Lost Civilizations is a series of books that have been published by Reaktion Books since 2015. The books explore the origins, development and decline of ancient civilizations and peoples, and considers the history, art, culture and legacy of these civilizations.
To date, 14 titles have been published as part of the series, with a fifteenth entry due to be published in June 2024.
The series has covered civilizations from various continents:
Asia (Indus, Persia, Sumer, Phoenicia and Hittites) Africa (Egypt and Nubia) Europe (Barbarian, Etruscan, Goths and Greece) Americas (Aztecs, Inca and Maya)
List of books
All titles have been published as hardback and electronic books. So far, the first three titles have also been published in paperback.
Except for The Sumerians, all titles were published first in hardback with the electronic versions being published later or, since 2021, simultaneously with the hardback versions.
Reception
The Indus
World History Encyclopedia gave The Indus a score of 4 out of 5 stars, describing the book as "the perfect introduction to the Indus civilization" and written in a way that it can "explain complex processes in a direct way" to the reader. Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti wrote a review of The Indus for Indian Historical Review in which he described the book as "a brief but excellent introduction to the Indus Civilisation". Lionel Knight, in a review for the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commented that Robinson "writes with an elegant clarity which comes from a masterly overview of the subject". Writing for the Journal of Asian Studies, Brad Chase described The Indus as "a journalistic attempt to synthesize contemporary archaeologists' understanding of the Indus Civilization for a popular audience". Chase felt that it was "commendable" that Robinson acknowledged the "social context in which archaeological knowledge is produced" because this was often omitted from popular writings on ancient civilizations. However, he also felt it was unfortunate that Robinson showed a "credulous repetition of Jane McIntosh's fanciful depiction of the [Indus] as a "peaceful realm"", as no "serious scholar" of the Indus would argue for an absence of conflict.
The Persians
Jessica Settergren of World History Encyclopedia gave The Persians a score of 4 out of 5 stars, recommending the book as an "excellent introduction to the history of Iran". Settergren described it as "a gorgeous coffee table book" and praised the "heavy, photo-quality glossy paper" with "liberally populated" pictures, maps, timelines and artwork.
Egypt
Ancient Egypt magazine highly recommended Egypt for "the numerous consumers of 'pop' Egyptology" as "an absolutely essential antidote to the gloss and the glitz" due to its "critical assessment of the modern construction of 'ancient Egypt'". Choice gave Egypt a score of 4 stars and commented that Christina Riggs "[achieved] the objectives of the publisher's Lost Civilizations series" and the book was "perfect" for those "seeking a brief introduction" as well as being "essential" for "all public and academic [...] libraries". In a review on the book by The Classical Journal Matt Gibbs described it as a "erudite and illuminating work" and useful for those "working on Egypt in terms of ethnicity and reception". Gibbs praised Riggs for "[considering] the rather difficult aspects of colonialism that are rife in the West's treatment of Egypt". He also felt that it was "essential reading for those interested in considering ancient Egypt's importance not only in modern Egyptian culture, but also in the rest of the world".