Understanding Collapse: Ancient History and Modern Myths

by Guy D. Middleton

Understanding Collapse explores the collapse of ancient civilisations, 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, and is illustrated with 25 black and white illustrations, 3 line drawings, 16 tables and 18 maps.

Genres: History, Archaeology, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Anthropology

462 pages, Hardcover

First published June 7, 2017

Reviews

[Siri Olsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Understanding Collapse is a fascinating book on a fascinating topic, written in a language which manages to tread that fine line between being generally understandable and being academically specific. While not, strictly speaking, a book suitable for a general audience, it nevertheless manages to convey an abundance of information in a relatively accessible format. The first chapter provides a general introduction to scientific theories of collapse in an archaeological frame of understanding, while each subsequent chapter deals with a specific instance of real or perceived collapses of ancient civilisations/cultural spheres. Be advised that the author clearly takes a very distinct theoretical position on the issue of collapse. This is not in itself a negative, but it is something to be aware of. As someone who has previously read and enjoyed the work of Jared Diamond, I must say that it never fails to annoy me whenever an academic feels the need to undermine or criticise the work of other scientists in order to advance their own viewpoints. In my opinion, scientists should a) be able to agree to disagree amiably, and b) study something from different perspectives in order to arrive at a fuller understanding, without labelling different approaches or perspectives as being "right" or "wrong". Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of scientific tunnel-vision and critique of other viewpoints in this publication, and I was not a fan of that approach. If the author had simply provided their own cultural-historical interpretations and argued for those without feeling the need to constantly criticise environmental explanations, that would honestly have suited me better. That said, however, the author does provide many valuable insights into the mechanisms of collapse, highlighting a multitude of important considerations concerning collapses which are often ignored or underplayed in collapse studies. I will also say that I found the examples in the latter half of the book to be more compelling than the early chapters, particularly the discussions of cultural transformations in Mesoamerican civilisations. A very good read on a very interesting topic, but I do wish that scientists would stop throwing mud at each other and just concentrate on providing a well-argued discussion of their ideas.

[Christopher Byram · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first discovered this book when it was referenced on Khan Academy, in the article 'READ: Do Civilizations Collapse?', in Unit 4, in the course 'World History Project - Origins to the Present'. The article was adapted for publication and use by 'Big History Project' from the author's essay “Do civilizations collapse?”.