mace 114, 115n
Mackenzie River 60
Madeira 218, 220, 222, 229, 253n
Magellan, Ferdinand 54, 247–8
Magellan Strait 54–5
magma 11, 20, 28, 111, 132, 142, 143, 145, 146, 148n, 158, 159, 179
Magna Carta 58
magnetic field, Earth’s 169
magnetite 170
magnets 175, 176, 180n
Magyars 203, 204
Maison Carrée, Nîmes, France 136n
maize 66, 67
Makian Island 114
Malabar Coast, India 114, 240
Malacca, Malaysia 114–15, 245
Strait of 114, 115, 119, 121, 249
Malay Peninsula 114–15, 245
Mali 10, 193
Malindi, Kenya 239
Mallorca 221
mammals 5, 7, 12, 40, 53n, 61, 75, 86–7, 88, 90, 141n, 144
APP 82–4
mammoths 31, 49, 66n
Manchuria 197, 202
Mani Peninsula, Greece 135
Manila Cathedral 136
Manila Galleon Route 246, 248–9, 250, 250–51
Mao Zedong 91
map-making 194
marble 132, 135–6
Marble Arch, London 135
marine snow 275
marjoram 115n
Marmara, Sea of 117
mastodons 66n
mathematics 194
Mayan civilisation 28, 64
meat 17, 75, 77, 83n, 84, 90, 198, 199, 255
medicines 82, 114, 175, 178, 194
Mediterranean region/Sea 28, 98–106, 112, 116, 118, 135, 158, 160, 163, 185, 187, 246
Megara, Greece 117
Mekong River 91
Melanesia 47
Merv, Turkmenistan 190, 212
Mesoamerica 28, 63, 66, 67, 129
Mesopotamia 26, 27, 28, 65, 67, 70–71, 71, 72, 200, 202
bronze 157–8
civilisations 130–31, 132
Mesozoic Era 42, 141
metals/metalworking 74, 130 and n, 131, 156–7, 255
casting 157
smelting 131, 132, 156
see also specific metals
metamorphic rocks 132
methane 40–41, 84, 85n, 171–2, 172n, 276, 280n
methane clathrate 85–6
Mexican War of Independence (1810–21) 248
Mexico 28, 66, 74, 248
Gulf of 279
Michelangelo Buonnaroti: David 135
microchips 17n, 148n, 175–6
Mid-Atlantic Ridge 9, 160, 221
Middle East 47, 65, 81, 104, 119, 120, 197, 202, 209, 211, 215n
Middle Passage 253n
Milankovitch cycles 19, 37, 37–9, 44, 60, 70, 281n
Military Revolution 213
milk 75–6, 88, 90, 199, 255
millet 65, 57, 184
millstones 63, 68
Ming dynasty (China) 204, 212
Minoan civilisation 27–8, 99, 161–3
Linear A script 163n
Mississippi River 55, 123, 124, 125
Missouri River 55
mitochondria 45
Mitochondrial Eve 45–6
mobile phones see smartphones
Mogadishu, Somalia 240
Mogul Empire 210n, 249
Mojave Desert 191
Moluccas, the 112–13, 113, 114, 115, 247 and n
Mongol Empire 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 209–13, 214
Mongolia 47, 197, 209
monsoons 72, 114, 189–90, 192, 238–9, 285
winds 110, 192, 240–44, 243, 251
moraines 54, 55–6, 95
Morocco 217–18, 223, 267
mortar 132, 139, 140–41
Moscow 195
Moti Island 114
mountain ranges 8, 9, 26, 28, 91, 98, 99, 104–5, 139, 144, 146–7, 159–60, 267–8, 285; see also volcanoes and specific ranges
Mousterian tools 17, 22
Mozambique 11, 239
mules 76, 77
Mumbai, India 107n
Muslims see Islam
Mycenaeans 163
myrrh 192
Nagasaki, Japan 245
Napoleon Bonaparte 58, 59, 222n
Native Americans 47
Natufians 61, 62
Neanderthals 16, 17, 23–4, 47, 50–51, 51, 53, 164
Neoclassicism: in architecture 136n
Neolithic era 63–5, 158, 198
Nepal 92
Netherlands 58, 96–7, 114n, 119 and n, 284
corsairs 249
and Japan 122n
maritime trade 245, 250–52
windmills 257
Newfoundland 96, 231
New Guinea 10, 48, 63
New York 55, 56, 114n, 153–4
Chrysler Building 153
Cleopatra’s Needle 147
Empire State Building 134, 153
Rockefeller Center 153
skyscrapers 154, 155
United Nations building 134, 145
