In a highly attractive examination of the Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians, and other ancient peoples, Exploration in the World of the Ancients sets the stage for the first explorers by defining the geographic areas of the earth and showing when and how these were first "peopled". Tracing the movement of the first Homo sapiens, it also examines some of the earliest accounts of Egyptian and Mesopotamian explorations. This appealing volume includes coverage of little-known facts and concludes by discussing the end of the Middle Ages when much of Earth's lands and seas were "known" but many civilizations remained unknown to one another. 

   Highlights include:

- An examination of some of the earliest accounts of Egyptian and Mesopotamian explorations
- A sidebar on Homo sapiens as Homo explorans
- Important explorers such as Jang Qian and the Buddhist monk Xuanzang
- Sites associated with humans in the Americas before 8,000 BCE
- The lighthouse and library of Alexandria
- A look at Buddhism in China