of the Romans
2. Classes and Masses; or Knowing Your Place
3. The County Towns; or, Meet the Local Gentry
4. The Peasant Villages; or, Contented Wi' Little and Cantie Wi' Mair
5. Superstitone et Lascivia; or, Works and Days of Gods and Goblins
6. Annonae Fecundam; or, The Production of Food
7. Trades and Professions; or, The Production of Goods and Services
8. Census, Taxes, and Liturgies; or, Rendering Unto Caesar
9. Insciam Legum; or, The Administration of Justice
10. Discordem et Mobilem; or, Fumaroles in the Pax Romana
Do not be put off by the Latin chapter headings there (which come from Tacitus' description of Egypt); all material in the book is translated (in fact, the original languages [Greek, generally] are not quoted at all, although everything is cited).
Best of all, for an academic book, the price is EXTREMELY reasonable: $19.95 on UMich's own site (linked above); used copies are available on Amazon for less.
posted by lysimache at 10:10 AM on March 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
1. The Coming of the Romans
2. Classes and Masses; or Knowing Your Place
3. The County Towns; or, Meet the Local Gentry
4. The Peasant Villages; or, Contented Wi' Little and Cantie Wi' Mair
5. Superstitone et Lascivia; or, Works and Days of Gods and Goblins
6. Annonae Fecundam; or, The Production of Food
7. Trades and Professions; or, The Production of Goods and Services
8. Census, Taxes, and Liturgies; or, Rendering Unto Caesar
9. Insciam Legum; or, The Administration of Justice
10. Discordem et Mobilem; or, Fumaroles in the Pax Romana
Do not be put off by the Latin chapter headings there (which come from Tacitus' description of Egypt); all material in the book is translated (in fact, the original languages [Greek, generally] are not quoted at all, although everything is cited).
Best of all, for an academic book, the price is EXTREMELY reasonable: $19.95 on UMich's own site (linked above); used copies are available on Amazon for less.
posted by lysimache at 10:10 AM on March 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
Fifth Sun by [my picture of the cover cuts off the authors first name sorry]Townsend about the Aztecs
posted by azalea_chant at 9:37 PM on March 2, 2021
posted by azalea_chant at 9:37 PM on March 2, 2021
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posted by kevinbelt at 7:55 AM on March 2, 2021 [2 favorites]