Why Did Ancient Civilizations Fail? [Hardcover]

Many ideas abound as to why certain complex societies collapsed in the past environmental change, subsistence failure, fluctuating social structure, lack of adaptability. This engaging volume offers a new theory of collapse, that of social hubris. Hubris blinds people to evidence that would allow them to adapt. 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. This book
-evaluates current theories on the collapse of ancient societies and discusses why they are incomplete in their ability to explain the failure of past civilizations;
-concludes that the population and leadership must have been aware impending collapse at some point, but acted too late to reorganize and sustain their way of life;
-demonstrates the theory through examination of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Roman, Maya, Inca, and Aztec societies, with implications for contemporary societies.

This engaging volume critically examines previous theories of collapse of ancient complex societies and offers a new one, that of social hubris. The concept is evaluated through examination of ancient Egypt, Rome, Maya, and others.

Scott Johnson is a Maya archaeologist who also studies ancient writing and subsistence. Since receiving his Ph.D. in anthropology from Tulane University in 2012, he has taught at various colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. Johnson writes extensively on archaeological methods and the Maya as well as authoring Translating Maya Hieroglyphs (U Oklahoma Press 2013). He is currently the director of the Emal Archaeological Project in Yucatan and a Research Associate at Washington University in Saint Louis.

Preface 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:lÃr