Yankee Stadium 134
New Zealand 32, 237
nickel 167, 168, 175, 179
Nile, River/Nile Valley 23, 65, 72–3, 90, 100, 101, 106, 127, 132, 133, 184, 185, 187, 285
Delta 102, 107
Nineveh 71
Nippur 71
nitrogen 170, 178–9
noble metals see platinum group metals nomadic tribes 200, 201–3, 204–5, 206, 286
see also pastoral nomads Noranda (mine), Canada 163
Norfolk: cottages 152
Norilsk, Russia: mines 179
Norse fishermen and seafarers 95, 96
North Africa 89, 110, 128, 129, 138, 206, 208, 211, 215
agriculture 63, 65
camel caravans 192–3
climate 72, 101
coastline 99, 100–2, 105, 185, 217n
North America 32, 33, 39, 43, 44, 48, 49, 51, 60, 63, 64, 103–4, 139, 143
animals 53n, 197, 214n
grasses 87
prairies 79, 196, 214n, 284
see also Canada; United States North Atlantic Garbage Patch 238n
North Atlantic Gyre 238n
North Atlantic Igneous Province 143
North Downs 137
North Pole 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 224
North Sea 57, 95, 96, 279, 286
Northumberland: coalfields 272
Norway 54, 286
nuclear fission/fusion 167–8, 169, 182n, 281
Nummulites/nummulitic limestone 128–9, 132–3
nutmeg 114, 114n, 115n, 241, 247
oats 67
Obama, President Barack 124
obsidian 17n, 140, 156
Oceania 47
oceans 5, 10, 41, 43, 85, 86, 94–5, 97–8
acidic 280
anoxic 142, 173, 278, 278–9
Banded Iron Formations 170, 171, 179
black smokers (hydrothermal vents) 159, 160
chokepoints 98, 115, 118–19, 121, 217n, 273
crust 8–9, 94, 104, 139, 142, 145–6, 159, 160, 163, 221
currents and current sailing 5, 41, 219–20, 222, 223–4, 226, 227, 230–31, 232, 244n, 246
doldrums 224, 234–5, 239
falling/lower levels 32, 34, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 53–4, 56–7, 89, 95, 125, 138–9
gyres 237, 238n, 247
and iron 173
and plankton 85, 144–5, 274–6
rising/higher levels 31, 33, 38, 40, 52, 54, 57, 60, 96, 97, 124–5, 129, 138, 221, 268, 277, 280
salt content 105–6
thermohaline circulation 61–2, 278
see also specific oceans and seas
ochre 164
Ogodei Khan 209
Ohio River 55
oil 120–21, 262–3, 273–9, 280, 286, 287
‘oil window’ 276
Oldowan tools 16–17, 18, 22
olive oil 257
Oman 131
onagers 89
One Thousand and One Nights 110
ooliths 133–4
oolitic limestone 134
ophiolites 160, 163, 201n
opium 115
oregano 115n
Organic Energy Economy 258
orogeny 267n
Orpheus and Eurydice 135
osmium 177
ostriches 72
Ostrogoths 207, 208
Ottoman Turks 205, 213
oxen 75, 77, 200
Oxford University 134
oxygen 167, 170–74, 175, 265, 275, 278, 280
ozone layer 142 172 and n
Pacific Ocean 10, 43, 111, 122, 191, 222n, 237, 247, 248
Pacific Trash Vortex 238n
Pakistan 92, 284
Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) 40, 84–6, 129, 143, 145, 279–80, 287
Palaeogene Period 42, 178n
Palaeozoic Era 42, 141
Palestine 185
Palin, Sarah 48n
palladium 175, 177, 179, 182n
Pamir Mountains 189, 191
Panama Canal 55, 120
Panama Isthmus 43, 44, 49, 88, 89, 249
Pangea 87, 103, 104, 138, 139, 141, 143, 144, 201n, 262, 267, 267, 268, 276
Panthalassa 103n
Pantheon, Rome 135, 162n
paper/paper-making 79, 194, 263
Paris
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel 200n
Cleopatra’s Needle 147
Parks, Rosa 126
pastoral nomads 77, 200, 201, 203, 213, 214, 286
horse-riding 201–2, 208, 213–14, 215
Patagonian Desert 190
Patagonian Ice Sheet 54
Patzinaks 203
