"Mastering Ancient Civilizations in 3 Months," an educational program broadcast by NHK from October last year, has been adapted into "NHK Mastering Ancient Civilizations in 3 Months MOOK: Learn More About Ancient Civilizations Through the Latest Archaeological Research, Volume 1," which was released on March 25th by NHK Publishing. It is an A5 size paperback with 192 pages and costs 1430 yen.
"Mastering Ancient Civilizations in 3 Months" was broadcast on NHK E-TV and other channels from October to December last year as part of NHK's popular "Mastering in 3 Months" series of courses for adults to refresh their knowledge. The program invited world-renowned Japanese archaeologists to the studio and explored newly emerging images of ancient civilizations based on the latest archaeological research. It explored ancient civilizations around the world, including the mysterious, massive ruins in West Asia built more than 5,000 years before Mesopotamia, considered the world's oldest civilization, as well as the Hittite, Egyptian, Oceanian, Mayan, Nazca, and Andean civilizations, seeking clues to understanding the present day.
This book is a spin-off in a narrative style, following "Understanding World History from an Asian Perspective," which was released last October. It is an anthology project in which the lecturers who appeared on the program have written their own articles. Edited by Yuji Seki, Director of the National Museum of Ethnology, who served as the program's navigator, it thoroughly explains everything from the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site in Turkey, which marks the beginning of civilization, to Mesopotamia, the Hittites, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China, with leading researchers from each region providing in-depth explanations.
The second volume, scheduled for release on May 25th, will cover everything from the Begash ruins in Central Asia to Greece, Oceania, the Maya, Nazca, and the Andes.
