Understanding collapse : ancient history and modern myths /

Understanding Collapse explores the collapse of ancient civilizations, such as the Roman Empire, the Maya and Easter Island. In this lively survey, Guy D. Middleton critically examines our ideas about collapse, how we explain it and how we have constructed potentially misleading myths around collaps...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Middleton, Guy D. (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, [2017]
Subjects:
Description
Summary:Understanding Collapse explores the collapse of ancient civilizations, such as the Roman Empire, the Maya and Easter Island. In this lively survey, Guy D. Middleton critically examines our ideas about collapse, how we explain it and how we have constructed potentially misleading myths around collapses, showing how and why collapse of societies was a much more complex phenomenon than is often admitted. Rather than positing a single explanatory model of collapse, economic, social or environmental, Middleton gives full consideration to the overlooked resilience in communities of ancient peoples and the choices that they made. He offers a fresh interpretation of collapse that will be accessible to both students and scholars. The book is an engaging, introductory-level survey of collapse in the archaeology/history literature, which will be ideal for use in courses on the collapse of civilizations, sustainability and climate change. It includes up-to-date case studies of famous and less well-known examples of collapses.
Physical Description:xx, 441 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9781107151499
110715149X
9781316606070
1316606074