tea 112
and Tibet 91–3
waterwheels 165, 257
and Xiongnu 202, 206
china, bone 149
see also porcelain chokepoints, naval 98, 115, 118–19, 121, 217n, 273
Christianity 185n, 217
cinnamon 113, 114, 193, 241
civilisations, early 25–30, 26–7, 70–74, 90, 98–9, 132
Clarke, Arthur C. 94
clathrate ice 85–6
clay 130, 131–2, 152, 266
soils 154–5, 166
Cleopatra VII, of Egypt 101, 147
‘Cleopatra’s Needles’ 147
Cleveland, Ohio 55
climate changes 2–3, 9–10, 11–12, 18–19, 21–5, 61, 63, 64, 70–71, 72, 84–5, 86, 143–4, 279–81; see also ice ages Clinton, Hillary 122
cloves 114, 115n, 241, 247
clubmosses 262
clunch 152
coal 78, 149, 258–60, 279
formation of 261–8, 267, 274, 280
politics of 269, 270, 270–72, 271
cobalt 159, 175
coccolithophores 138, 139, 140, 144
coccoliths 274, 275
cockroaches 262
cocoa 66n
coconuts 81
Cocos Plate 28
cod 95, 97
coffee plantations, Brazilian 252, 253
coins 168n, 182
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Kublai Khan 210
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner 97n, 234
Cologne Cathedral 127
Colombia: platinum 178n
Colosseum, Rome 133
Columbian Exchange 113n
Columbus, Christopher 52, 227–31, 236, 239, 241
comets 94, 143n, 178n
compasses, navigation 118n, 169
concrete 56, 139, 140–41, 272
reinforced 130n, 167
Congo 7, 11
conifers 79, 130, 141, 195
Constantinople (Istanbul) 185n, 193n, 205, 207, 211, 213
cooking food 15, 17, 69, 131, 132
cooling, global see Cenozoic cooling; ice ages copper/copper ore 157, 158, 159, 160–62, 163–4, 174, 175, 179, 182, 201n
smelting 131, 156, 157, 161
coppicing 256
coral/coral reefs 193, 252n, 280
Cordilleran ice sheet 49
coriander 115n
Corinth 117
Coriolis effect 233, 235, 237
Cornwall
Eden Project 150n
granite 267n
kaolin 149, 150n
tin mines 158, 267n
Corsica 208
Cotswolds, the 152
cotton 82, 112, 125, 126, 193, 252, 253–4, 255, 259, 263, 269
courgettes 66n
cows see cattle
Cretaceous Period 40, 42, 80, 123, 124, 137, 138, 139, 141n, 143n, 144, 145, 152, 178n, 274, 276–9, 278
Crete 99, 161–3
Crimean Peninsula 129
crocodiles 72, 85
crops 255
domestication of 52, 63–4, 65–9, 68–9
rotation 255
see also cereal crops; grain(s) Cuba 230
Cumans 203
Cumberland: coalfields 272
cumin 115n
current sailing see sailing and navigation cyanobacteria 171, 173
Cyclades, the 99
Cyprus 99, 160
copper mining 158, 160–62, 163
Troodos Mountains 160, 163
Da Gama, Vasco 239–41, 244
Danube River/Valley 185 and n, 196, 204, 206, 207, 208
Dardanelles, the 117, 118, 120
‘Dark Ages’ 219
Dartmoor 147, 151
dates (fruit) 81
Dead Sea 106, 110n
Deccan Traps 143n
deer 83
Delhi: Akshardham 136
Denisovan hominins 16, 23, 47, 50–51, 51, 53
deserts 1, 12, 29, 61, 72, 73, 80, 81, 89, 100, 107, 148n, 184, 189, 190–92, 195, 215–16, 232, 285
see also specific deserts
Detroit, Michigan 55
Dias, Bartolomeu 225–7, 229, 239
diatoms 140, 171, 274
dinoflagellates 85, 274
dinosaurs 40, 80, 82, 141, 143n
Diomede Islands 48
Djibouti 11, 18
DNA, hominins’ 45–7
Dogger Bank/Doggerland 95, 96, 97
dogs 74
doldrums, the 224, 234–5, 239
donkeys 76, 83, 88, 89, 192
Dover, Strait of 57, 59
dragonflies, giant 262–3, 265
Drake, Sir Francis 55, 249
Dublin: Leinster House 136n
Durham: coalfields 272
dysprosium 175
Dzungaria, China 197, 214
Dzungarian Gate, China–Kazakhstan border 189, 196–7, 203, 204
