Floods, Famines, And Emperors: El Nino And The Fate Of Civilizations - Couverture rigide

Fagan, Brian

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0465011209 ISBN 13 : 9780465011209

Editeur : Basic Books, 1999

Synopsis

Book by Fagan Brian

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

In 1997 and early 1998, one of the most powerful El Niños ever recorded disrupted weather patterns all over the world. Europe suffered through a record freeze as the American West was hit with massive floods and snowstorms; in the western Pacific, meanwhile, some island nations literally went bone dry and had to have water flown in on transport planes.Such effects are not new: climatologists now know the El Niño and other climate anomalies have been disrupting weather patterns throughout history. But until recently, no one had asked how this new understanding of the global weather system related to archaeology and history. Droughts, floods, heat and cold put stress on cultures and force them to adapt. What determines whether they adapt successfully? How do these climate stresses affect a people's faith in the foundations of their society and the legitimacy of their rulers? How vulnerable is our own society to climate change?In this dazzlingly original new book, archaeologist Brian Fagan shows that short-term climate shifts have been a major—and hitherto unrecognized—force in history. El Niño-driven droughts have brought on the collapse of dynasties in Egypt; El Niño monsoon failures have caused historic famines in India; and El Niño floods have destroyed whole civilizations in Peru. Other short-term climate changes may have caused the mysterious abandonment of the Anasazi dwellings in the American Southwest and the collapse of the ancient Maya empire, as well as changed the course of European history.This beautifully written, groundbreaking book opens a new door on our understanding of historical events.

Présentation de l'éditeur

In 1997 and early 1998, one of the most powerful El Ninos ever recorded disrupted weather patterns all over the world. Europe suffered through a record freeze as the American West was hit with massive floods and snow-storms; in the Western Pacific, meanwhile, some island nations literally went bone dry and had to have water flown in on transport planes. In this dazzlingly original book, archaeologist Brian Fagan shows that such effects are not new: El Nino has been disrupting weather patterns on and off for at least 5, 000 years, sometimes with catastrophic effects on civilizations. El Nino-driven droughts have brought on the collapse of dynasties in Egypt; El Nino monsoon failures have caused historic famines in India; and El Nino floods have destroyed whole civilizations in Peru and changed the course of European exploration. These events are not isolated but had lasting influence on the later course of these civilizations for centuries.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Basic Books
• Date d'édition: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0465011209
• ISBN 13: 9780465011209
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 304