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Title: Climate and the collapse of civilization

Journal Article · · Bioscience; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/1312276· OSTI ID:7065692

This article looks at the archaeological debate over two important questions: whether abrupt climate changes caused or contributed to the collapse of ancient civilizations and, if the archaeological and paleoclimatological record yields evidence to that effect, what would it mean in a world that today debates whether industrial civilization is altering Earth's climate with uncertain consequences. Areas discussed include the following: climate hints from archaeological sites; hesitations about whether climate change caused civilizations to collapse; and the interdisciplinary checks on each side.

OSTI ID:
7065692
Journal Information:
Bioscience; (United States), Vol. 44:8; ISSN 0006-3568
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English