Featuring a beautiful new design, THE EARTH AND ITS PEOPLES, 7th Edition, presents world history in a balanced, global framework, shifting the focus away from political centers of power and toward the living conditions and activities of ordinary people. This truly global text for the world history survey course employs fundamental themes of "environment and technology" and "diversity and dominance" to explore patterns of humans' interactions with their surroundings and with each other. The authors' approach reveals how humanity continues to shape and be shaped by the environment, and how dominant structures and traditions are balanced and challenged by alternate beliefs. Technological development and how it underlies all human activity receives special emphasis. A combination of strong scholarship and detailed pedagogy gives the book its reputation for rigor and student accessibility.

Part I: THE EMERGENCE OF HUMAN COMMUNITIES, TO 500 B.C.E.
1. Nature, Humanity, and History, to 3500 B.C.E.
2. The First River-Valley Civilizations, 3500–1500 B.C.E.
3. The Mediterranean and Middle East, 2000–500 B.C.E.
4. New Civilizations Outside the West Asian Core Area, 2300 B.C.E.–350 C.E.
Part II: THE FORMATION OF NEW CULTURAL COMMUNITIES, 1000 B.C.E.–400 C.E.
5. Greece and Iran, 1000–30 B.C.E.
6. An Age of Empires: Rome and Han China, 753 B.C.E.–330 C.E.
7. India and Southeast Asia, 1500 B.C.E.–1025 C.E.
8. Peoples and Civilizations of the Americas, from 1200 B.C.E.
Part III: GROWTH AND INTERACTION OF CULTURAL COMMUNITIES, 300 B.C.E.–1200 C.E.
9. Networks of Communication and Exchange, 300 B.C.E.–1100 C.E.
10. The Sasanid Empire and the Rise of Islam, 200–1200.
11. Christian Societies Emerge in Europe, 600–1200.
12. Inner and East Asia, 400–1200.
Part IV: INTERREGIONAL PATTERNS OF CULTURE AND CONTACT, 1200–1550.
13. Mongol Eurasia and Its Aftermath, 1200–1550.
14. Latin Europe, 1200–1500.
15. Southern Empires, Southern Seas, 1200–1500.
16. The Maritime Revolution, to 1550.

Featuring a beautiful new design, THE EARTH AND ITS PEOPLES, 7th Edition, presents world history in a balanced, global framework, shifting the focus away from political centers of power and toward the living conditions and activities of ordinary people. This truly global text for the world history survey course employs fundamental themes of "environment and technology" and "diversity and dominance" to explore patterns of humans' interactions with their surroundings and with each other. The authors' approach reveals how humanity continues to shape and be shaped by the environment, and how dominant structures and traditions are balanced and challenged by alternate beliefs. Technological development and how it underlies all human activity receives special emphasis. A combination of strong scholarship and detailed pedagogy gives the book its reputation for rigor and student accessibility. Part VII has been reorganized and updated to showcase global themes. It relocates the chapter "Revolutions in Living, 1900-1950," which discusses technology and lifestyle changes during the period with accounts of political movements in India, Latin America, and Africa, to a position after World War II. This move provides an easier flow of the material to facilitate teaching and learning. "Material Culture" and "Issues in World History" features have been placed together at the end of each of the book's eight parts in order to provide more separation between the parts. "Material Culture" includes a new discussion on roads. Essays on religious conversion and popular culture have been added to the "Issues in World History." New topics in the "Environment and Technology" feature include Stained Glass Windows; Persian Rugs; New War, New Tools; and Intelligence and Technology. New topics in the "Diversity and Dominance" primary source feature include Poetry and Society in Early China, Becoming Muslim, Justice and Kingship, and Madame de Staël Remembers Napoleon. The seventh edition features a comprehensive map program, designed for visual impact and clarity, that today's growing number of visual learners will appreciate. Section Reviews summarize the key points of each major section in every chapter and are presented in an easy-to-read bullet point format. Comparative chapter conclusions synthesize the major concepts covered in each chapter. Each chapter ends with broad questions that encourage students to look back at earlier chapters and think about continuities and discontinuities in history. Questions have been added to the map captions to help students see connections between spatial relations and other aspects of history. "Environment and Technology" essays in every chapter reinforce the central theme of the text by highlighting and comparing technological developments over time, such as Ancient Astronomy; Iron Production; New War, New Tools; and Global Warming. Study questions have been added to each feature. "Diversity and Dominance" boxes offer primary source excerpts in every chapter, bringing real historical voices to life. Each feature begins with an introduction that connects the topic to the Diversity and Dominance theme. Students are invited to explore the meaning and significance of the passage or images through a series of focus questions found at the end of the excerpt. Examples include Cave Art, Becoming Muslim, Understanding Cross-Cultural Encounters, and Madame de Staël Remembers Napoleon.