Pearl Harbor 222n
peat 261–2, 263, 265, 266, 268
Peloponnesian War (431–405 BC) 117–18, 120
Pentagon, Virginia 134
pepper/peppercorns 112–13, 114, 115n, 193, 241
peppers 81, 113n
perissodactyls 82–3, 84, 86, 144
permafrost 33, 86, 91
Permian Period 42, 103, 138, 141, 142, 143, 179, 264
Persia 27, 117n, 187, 188–9, 202, 207
exports 131, 193
kerosene 273
mythology 200n
Wall 207–8
windmills 257
Persian Gulf 70, 104, 107, 108, 110, 119
oil 120, 121, 279, 286
Peru 67, 278n, 286
pesticides 120, 274
PETM see Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum petroleum 178, 273
PGMs see platinum group metals
pharaohs 72, 101, 127, 129, 147
pharmaceuticals 120, 178, 274
Pharos, island of 101
Philippines, the 248, 249
philosophies, spread of 194
Phoenicia/Phoenicians 99, 100, 101n, 107, 158, 163, 219, 237
photosynthesis 142, 171, 258, 261, 265, 274–5
phytoplankton 274–5
pig iron 165, 166, 177
pigs 74, 83, 88
pine trees 79, 130, 161
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 270
plague 211–12
plankton 85, 138, 140, 144, 145, 274–6, 278, 287
plants and flowers 78
angiosperms
domestication of 52, 59, 62, 64, 65–7, 68, 81, 87, 214n
gymnosperms
see also cereal crops; crops; photosynthesis plastics 120, 150n, 175, 178, 238n, 274
plate tectonics see tectonics
platinum 177, 178–9, 182
platinum group metals (PGMs) 168, 176, 177–8, 179–80, 182n
pliosaurs 133
ploughs 76, 77, 165–6, 215n, 255, 268, 285, 286
Polar cells 235
Polaris 37, 224
Polo, Marco 258–9
Pompeii 162
Pontic–Caspian Steppe 196, 214
population growth 2, 22–3, 70, 72, 87, 117, 166, 255, 256, 257
porcelain 112, 115, 149–50, 249
Portland stone 134
ports 98, 100, 101, 105n, 115, 119, 194, 212
Portugal/Portuguese 193, 217–18, 219–20, 222, 229, 245, 247n
sailors 119, 193, 223–7, 231, 234, 239–41, 244–5, 247–8
slavery/slave trade 218, 222, 253n
Portuguese Route 249–50, 250–51
potatoes 66, 81, 82, 131
Potosí silver mines, Bolivia 248–9
pottery see ceramics
precession 19, 21, 23, 36–7, 37, 44
primates 82, 84, 86, 144
printing 194
Pripet Marshes 204
promethium 176
propane 276
Protestantism 185n
Ptolemy (geographer) 111, 226
pumpkins 66n
pyramids 127–8, 129, 133, 138
Pyrenees Mountains 267
Qatar 120
Qin dynasty (China) 184, 203
Qing dynasty (China) 91, 195, 214
quartz 148 and n
quartzite 17n
Quaternary Period 31, 32, 34–5, 40, 42
quicklime 139
radiolarians 140, 275
railways 55, 56, 100, 150n, 152, 167, 260
rain-shadow effect 11, 190, 195, 214n
rainfall 10, 11, 21, 64, 142, 189, 280
rainforests 7, 80, 190, 223n, 232, 275, 285
rare earth metals (REMs) 168, 176–7, 180, 181–2
Ravenscroft, George 140
Reconquista, the 217, 219
Red Sea 11, 104, 107, 108–10, 121, 133, 187, 192, 193
redwoods 79
Reformation, Protestant 185n
religions 194
see also Christianity; Islam; Judaism REMs see rare earth metals
reptiles 79, 82, 133
Rhine, River 57, 185, 206, 207, 208
rhinoceroses 33, 83
rhodium 177, 182n
rice 65–6, 67, 69, 91
Rio Tinto mine, Spain 163
rivers 2, 41, 61, 70, 72, 90, 91–3, 92, 116, 144
see also specific rivers
roads 2, 56, 74, 93, 100, 187, 273, 274
Roaring Forties 43, 237, 250, 251, 252 and n
rock types 132; see also basalt(ic) rocks; shale rocks Rocky Mountains 55
Rodinia 153
Roman Empire/Romans 27, 28, 73, 99, 100–1, 110–11, 162, 183, 185–7, 190–91, 206–8, 210–11, 218
