The leading expert on ancient history, Professor Gordon Childe, in this most significant work of his, offers an original concept of the early history of mankind. It is based on the European view that the "main tradition" influencing the Hellenistic Mediterranean is associated with Egypt and Mesopotamia. True to his intentions and goals, Child opens his book with the Stone Age period and ends with the decline of the Roman Empire. The author vividly describes the life of the primitive peoples of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, tracing the rise of Iron Age cultures until they culminated in the unification of large parts of Europe thanks to the acts of Alexander the Great. The story ends with a chapter containing the author’s point of view on the decline and fall of the Ancient World.