This doesn't directly answer the second part of the question, and I
post it as a comment, therefore.
There is a theory that famine caused or contributed to the collapse or
decline of some civilizations. One result of such collapses is a
general disorder and warfare. It should be noted that the causes of
the famine are usually controversial, and the chain of causality often
is not clearly established.
The cultural 'collapse' at the end of the Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean
http://www.mediterranean-archaeology.net/collapse.html
"The fact that many places were abandoned at the time rather than
destroyed has led to several theories centred around famine as the
cause. Although only for certain areas (south east Europe,
Syria-Palestine and Egypt), analysis suggests a rise in temperature
from c.2000 BC onwards while decline in woodlands has been attributed
to lower rainfall around 1200 BC. Documentary evidence also suggests a
food shortage in Anatolia - the Egyptian ruler Merneptah reports of
sending grain to the king of Hatti. However there is evidence for the
destruction of food in storage areas, while documents from Pylos,
Knossos and Ugarit list inventories of large amounts of animals and
foodstuffs. It may be that famine was a problem of unrest. Sanders
(1978,24) mentions that without transportation and commerce local
shortages may have become more serious."
Lecture 8 -- Fall of Bronze Age
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~rauhn/FallofBA.htm
"Fragmentary mosaic of ancient source material describes in outline
collapse of urban civilizations throughout eastern Mediterranean
region, c. 1250 - 1090 BC. Most likely caused by breakdown in trade
links that helped to maintain distant urban populations. Populations
that had otherwise surpassed the subsistence capacity of their local
agricultural resources."
The cultural 'collapse' at the end of the Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean
http://www.mediterranean-archaeology.net/collapse.html
FIVE THOUSAND YEARS OF WATER WORKS SUPPORTING DIVERSE HUMAN SOCIETIES
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/water-initiative/years_en.html
"Why, then, did this successful society decline? Scientists now
believe irrigation techniques played an important role in the collapse
of Sumer. The Mesopotamian irrigation system consisted of conducting
water from the rivers by gravity onto the fields. The rivers were
higher than the surrounding land because of the accumulation of
transported soil. Once the water was on the fields, it could not be
drained, but only percolated or evaporated. Over time, the combined
effects of rising water tables and rising concentration of mineral
salts spoiled the soils. By about 2 300 BC the fields supported only a
fraction of their former production. The tale of salt damaged crops is
told on Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets. Food scarcity eventually
undermined this great civilisation."
Mayan Dust Bowl?
http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb/lost_tribes/dustbowl.html
"New research regarding climatic changes may add to our understanding
of the Mayan collapse. David Hodell has postulated that there was a
200 year drought left the Mayan region drier than it has ever been in
the past 7,000 years. This drought appears to begin around 800 A.D.
and would overlap with the collapse period. Hodell believes this
change left the Maya unable to sustain their monumental cities -
therefore the basis for the collapse."
Collapse of civilizations
http://www.sammaditthi.com/civilisation/civil.asp
SEARCH TERMS
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&safe=off&q=famine+collapse+Mycenae&btnG=Google+Search
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&safe=off&q=famine+collapse+Maya&btnG=Google+Search
://www.google.com/search?q=famine+collapse+Sumer&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&safe=off
hlabadie-ga |
