Exploring a series of high-profile debates from 2,000 years before Christianity to 1,000 years after, this volume provides a format that invites readers to draw their own conclusions. The Ark of the Covenant...The monoliths of Easter Island...The origins of the Celtic Church...The Toltecs and Mayans...The time period from 2,000 years before Christianity to the millennium gave rise to many mysteries that have intrigued historians for ages. Some are the sources of vigorously argued controversies that remain unresolved to this day. Students, scholars, and anyone fascinated with the ancient world and the process of exploring the past can now take part in some of history's most compelling ongoing debates. "Popular Controversies in World History: 2000 B.C.E. to 1000 C.E." engages readers with a series of questions that remain the subject of investigation, speculation, and argument. "Popular Controversies in World History: 2000 B.C.E. to 1000 C.E." spans the globe, presenting authoritative positions - pro and con - on issues of high interest to both the historical community and to the general public. Presenting clearly reasoned, well-supported responses on both sides, yet leaving the conclusions to the reader, this innovative volume is sure to be an enlightening, thought-provoking resource. It features 30 expert contributors, each an established historian supporting either the 'pro' or 'con' point of view of a historic controversy with credible evidence and well-reasoned arguments, and 25 sidebars with excerpts from relevant primary source materials. The book presents multiple perspectives and arguments for the 15 controversies discussed in the work, and offers a chronology of the controversies within the specific time period of the volume.