Why Did Ancient Civilizations Fail?

Scott A J Johnson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781629582832
• eBook ISBN: 9781315512877
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

Ideas abound as to why certain complex societies collapsed in the past, including environmental change, subsistence failure, fluctuating social structure and lack of adaptability. Why Did Ancient Civilizations Fail? evaluates the current theories in this important topic and discusses why they offer only partial explanations of the failure of past civilizations. This engaging book offers a new theory of collapse, that of social hubris. Through an examination of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Roman, Maya, Inca, and Aztec societies, Johnson persuasively argues that hubris blinded many ancient peoples to evidence that would have allowed them to adapt, and he further considers how this has implications for contemporary societies. Comprehensive and well-written, this volume serves as an ideal text for undergraduate courses on ancient complex societies, as well as appealing to the scholar interested in societal collapse.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Why Did Ancient Civilizations Fail?
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction: Social Hubris
• 2 Why Agriculture?
• 3 The Environment
• 4 Case Study: The Maya
• 5 Agricultural Systems
• 6 Case Study: Mesopotamia
• 7 Trade Systems
• 8 Case Study: Rome
• 9 Social Organization
• 10 Case Study: Egypt
• 11 Unexpected Catastrophes
• 12 Case Study: Aztecs and Incas
• 13 Where We Are Today
• References
• Index