The Collapse of Complex Societies
Summary
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The Collapse of Complex Societies by Joseph Tainter
Any explanation of political collapse carries lessons not just for the study of ancient societies, but for the members of all complex societies in both the present and future. Dr Tainter describes nearly two dozen cases of collapse and reviews more than 2000 years of explanations. He then develops a new and far-reaching theory that accounts for collapse among diverse kinds of societies, evaluating his model and clarifying the processes of disintegration by detailed studies of the Roman, Mayan and Chacoan collapses.
'Tainter's model accommodates all levels of complexity and all kinds of evidenceIt deserves to be widely read.' Antiquity
'Tainter's is an attractive and compelling thesis, of a genre which is nearly extinct among domestic historians.' History Today
'Tainter's is an attractive and compelling thesis, of a genre which is nearly extinct among domestic historians.' History Today
Joseph A. Tainter is project leader of Cultural Heritage Research, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has taught anthropology at the University of New Mexico, and is the author or editor of many articles and monographs. His book The Collapse of Complex Societies develops a long-standing research interest in the evolution of socioeconomic complexity. His work has been recognized in several fields, and has led to invitations to lecture to organizations as diverse as the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities and the International Society for Ecological Economics.Bonnie Bagley Tainter is an archaeologist, poet, editor, and private consultant. Her academic interests range from vertebrate and invertebrate evolution to Southwestern archaeology, and include historic preservation planning for her home community of Corrales, New Mexico. She previously contributed to the editing of several papers for the book Effects of War on Society, and has done research on the architecture of Hovenweep National Monument and on prehistoric settlement changes in the Albuquerque area.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780521386739 |
| ISBN 10 | 052138673X |
| Title | The Collapse of Complex Societies |
| Author | Joseph Tainter |
| Series | New Studies In Archaeology |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Year published | 1990-03-29 |
| Number of pages | 262 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |