World Ecological Degradation

Accumulation, Urbanization, and Deforestation, 3000BC-AD2000

By (author) Sing C. Chew

Hardback - £67.00

Publication date:

06 June 2001

Length of book:

232 pages

Publisher

AltaMira Press

ISBN-13: 9780759100305

Deforestation, soil runoff, salination, pollution. While recurrent themes of the contemporary world, they are not new to us. In this broad sweeping review of the environmental impacts of human settlement and development worldwide over the past 5,000 years, Sing C. Chew shows that these processes are as old as civilization itself. With examples ranging from Ancient Mesopotamia to Malaya, Mycenaean Greece to Ming China, Chew shows that the processes of population growth, intensive resource accumulation, and urbanization in ancient and modern societies almost universally bring on ecological disaster, which often contributes to the decline and fall of that society. He then turns his eye to the development of the modern European world-system and its impact on the environment. Challenging us to change these long-term trends, Chew also traces the existence of environmental conservation ideas and movements over the span of 5,000 years. Can we do it? Look at Chew's evidence of the past five millennia and decide. Ideal for courses in environmental history, anthropology, and sociology, and world-systems theory.
Sing C. Chew suggests that ecological degradation due to economic (over)exploitation was a major historical force in world history since the 3rd millennium B.C. and he has assembled an impressive collection of evidence from archaeology, ancient history and historical ecology to underpin his case. The book adds an important new perspective to world system theory, especially centre-periphery dynamics, and to explaining 'Dark Ages.' World Ecological Degradation continues in the tradition of the grand historical narrative from Eric Wolf, Alfred Crosby, William McNeill and Gunder Frank. As such it will be of great interest to social and economic history as well as ancient history and archaeology.