Eanes, Gil 223–4
Earth 282–3, 284, 286–7
circumference 227, 228
creation 94, 168
first circumnavigation 232, 248
magnetic field 169
orbit round the Sun 19, 21, 22, 24, 35, 36–9, 37
tilt 19, 35, 36–9, 37, 38, 44–5; see also Milankovitch cycles see also climate changes; tectonic plates earthenware pots 131, 149
earthquakes 8, 25, 28, 29, 30
East Africa 7–8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16
climate 12, 18–25, 44
tectonic processes 10–13, 18–21, 24, 25, 30, 189
East African Rift 2n, 10–13, 17n, 18, 20, 20–25, 44, 108, 189, 287
East China Sea 114, 187
East India Company 222n
East Indies 111
Eastern Desert 107, 133
Eastern Orthodox Church 185n
Eastern Steppe 197
eccentricity cycle 19, 21, 22, 36, 37, 39
Ecuador: platinum 178n
Edinburgh 151
Egypt/ancient Egypt 26, 28n, 64, 72–3, 100, 101, 107, 110, 119, 157, 184
buildings 132–3
pharaohs 72, 101, 127, 129, 147
pyramids 127–8, 129, 133, 138
sculpture 133, 147–8
electricity 156, 174, 271n, 272, 281, 282–3, 284, 286
electronic devices 157, 168, 175, 176, 178, 180, 181–2
elephants 33, 72, 256n
Elgon, Mount 12
elm 130
Empire State Building, New York 134
Energy Return on Investment (EROI) index 274
English Channel 56, 57, 58–9, 134, 137
Eocene Epoch 129
equator, the 189, 232, 233, 234, 235, 238
equids 88–9, 197–8
Eratosthenes 227
Eridu 71
Eritrea 11
EROI index see Energy Return on Investment Erzgebirge Mountains: tin mines 158
ethane 276
Ethiopia 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 28n, 72
Etna, Mount 117
Etruscans 27, 28
Euphrates, River 27, 65, 90, 107
Eurasia 9, 26, 27, 28, 39, 42, 47, 56, 77, 106, 143, 183, 194
climate 2, 48, 196–7
fauna and flora 49, 53n, 79, 87–90
warfare 76
Exeter Cathedral 134
Exploration, Age of 96, 216, 217, 246
extinctions, mass 40, 82, 85, 141, 142–3 and n, 144, 145, 178n
factories (coastal forts) 253
farming see agriculture
feldspar 148
Ferdinand II, of Aragon 227
ferns 78, 79, 262
Ferrel cells 235–6, 248
Fertile Crescent 63, 65, 66, 67, 158, 269
fertilisers, artificial 120, 178–9
feudalism 212
Finland 195, 286
fir trees 79, 130, 141
fire 15, 17, 69, 131–2, 173–4
firebricks 131–2
fish/fishing 95–6, 97, 275, 280
fla
x 82
flint 17n, 137, 139–40, 156, 164
Florida 237
flour 63, 68–9, 257
flowers see plants and flowers
foraminifera/forams 85, 128–9, 133, 138, 139, 140, 144, 275
forests see rainforests; trees/forests fossils 13–14, 18, 40, 52n, 137–8, 141, 150n, 160
France 56, 57, 58, 185, 207, 208, 267, 269, 284
corsairs 249
fur trappers 195
maritime trade 245
waterwheels 257
wine regions 137
frankincense 192, 193
Franks 207, 208
frogs 85
fruit/fruit trees 78, 81
fungi 263, 264
fur trade 195
Galilee, Lake 110n
gallium 176, 180
Ganges Basin 268
Ganges River 26, 66, 267
Gansu Corridor 184–5, 188, 203, 204
gas, natural 274, 276, 279, 280
Gaul 185, 207
Gazelles 61, 72, 275
genetic diversity 45–7
Genghis Khan 205, 209
Genoa/Genoese 99, 211, 212, 217, 227, 229
geological map, first 150 and n
Germanic tribes 185n, 206–7, 208, 269
Germany 58, 59, 127, 185n, 208, 273, 284
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland 143
Gibraltar 217n
Strait of 99, 101, 106, 118, 158, 217 and n, 220
ginger 112–13, 114, 241
ginkgo 79
giraffes 83
Giza, Egypt: pyramids 127–8, 129, 133, 138
