How Globalization and Climate change destroyed Ancient Civilization

How globalization and climate change destroyed ancient civilization

A global economy held together by interdependence — possibly to a fault. A changing climate causing worldwide disaster. And a warlike people seeking to wreak havoc throughout civilization.

It sounds like modern times, but the description above applies to the period known as the Late Bronze Age, around 3,200 years ago. In his new book, archaeologist Eric H. Cline introduces us to a past world with eerie resonance for modern times.
The sort of globalization at play today was pioneered over three millennia ago, as societies embarked on free and plentiful trade, strongly influencing each other’s cultures.

But after 300 years of vibrant economic growth and cultural and technological advancement, the entire civilized world collapsed in a matter of decades due to factors strongly paralleled today. It was the first example that “political uncertainties on one side of the world can drastically affect the economies of regions thousands of miles away.”

I read this earlier and thought I'd post it here to see what others think. It's an interesting perspective. The more things change the more they seem to stay the same. For example, There are many theories as to why the Mayans collapsed which some believe had to do with depleting many of their local and regional resources which supposedly partially lead to their demise and attempted 'Population control via Human Sacrifice' which was meant to accomplish two things really. Please their gods for better crops and also cut down on the local competition for those local diminishing resources by sacrificing their beaten enemies to those very same gods.

Are we headed down a somewhat similar road only this time on a much grander scale and intensity? Will this be avoidable? Is it our unwavering destiny?

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
(George Santayana)

Thoughts....

I think we can look even closer for the exact same thing with the fall of the Roman empire into the dark ages.

The saying history never repeats itself is complete BS its always repeating like a bad curry.

Asian and Indian society were far more advanced than those in the "west" in 3200 BC....the middle eastern and European cultures gained an enormous amount of knowledge with the limited contact they had back then with the far east. it is highly arrogant to think that human advancement depended on middle eastern and European societies.

jimmyx
Asian and Indian society were far more advanced than those in the "west" in 3200 BC....the middle eastern and European cultures gained an enormous amount of knowledge with the limited contact they had back then., with the far east.

We are talking Circa 1200 bc here.

Plus this is not a debate on who was more advanced ect and nationalist back patting.

History is always repeating itself. I think it's because, we as humans keep making the same mistakes. It is stupid. That had led me to believe that we as a human race are destined to fail. We can't change. You can't possible change 7 billion people. Can't.

This is true. It certainly feels like history keeps repeating itself over and over again. Why? what is the purpose of this psychophant exercise? if only there were clues to the real reason for this continues war and suffering only then can we know how to break the cycle. If that is even possible. One can only hope.

I think this is an interesting subject that needs a closer look. For instance, what are the natural tendencies that bring us to this predicament over and over? What civilisations, or communities have designed their cultures to avoid this conflict? How can we focus on these destructive natural tendencies and try and absolve them, or use them to our benefit?

Some Native folklore warns against this very thing. Some of these same people seem to have avoided this conflict as well, but that same strength seems possibly to have been their downfall as well, because these types seem to be easily absorbed by other less friendly peoples.

There is definitely something worth learning here.

Nikola014
History is always repeating itself. I think it's because, we as humans keep making the same mistakes. It is stupid. That had led me to believe that we as a human race are destined to fail. We can't change. You can't possible change 7 billion people. Can't.

That would be cynical if it weren't so true. People in America have problems with their own 200 year old history. It would be naive to think that they would have a firm grasp of what happened elsewhere in the world 3,000 years ago that made the world collapse. Firm enough to where they would have the intelligence required to change their current direction so as to avoid the mistakes of the past.

Other cultures are not so intentionally short-sighted. The fact that America is though, along with the fact that America has it's claws in most every region of the world, and is feared because of it's military strength and it's allegiance with Britain makes for a self-destructive combination.

The big and the stupid rule the world.

reply to post by Quauhtli


A couple of terms that have come around in the last few years that may be a collective subconscious move to avoid this outcome. Just to toss them in, I think they are relevant to at least our modern struggle with this dilemma.