Roman Empire/Romans (continued) architecture 136n, 162n
coalmines 259
metalworking 259
population 186
underfloor heating systems 259
waterwheel 257
Rome 185, 207, 208
Colosseum 133
Pantheon 135, 162n
Trajan’s Column 135
root plants 81–2
rosemary 115n
Rove Formation 170n
Rub’ al-Khali Desert 191
rubber, synthetic 178
rubies 241
ruminants 83; see also cattle/cows Run, island of 114n
Rushmore, Mount 147
Russia/Soviet Union 48–9, 195, 197n, 209, 213, 214
Hitler’s invasion 215
trade 120
wheatfields 214, 215n
see also Siberia ruthenium 177, 182n
Rwanda 28n
rye 61, 52, 67
sabre-toothed tigers 31, 49
saffron 115n
Sahara Desert 66, 72, 89, 189, 192–3, 217–18, 220, 223n
Sahel, the 63, 66, 74
Sahul 48
sailing and navigation 118n, 169
current sailing (volta do mar) 219–20, 223–4, 226, 227, 230–31, 232, 244n
in doldrums 224, 234–5, 239
see also oceans; ships; trade routes, maritime St Christopher, Gulf of 226
Saint Helena 221n
St Lawrence River 55
St Paul’s Cathedral, London 134
Salisbury Plain 137
salt 105, 193, 27
3
Salween River 91
Samarkand, Uzbekistan 190, 194, 212
Sanchi Stupa, India 129
sand 148n
sandstone 132, 151–2, 276
Nubian 132, 133
Santa Marta, Gulf of 225
Santa Vitória, Brazil 225
Santorini (Thera) 162–3
Sao Tomé 225
Sardinia 99, 208
Sargasso Sea 238n
Saturn 181n
Saudi Arabia 120–21
savannah 7–8, 12, 14, 24, 66, 189
Scandinavia 32, 57, 58, 95, 195
scandium 176
schist 153, 154
Scotland 54, 57, 58, 148, 150
screens, TV and smartphone 176, 181
scurvy 240 and n, 241
Scythians 202
seas see oceans
seaweed 171, 238n
sedimentary rocks 132
Sefidabeh, Iran 29
Serengeti Desert 33
Shah Jahan 249
shale rock 125, 170, 266, 276, 279
sheep 74, 75, 76, 77, 83, 86–7, 88, 117, 198, 199, 201, 209
ships/shipping 78, 95, 96, 98, 101n, 107–8, 117–21, 167, 193, 219, 228, 246
galleons 237, 246, 248–9
galleys 219
hammocks 230n
masts 130
scurvy 240 and n, 241
slave ships 253–4
steamships 107n, 122n, 260
warships 119, 122n
see also sailing and navigation Siberia 32, 47, 48, 52, 142, 185, 195, 201n, 267, 279, 286
Siberian Traps 141–2, 143, 179
Sicily 105n, 208
siderophile metals 168, 178
Sierra Nevada Mountains 218n
silica/silicon/silicon dioxide 17n, 140, 146, 148n, 167, 168, 175, 178n silk 112, 115, 187 and n, 193n, 249, 255
Silk Road 110, 182, 186, 187–91, 193–4, 197, 203–4, 211, 215, 285
silver 159, 163, 168, 174, 175, 177, 182, 193, 248–9
Sinai/Sinai Peninsula 23, 47, 131
Sinai Desert 110, 192
sisal 82
skyscrapers 153, 154, 155, 167
slate 132, 152–3
slavery/slave trade 116n, 125–6, 205, 218, 222, 253–4, 269
sloths, ground 49
smartphones 168, 175, 176, 181–2
Smith, William 150n
Snowball Earth 172
solar energy 67, 171, 255, 257–8, 281
solar wind 169
Somatic Energy Regime 258
Sonoran Desert 191
sorghum 66, 67
South Africa 11
Cape of Good Hope 121, 225–6, 231, 250
platinum group metals 179–80
rare earth metals 177
veld 196
South America 42, 43, 48, 49–50, 54, 89, 104, 139, 237, 267
slave trade 254
South China Sea 115
South Downs 137
Southern Cross 225
South Pole 42, 43, 44, 103, 265
Soviet Union see Russia
soya beans 65
Spain/the Spanish 58, 59, 90, 118, 218 and n, 226n, 227, 229, 231, 247n, 267
explorers and navigators 119, 218n, 219, 231, 237, 245, 247, 248–9
galleons 246, 249
mines 163
Reconquista 217, 218