Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
nately these were precisely the first systems to cross the threshold into statehood, and they
therefore have never been directly observed by historians or ethnologists. [That is, no histor-
ians or ethnologists were around to witness these one-time-only events.] Nonetheless, from
the archaeological evidence of storehouses, monumental architecture, temples, high mounds
and tells, defensive moats, walls, towers, and the growth of irrigation systems, it is clear that
managerial activities similar to those observed among surviving pre-state chiefdoms under-
went rapid expansion in these critical regions immediately prior to the appearance of the
state. Furthermore, there is abundant evidence from Roman encounters with “barbarians” in
northern Europe, from Hebraic and Indian scriptures, and from Norse, Germanic, and Celtic
sagas that intensifier-redistributor-warriors and their priestly retainers constituted the nuclei
of the first ruling classes in the Old World.
While I have omitted most of Harris's detailed explanation, nevertheless we have here, in essence,
an ecological explanation for the origin of civilization. What's more, Harris is not merely proposing
an entertaining “just-so” story, but a scientific hypothesis that can be tested within the limits of
available evidence.
Cultural materialism is capable of illuminating not just grand societal shifts, such as the origin
of agriculture or the state, but the deeper functions of cultural institutions and practices of many
son, includes chapters with titles such as “Reproduction,” “Economic Organization,” “Domestic
Life,” and “Class and Caste”; each features illustrative sidebars showing how a relevant cultural
practice (peacemaking among the Mehinacu of central Brazil, polyandry among the Nyimba of Ne-
pal) is adaptive to environmental necessity. Throughout this and all his topics, indeed throughout his
entire career, Harris aimed to show that probabilistic infrastructural determinism is the only sound
basis for a true “science of culture” capable of producing testable hypotheses to explain why soci-
eties evolve the way they do.
Why is this important now? For the simple reason that our own society is on the cusp of an enorm-
ous infrastructural transformation.
Which is remarkable, because we're still reeling from the previous one, which began just a
couple of centuries ago. The fossil-fueled Industrial Revolution entailed a shift from reliance on
mostly renewable energy sources—firewood, field crops, some water power, wind for sails, and an-
imal muscle for traction—to cheaper, more controllable, more energy dense, and (in the case of oil)
more portable nonrenewable sources.
Oil has given us the ability to dramatically increase the rate at which we extract and transform
Earth's bounty (via mining machinery, tractors, and powered fishing boats), as well as the ability
to transport people and materials at high speed and little cost. It and the other fossil fuels have also
served as feedstocks for greatly expanded chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and have en-
abled a dramatic intensification of agricultural production while reducing the need for field labor.
The results of fossil-fueling our infrastructure have included rapid population growth, the balloon-
ing of the middle class, unprecedented levels of urbanization, and the construction of a consumer
