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Reflecting on ancient civilizations is always exhilarating—a way to connect with where we’ve been as a species, and where we may eventually go. I wonder how lif

Reflecting on ancient civilizations is always exhilarating—a way to connect with where we’ve been as a species, and where we may eventually go. I wonder how life must have felt subjectively from the perspective of someone without the lenses (and weight) of history and science, without knowing where they are in space and time (on a planetary and cosmic scale, as we do). Yet there are so many aspects of day-to-day human life and society that never seem to change. Stories of societal/environmental reckonings are also a good reminder that civilizational resilience is a worthy goal, if for no other reason than future generations can experience the existential “enoughness” of eating olives in the Mediterranean sun (and such). By the way, I recommend the book Collapse by Jared Diamond for more like this article. Spoiler alert: do not totally deforest whatever island you live on. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse:_How_Societies_Choose_to_Fail_or_Succeed https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse:_How_Societies_Choo...

jcranmer 7y ago
It is worth pointing out that most anthropologists disagree with Jared Diamond's thesis. Notably, the consensus view is that Greenland, Easter Island, and Mayan city states were not driven to collapse primarily because of ecological effects. Greenland's collapse was largely driven by a shift in northern trade routes and Greenland lost its cash crop export (ivory). Easter Island does not appear to have undergone any sort of collapse until after European contact. And the Mayan collapse is actually completely backwards from how it should progress if climate was the major factor: there was a shift in power from the more fertile highlands region to what was previously the relatively backwards arid Yucatan region (Cichen Itza, in the northern Yucatan, didn't start thriving until after the southern regions were in dramatic collapse).

jcranmer 7y ago

It is worth pointing out that most anthropologists disagree with Jared Diamond's thesis. Notably, the consensus view is that Greenland, Easter Island, and Mayan city states were not driven to collapse primarily because of ecological effects. Greenland's collapse was largely driven by a shift in northern trade routes and Greenland lost its cash crop export (ivory). Easter Island does not appear to have undergone any sort of collapse until after European contact. And the Mayan collapse is actually completely backwards from how it should progress if climate was the major factor: there was a shift in power from the more fertile highlands region to what was previously the relatively backwards arid Yucatan region (Cichen Itza, in the northern Yucatan, didn't start thriving until after the southern regions were in dramatic collapse).