Localvor, rewilding, science based policy and open source.

Excellent article.

I wonder who these "Sea People" were, being that there were six sects and one was supposedly the Philistines from the Bible. So where did the other 5 originate from and who were they? They went around in a swath of destruction? Interesting....we need to find out who or what these people are and their motive behind the calamity.

I find it interesting that so many people are filled with enough arrogance to believe this empire or current system will not fall. As in the past, with some proof from this article, globalization is not necessarily a good thing. I am vehemently against the idea of it and believe that every time a politician talks of it, they have only nefarious reasons for their personal support.

Call me cynical, but I see too much of mankind wanting to help himself and not the Earth from which he is from.

There are a lot of reasons why our history disappeared. It doesn't take much research to figure this out. Read a common book from long ago, the Bible. The Old testement tells of how they plundered and killed, leveling cities and taking artifacts to melt down. This was common practice all over the world long ago. On top of that the conquerers wanted to change the people's perception so they destroyed their artifacts and temples, building new with their own version of reality. The Christians destroyed others creations to hide the fact that the people they overthrew were more than just uncivilized heathans. This corruption in our history is finally starting to be exposed. Still our country does the same thing, toting our technology and weapons as supperior. Yet a civilized world would not need weapons.

I can't say that all of history was bad and that what happened was corrupt. We are here, and I appreciate that. I think we should examine our actions and take better care of this planet though, we have destroyed and mutated a big part of it disrespecting the basic rights of other forms of life. Sure, we have to eat, but we do not have to waste. We need to try to stop a corrupt history from being written and preserve things instead of building new. Greed and feeling of entitlement are destroying the world and history, not the actions of a civilized human race. Denying something is real just because there is no evidence yet then destroying it to make sure it is not discovered is evil...yet it goes on all the time.

SLAYER69
Thoughts....

My first thought is that I probably would have taken the article far more seriously if it hadn't have been published on the weekend prior to the release of a "major" climate change report in an obvious attempt to advertise the report.

This passage in the article caught my eye:

It is now believed that the Sea People migrations might have been caused by droughts spurred on by a changing climate that then caused widespread famine, leading to migrations not unlike our own in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, but covering a wider swath of land and causing more violent results.

If no one is sure where the Sea People came from then how could anyone hazard a guess as to what caused their migration?

Even if the migrations were caused by a "Dust Bowl" scenario how could anyone say that it resulted from climate change? The Dust Bowl in the 1930s wasn't caused by climate change.

How globalized could those people have been if they didn't know enough about their region to know where the Sea People came from? They really missed the presence of a group of people large enough to almost destroy their civilization?

How globalized and interdependent could those people have been if certain nations were left to fight the Sea People on their own?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the article is a massive fail. According to what I read it was the Sea People who almost destroyed ancient civilization in that little corner of the world but the article failed in any way to show that globalization or climate change had anything at all to do with kicking off the Sea People migration and aggression.

SLAYER69

How globalization and climate change destroyed ancient civilization

A global economy held together by interdependence — possibly to a fault. A changing climate causing worldwide disaster. And a warlike people seeking to wreak havoc throughout civilization.

It sounds like modern times, but the description above applies to the period known as the Late Bronze Age, around 3,200 years ago. In his new book, archaeologist Eric H. Cline introduces us to a past world with eerie resonance for modern times.
The sort of globalization at play today was pioneered over three millennia ago, as societies embarked on free and plentiful trade, strongly influencing each other’s cultures.

But after 300 years of vibrant economic growth and cultural and technological advancement, the entire civilized world collapsed in a matter of decades due to factors strongly paralleled today. It was the first example that “political uncertainties on one side of the world can drastically affect the economies of regions thousands of miles away.”

