Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Marco Beretta is Professor of History of Science at the University of Bologna, Italy.A unique, comprehensive and rich treatise.
- Mary Virginia Orna, Bulletin for the History of Chemistry
Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in this earliest period of chemical practice<i>.</i>
Substantia: An International Journal of the History of Chemistry
Volumes 1-6 selected as a 2023 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title
This open access book A Cultural History of Chemistry in Antiquity covers the period from 3000 BCE to 600 CE, ranging across the civilizations of the Mediterranean and Near East. Over this long period, chemical artisans, recipes, and ideas were exchanged between Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia, Greece, Rome, and Byzantium. The flowering of alchemy in the Middle and Early Modern Ages had its roots in the chemical arts of antiquity. This study presents the first synthesis of this epoch, examining the centrality of intense exchange and interconnectivity to the discovery and development of sources, techniques, materials, and instruments.
The six volume set of the Cultural History of Chemistry presents the first comprehensive history from the Bronze Age to today, covering all forms and aspects of chemistry and its ever-changing social context. The themes covered in each volume are theory and concepts; practice and experiment; laboratories and technology; culture and science; society and environment; trade and industry; learning and institutions; art and representation.
Marco Beretta is Professor of History of Science at the University of Bologna, Italy.
A Cultural History of Chemistry in Antiquity is the first volume in the six-volume set, A Cultural History of Chemistry, also available online as part of Bloomsbury Cultural History, a fully-searchable digital library (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com).
General Editors: Peter J. T. Morris, University College London, UK, and Alan Rocke, Case Western Reserve University, USA.
The open access edition of this book is available under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the European Research Council.
Series Preface
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction, Marco Beretta
1.Theory and Concepts: The Mythological Foundation of Chemical Theories in Ancient Civilizations, Sydney H. Aufrère, Cale Johnson, Matteo Martelli, Marco Beretta
2.Practice and Experiment: The Conquest of Matter, Sydney H. Aufrère, Cale Johnson, Matteo Martelli, Marco Beretta
3.Laboratories and Technology: From Temples to Workshops: Sites of Chemistry in Ancient Civilizations, Sydney H. Aufrère, Cale Johnson, Matteo Martelli, Marco Beretta
4.Culture and Science: Gods, Myths and Religions, Sydney H. Aufrère, Cale Johnson, Matteo Martelli, Marco Beretta
5.Society and Environment: The Alteration of the Ancient Landscape, Sydney H. Aufrère, Cale Johnson, Matteo Martelli, Marco Beretta
6.Trade and Industry: The Circulation of Trade in the Mediterranean, Sydney H. Aufrère, Cale Johnson, Matteo Martelli, Marco Beretta
7.Learning and Institutions: The Invention of Chemical Recipes, Sydney H. Aufrère, Cale Johnson, Matteo Martelli, Marco Beretta
8.Art and Representation: The Iconographic Imprinting of Ancient Chemical Arts, Sydney H. Aufrère, Cale Johnson, Matteo Martelli, Marco Beretta
Notes
Bibliography
Index
The Cultural Histories are multi-volume sets that survey the social and cultural construction of specific subjects across six historical periods, broadly:
- Antiquity
- The Medieval Age
- The Early Modern Age
- The Age of Enlightenment
- The Age of Empire
- The Modern Age
The subjects covered range from Animals to Dress and Fashion, from Sport to Furniture, from Money to Fairy Tales. Each volume discusses the same themes in its chapters so that readers may gain an understanding of a period by reading an entire volume, or follow a theme through history by reading the relevant chapter in each volume. Each six-volume set is illustrated.
Titles are available as printed sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a one-off purchase and tangible reference for their shelves, or as part of a fully searchable digital library available to institutions by annual subscription or perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com).
PRAISE FOR THE SERIES
A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion
“Intriguing, surprising, and thought-provoking essays covering many cultural layers of dress history.”
CHOICE
A Cultural History of Fairy Tales
“A comprehensive treatise that belongs in every academic library concerned with a form of literature that has had broad appeal for centuries and continues to do so.”
CHOICE
A Cultural History of Hair
“A thick, tangled and deliciously idiosyncratic history of hair.”
Times Literary Supplement
A Cultural History of Law
“These introductions should be of great use to scholars from across the periods.”
Law & Literature
A Cultural History of Peace
“The set is a good introduction to the study of peace and encourages looking at world history in a new way.”
CHOICE
A Cultural History of Theatre
“All six volumes are aesthetically attractive, with well-chosen cover illustrations in color and numerous halftones throughout. Page layouts with wide margins, good paper, subtitles, generous bibliographies, notes, and index all add to the appeal.”
CHOICE
A Cultural History of Tragedy
“A highly contemporary work, alert to politics, social theory and sexuality.”
London Review of Books
A Cultural History of Western Empires
“Students seeking a comparative, interdisciplinary, and compelling account of the spread of Western empires will find much of interest here.”
CHOICE
A Cultural History of Work
“[Programs] such as economics, American and world history, women’s studies, and art history will benefit from the information herein.”
American Reference Books Annual