Why Did Ancient Civilizations Fail? - Softcover

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.