This catalogue accompanies an international exhibition, "First Kings of Europe," and another volume also published by the Cotsen Institute, First Kings of Europe: From Farmers to Rulers in Prehistoric Southeastern Europe, that examine the artifacts and cultures of this area from the Neolithic to the Iron Age.

"This is the catalog of an international exhibition, "First Kings of Europe." Over several millennia, early agricultural villages in southeastern Europe gave rise to tribal kingdoms and monarchies, replacing smaller, more egalitarian social structures with complex state organizations led by royal individuals invested with power. Several hundred objects and artifacts in the exhibition are portrayed in the catalog, accompanied by introductory text. They include gold and silver ornaments, bronze and iron weaponry, rich metal hoards and magnificent ceremonial vessels"--