ISBN:
9783540698524
Language:
English
Pages:
Online-Ressource
,
v.: digital
Edition:
2nd Edition
Edition:
Online-Ausg. Springer eBook Collection. Earth and Environmental Science Electronic reproduction; Available via World Wide Web
DDC:
304.250956
Keywords:
Environmental sciences
;
Sedimentology
;
Geography
;
Climatic changes
;
Ecology
;
Anthropology
;
Sociology
;
Naher Osten
;
Klimaänderung
;
Sozialer Wandel
;
Vor- und Frühgeschichte
Abstract:
This survey of the ancient levels of lakes, rivers and the sea, as well as changes in the compositions of stalagmites and sediments reveals an astonishing correlation of climate changes with the emergence and collapse of civilizations in the Middle East. Each warm period has been characterized by aridization, economic crisis and mass migration, whereas cold periods brought abundant rain, prosperity and settlement in the arid lands. The authors conclude that climate change has been the decisive factor in the history surrounding the origins of the "cradle of civilization."
Description / Table of Contents:
Front Matter; The Pendulum of Paradigms; Constructing the Jigsaw Puzzle of Palaeo-Climates; The Near East: A Bridge from the Garden of Eden to the Fields of Toil; The Great Transition - From Farming Villages to Urban Centers; The Urban Revolution and the Dawn of History; Dark Age, Renaissance, and Decay; Migrations and Settlings; The Age of Iron and Empires; Crusaders, Mamluks, and Ottomans on the Eve of the Era of Industry (ca. 800 C.E. to the Present); An Epilogue; Back Matter
Description / Table of Contents:
CoverContents -- List of Illustrations -- List of Tables -- List of Abbreviations -- Copyright -- Introduction -- Acknowledgements -- 1 The Pendulum of Paradigms -- 2 Constructing the Jigsaw Puzzle of Palaeo-Climates -- 2.1 The Climatological and Historical Background -- 2.2 Time Series of Proxy-Data to Decipher Climates of the Past -- 3 The Near East: A Bridge from the Garden of Eden to the Fields of Toil -- 3.1 The Password 'Climate Change' -- 3.1.1 Humble Beginnings -- 3.1.2 The End of the Last Ice Age -- 3.1.3 The Start of Settled Life -- 3.2 The Establishment of Agricultural Villages -- The Pre Pottery Neolithic -- (6000-8000 B.C.E.) -- 4 The Great Transition -- From Farming Villages to Urban Centers -- 4.1 The Progress of Climate -- 4.2 The First Technological Revolution -The Pottery Neolithic Period -- 4.3 The Metallurgical Revolution -- The Chalcolithic Period -- 4.4 From Copper to Bronze -- The Beginning of the Early Bronze Age -- 5 The Urban Revolution and the Dawn of History -- 5.1 The First Cities and a New Order -- 5.2 The Climate Background -When Cities Drowned and the Desert Bloomed -- 5.3 The Early Bronze Age in the Levant and Anatolia -- 5.4 The Great Civilizations -- 5.4.1 Mesopotamia During the Early Dynastic Period -- 5.4.2 Egypt United Under One Crown -- 6 Dark Age, Renaissance, and Decay -- 6.1 The Crisis Years -- The Climate Evidence -- 6.2 The Archaeological and Historical Evidence About the Intermediate Bronze Age -- 6.3 The 'Winning of the South' -- the Migration Southward -- 6.4 The Crisis Years in Egypt -- 6.5 The Late Bronze Age, ca. 1500 to 1200 B.C.E. -- 7 Migrations and Settlings -- 7.1 The End of the Age of Bronze and the Beginning of a New World -- 7.2 Focussing on the Impact of Climate on the Events at the End of the Second Millennium B.C.E. -- 7.3 The Wave Pattern of Migrations and the "Sea Peoples" -- 7.4 A Glance at Ugarit -- 7.5 The Aramaeans and the 'Wandering of the Israelites' -- 7.6 The Formative Years of the Israelite Nation -- 8 The Age of Iron and Empires -- 8.1 The Aramaeans Occupy Center Stage -- 8.2 The Empires of Assyria and Babylon -- A Brief and Brutal Performance -- 8.3 The Persian Empire and the First Unification of the Ancient Near East -- 8.4 Hellenism Dominates the Near East and Unites East and West -- 8.5 Under the Boot of Rome and the Beginning of Christianity -- 8.6 The Arabs and Islam Emerge from the Desert -- 9 Crusaders, Mamluks, and Ottomans on the Eve of the Era of Industry -- 9.1 The Crusaders' Interlude -- 9.2 The Slaves who Became Sultans -- Mamluks, Mongols and Turks -- 9.3 The Ottoman Centuries: Peace and Stagnation -- 10 An Epilogue -- The Near East Enters the Era of Technology and Global Change -- Appendix I -- Groundwater Use and the Evolution of Groundwater Exploitation Methods as a Function of Climate Changes -- Appendix II -- Isotopic Tools in Palaeo-Hydrological Investigations -- Appendix III -- Pastoral Nomadism -- Appendix IV -Middle Eastern Languages -- Appendix V -- Egyptian Chronology -- Index -- Last Page.
Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index
,
Electronic reproduction; Available via World Wide Web
DOI:
10.1007/978-3-540-69852-4
URL:
Volltext
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