glass/glass-making/glassware 115, 132, 140, 193, 255
glazing pottery 131
globalisation 246
global warming 31, 38, 86, 281n; see also climate changes; greenhouse gases gneiss 133
Goa, India 245
goats 67, 74, 75, 77, 83, 88, 117
Gobi Desert 184, 185, 189, 191, 197
GOE see Great Oxidation Event
gold 159, 168 and n, 174, 175, 178, 182, 192, 193, 218
Gona, Ethiopia 18
Gondwana 139, 264, 265, 267
gourds 66n
grain(s) 63, 65, 65, 67–8, 73, 74, 116–18, 120, 166, 200, 205, 208, 257; see also cereal crops Grampian Mountains 148
Granada, Spain 218 and n granite 127–8, 132, 133, 145–8, 158, 267n
grasses 67, 77, 80–81, 87–8, 90
grasslands 15, 77; see also savannah; steppes Great Hungarian Plain 196, 205
Great Indian Desert 29
Great Oxidation Event (GOE) 171–2, 173, 280n
Great Pyramid, Giza 127–8, 129, 138
Great Sandy Desert, Australia 190
Great Wall of China 203–4, 208
Greece/ancient Greeks 27, 28, 73, 99, 100, 107, 110–11, 115–18, 135
armies 116n, 118
city-states 73, 116–17
Huns 207
greenhouse effect 10, 40, 42, 84–5, 142, 171
greenhouse gases 38, 40, 42, 44, 279–80
see also carbon dioxide; methane Greenland 32, 40, 96, 143
Grenville Mountains 153
Guatemala 28
guilds, medieval 212
Guinea, Gulf of 224, 239, 253
guinea fowl 74
guinea pigs: and scurvy 241n
Gulf Stream 43, 61, 237, 238, 286
Gunflint Iron Formation 170n
gunpowder 194, 200n, 211, 213
gymnosperms 79, 141
gyres, ocean 237, 238n, 247
Hadley cells 232–3, 235–6, 285
haematite 170
Haifa, Israel 101
Han dynasty (China) 93, 183, 184, 186, 187 and n, 190–91, 203–4
Harappan civilization 26–7, 64
Hawaii 107n, 222n
helium 167, 180n
Hellespont, the 117, 118, 120
hemp 82
Henry VII, of England 231
Herat, Afghanistan 190, 194
herbicides 120, 274
herbs 115n
Herculaneum 162
Herodotus 73
hickory 130
hides/leather 75, 77, 88, 140, 193, 255
structures 130
Himalayas, the 9, 10, 11, 26, 32, 42, 48, 159, 184, 191, 195, 203, 242, 243, 268, 285
Hindu Kush 190, 203
hippopotamuses 33, 83n
Hispaniola 230
Hitler, Adolf 215
Holland see Netherlands
Holocene Epoch 32, 40, 42, 64–5
Homer: Iliad 200n
hominins 7–8, 12–16, 22, 23, 30, 44, 53
bipedalism 14–15, 16
brains and intelligence 15, 16, 17, 19–20, 22, 24, 25
DNA 45–7
as hunters 15, 17
migration from Africa 22, 23, 45–6, 47, 52, 63
and see below
Homo erectus 15–18, 22, 23, 47
Homo habilis 15, 16
Homo heidelbergensis 16
Homo neanderthalensis see Neanderthals Homo sapiens/humans 7, 8, 16, 22, 23, 25, 47, 49–54, 84
Hormuz, Strait of 107, 119, 120–21
‘horse latitudes’ 235
horses 49, 75, 76, 77, 83, 86–7, 88, 89–90, 192, 197–200, 201–2, 205, 213, 214
Hudson Bay, Canada 49
Humboldt Current 247, 249
Hungary 185n, 202, 209
Huns 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208
hunter-gatherers 15, 61, 62, 63, 70, 74, 75, 80, 197
hydrogen 167, 175
hydrogen chloride 142
hydrogen sulphide 280
Iberian Peninsula 104, 105, 185, 208, 217
see also Portugal; Spain ice ages 19, 23, 24, 31–5, 34–5, 38–9, 44–5, 48–52, 53–60, 61, 64, 95, 172, 265
Little Ice Age 195n, 211
ichthyosaurs 133
igneous rocks 132, 179
incense 115, 192
India 9, 26, 27, 28n, 42, 48, 91, 92, 104, 110–11, 114, 188, 191, 202, 203, 213, 228, 244, 245, 267, 285
cotton 112, 193, 259, 269
eruption of Deccan Traps 143n
exports 193
Mogul Empire 210n, 249
monsoons/monsoon winds 1, 10, 110, 242–4
