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

    Author(s):
    Guy Middleton (see profile)
    Date:
    2012
    Group(s):
    Archaeology
    Subject(s):
    Archaeology, Environmental archaeology, Historiography
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    Collapse
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6D35S
    Abstract:
    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 environmental collapse, which I argue obscures recognition of the dynamic role of social processes that lie at the heart of human communities. These environmental discourses, together with confusion over terminology and the concepts of collapse, have created widespread aporia about collapse and resulted in the creation of mixed messages about complex historical and social processes.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    10.1007/s10814-011-9054-1
    Publisher:
    Springer
    Pub. Date:
    2012
    Journal:
    Journal of Archaeological Research
    Volume:
    20
    Issue:
    3
    Page Range:
    257 - 307
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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