1. Chapter 2 Ancient Societies in Mesopotamia, India, and Central Asia, 5000 – 600 B.C.E.

2. Early Mesopotamian Urbanized Societies, to 2000 B.C.E.
The Mesopotamian Environment
Geography and Cultural Development
The Mesopotamian Melting-Pot
The Pioneering Sumerians
Sumerian Infrastructure
Myth and Urban Life
Sumerian Economy and Culture
Patriarchal Society
The Sumerian Trade Network
The First Written Records
The Sumerian Innovation
The Akkadian Empire and its Rivals
Sargon and Akkad: The First Imperial State

3. Later Mesopotamian Societies and Their Legacies, 2000 – 600 B.C.E.
The Babylonians and Hittites
The Code of Hammurabi
The Hittites
The Rise and Fall of the Assyrian Empire
Weapons and Warfare
The Chaldean Empire and Nebuchadnezzar
Mesopotamian Law, Religion, and Culture
Social Justice
Religion and Literature

4. The Earliest Indian and Central Asian Societies, 6000 – 1500 B.C.E
South Asian Environments and the Rise of Farming
Harappan Society and Its Beliefs
Urban Planning
Society and Governance
Harappan Dynamism and Decline
Innovation and Trade
A Mysterious Decline
Central Asian Environments and Oxus Cities
The Nomads of the Steppes
The Oxus Society

5. The Aryans and a New Indian Society, 1500 – 600 B.C.E.
The Aryan Peoples and the Vedas
Aryan Government, Society, and Religion
The Aryan Family
The Aryans at Play
The Vedic Religion
Aryan Expansion and State Building in North India
Aryan Kingdoms Emerge

6. The Aryans and a New Indian Society, 1500 – 600 B.C.E.
The Roots of the Caste System
Indo-Aryan Society, Economy, and Technology
Technology and Agriculture
Hinduism: A New Religion of Diverse Roots
From Vedism to Brahmanism to Hinduism