I read this earlier and thought I'd post it here to see what others think. It's an interesting perspective. The more things change the more they seem to stay the same. For example, There are many theories as to why the Mayans collapsed which some believe had to do with depleting many of their local and regional resources which supposedly partially lead to their demise and attempted 'Population control via Human Sacrifice' which was meant to accomplish two things really. Please their gods for better crops and also cut down on the local competition for those local diminishing resources by sacrificing their beaten enemies to those very same gods.

Are we headed down a somewhat similar road only this time on a much grander scale and intensity? Will this be avoidable? Is it our unwavering destiny?

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
(George Santayana)

Thoughts....

First thought...I'm going to buy this for my brother for his birthday and then pinch it straight back to take as holiday reading to Crete.

The Sea Peoples have long been a source of fascination to me, so many vaguaries and unanswered questions. I cannot help but think that, although there is a significant time gap, that the eruption of Thera initiated a mass displacement that eventually culminated in the attacks. Not only did the Cretians control trade, and therefore distribution across the entire Mediterranean basin, but the dust cloud would have disrupted weather cycles and therefore crop production much further afield, inevitably leading to shortages and famine. It is likely that those indirectly affected were completely unaware of the eruption, and as is natural, they migrated up the food/trade chain seeking (what they thought would be) richer, more economically resourceful cities to settle in. The result would have been a larger concentration of the population forming around the Mediterranean, leaving their own, native lands untended so that even when the crisis passed, the knock-on effect continued. And, indeed, we see this pattern repeated, over and over, into modernity. The farm land that has been abandoned, deplete of vegetation and deforested, suffers erosion and turns to dust bowl.

Got to check this book out, but history is still the same, that's why we have the prison system packed full, always in conflict somewhere, malpractice doctors, social pressure.... It's out there but a more suttle way.

well, You know what they say about those who forget history and all that.


It seems humanity is on a constant loop of forgetting and repeating the same mistakes.

I was thinking about something similar earlier today.

3200 years ago humans were much closer to their environment. They most likely had a better understanding of their natural world. They were also much more self reliant. No electricity, most food was locally grown, folks made what they needed, community was critical. Granted, through trade,they were interdependent to a degree but not like a modern human who gets 99% of what they need off a store shelf and would have no clue how to procure the same goods if that store was to disappear.

If similar circumstances befall humanity today, it sure would not take decades for a decline. More like months.

The short version: the greater degree humans are reliant on technology they do not understand, the greater the impact of periodic social collapse like you mentioned.

reply to post by SLAYER69

demise and attempted 'Population control via Human Sacrifice' which was meant to accomplish two things really. Please their gods for better crops and also cut down on the local competition for those local diminishing resources by sacrificing their beaten enemies to those very same gods. - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Perhaps there are really gods that enjoy human sacrifice.

Some may argue that human sacrifice, by the millions, is still taking place.

Are we headed down a somewhat similar road only this time on a much grander scale

Absolutely, we are just one big catastrophe away from mass chaos. In the next 50 years we will have huge problems facing humanity as we grow to many people to feed, water, and employ.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Just wanted to thank everybody for their input. I thought some here would find it interesting.

reply to post by SLAYER69


It's a book I'd really like to read. Gonna put it on my Amazon want list.

In general, I don't think folks have any idea how globalized and controlled trade was back in those days. Maybe globalized trade sounds like a good thing on the surface of things, but in the past when famine hit one part of the world it was felt thousands of miles away because people became dependent, especially on the grain trade.

Small, egalatarian communities where everybody worked together to produce food & all shared in the bounty according to their needs were far better suited to survive than the folks in cities, that is until the traders put together mercenary armies and ordered them to wipe the small communities out.

Back in antiquity, those armies killed all the cattle and burned the orchards and fields to the ground. Really, they made sure that nothing was left for the little guys.

Various priesthoods can try to justify what happened by calling it "holy" but really, it was all about trade and making the very small handful of men that were running the show filthy rich.

Sad to say that I don't think things have changed much...