Did climate change cause societies to collapse? New research upends the old story.
The untold history of how people survived the past 2,000 years.
Grist / Shana Novak / Getty Images
Kate Yoder Associate Editor
Published
Apr 06, 2021
If you’re under the impression that climate change drove ancient civilizations to their demise, you probably haven’t heard the full story.
The ancient Maya, for example, didn’t vanish when their civilization “collapsed†around the 9th century. Though droughts certainly caused hardship, and cities were abandoned, more than 7 million Maya still live throughout Mexico and Central America. The Maya dealt with dry conditions by developing elaborate irrigation systems, capturing rainwater, and moving to wetter areas — strategies that helped communities survive waves of drought.
A report recently published in the journal Nature argues that an obsession with catastrophe has driven much of the research into how societies responded to a shifting climate throughout history. That has resulted in a skewed view of the past that feeds a pessimistic view about our ability to respond to the crisis we face today.
https://grist.org/science/did-climate-change-cause-societies-to-collapse-new-research-upends-the-old-story/