population 284
rare earth metals 177
spices 112–13, 115, 218
Indian Ocean 10, 11, 29, 107, 108, 110, 111, 119, 187, 191, 226, 227, 229, 237, 238, 239–40, 243, 244, 245, 248, 252
Indiana limestone 134–5
indigo 193
indium 175, 176, 180, 181, 182
Indonesia 47, 48, 54, 121, 285
volcanic activity 111
Indonesian Seaway 10, 11
Indus River/Valley 26, 91, 107, 190, 268
civilisations 26–7, 66, 73, 90, 157
Industrial Revolution 5, 31, 78, 97, 125, 130n, 150, 152, 167, 254, 259–60, 266, 268, 269, 279, 286
insects 80, 262–3, 265
internal combustion engine 78, 273
Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) 234–5, 243
Iran 29–30, 48, 110, 120, 121, 190; see also Persia Iraq 48, 71, 120
iridium 177–8
iron 1, 92, 130n, 163, 164–5, 167, 168–9, 170, 174, 177, 178, 280n
and Banded Iron Formations 169–70, 173, 177
cast 165
production 164–5, 183, 257, 259, 260, 266, 269, 270
tools and weapons 128, 165–6, 173, 174, 285
wrought 164–5, 166
see also steel Iron Age 156, 165, 167, 174
irrigation 65, 71, 73, 90, 92, 116, 200
Isabella, of Castile 226n, 227, 229, 230
Isfahan, Iran 190
Islam/Islamic culture/Muslims 110, 205, 212, 213, 217–18
and diet 83n
Israel 52n, 101n, 163, 285
Istanbul see Constantinople
Italy 105n, 133, 207, 208
, 285
see also Rome ITCZ see Intertropical Convergence Zone jade 183
Jakarta, Indonesia 252
Janissaries 205
Japan/Japanese 121, 122n, 222n, 228, 245, 248
exports 112
landfill mining 182
Java 111, 114, 119n, 251, 252
Jefferson, President Thomas 136n, 147
Joao II, of Portugal 226, 229
Jordan valley 110n
Judaism: and diet 83n
Jupiter 36, 180n
Jurassic Coast, England 137–8
Jurassic Period 133, 134, 274, 279
Kalahari Desert 190
Kalmuks 203
kaolin 148–9, 150n
Karakorum, Mongolia 209, 211
Kazakh Steppe 196, 197n, 201
Kellingley, Yorkshire: coalmine 271
Kenya 10, 239
Kenya, Mount 12
kerosene 273
Khitans 202
Khufu, Pharaoh 127
Khwarezmids 212
Khyber Pass 190, 203, 204
Kilimajaro, Mount 12
Kirghiz, the 202
Kish 71
Knossos palace, Crete 161
Korea/South Korea 121, 184
Krakatoa, eruption of (1883) 111
Kublai Khan 210
Kunlun Mountains, China 191
Kuwait 120
Laetoli, Tanzania 14
lakes 20, 20, 21, 57, 72
‘amplifier’ 20, 21, 22, 24, 44
meltwater 60
Lancashire: coalfields 272
landfill mining 182
‘lanthanide’ elements 176
lanthanum 176–7
lapis lazuli 183
larches 79
Laurasia 139, 267
Laurentia 153
Laurentide ice sheet 49, 55–6
lava, volcanic 12–13, 24, 132, 141–2, 143, 144
lead 131, 159, 163, 168, 174
leather see hides
Lebanon 101n, 131, 163, 285
Le Clerc, ‘Peg Leg’ 249
legumes 81
Lesser Antilles 230
Levant, the 23, 60, 61, 65, 73, 74
Lewis (Meriwether) and Clark (William) 55
Libya 100, 277
lignin 264
limestone 85n, 132, 144, 153, 257, 266
hot-spring 133
Indiana 134–5
nummulitic 127, 128–9, 132–3
oolitic 133–4
Tethyean 135–6
travertine 133
linen 193, 255, 263
lions 33–4
lithium 167, 180, 182
llamas 74, 76, 88, 89
loess soils 56, 65, 184 and n
Lombards 207
London 135, 137, 152, 154–5, 272
Bank of England 134
British Museum 134, 148
Buckingham Palace 134
Cleopatra’s Needle 147
Great Fire (1666) 134
Marble Arch 135
One Canada Square 154–5
St Paul’s Cathedral 134
The Shard 154–5
Tower of London 134
Underground/Tube 155
Los Angeles 248
Getty Center 133
Lucy (hominin) 14, 18
lycopsids 262
Macau, China 245