Nothing Lasts Forever: Environmental Discourses on the Collapse of Past Societies

• Published in: Journal of archaeological research Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 257 - 307
• Main Author: Middleton, Guy D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer Science + Business Media 01.09.2012; Springer US
• Subjects: Anthropology; Archaeological paradigms; Archaeological theory; Archaeology; Bronze age; Climate change; Determinism; Disasters; Discourse; Earthquakes; Ecological sustainability; Environment; Environmental archaeology; Historical archaeology; Humans; Narratives; Paleoclimatology; Social Sciences; Society; Collapse; Environment; Determinism; Narrative; Resilience

The study of the collapse of past societies raises many questions for the theory and practice of archaeology. Interest in collapse extends as well into the natural sciences and environmental and sustainability policy. Despite a range of approaches to collapse, the predominant paradigm is environment...