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In-Depth Information
, just as the Bronze Age was giving way to the
Iron Age, there was a period sometimes known as the Bronze Age Crisis (see Figure
5.3). This time saw the decline of the Mycenaean kingdoms, the Hittite Empire
and the much of the Egyptian Empire. During this time some major cities, such
as Hattusa, Mycenae and Ugarit, were destroyed. This crisis has been attributed
to many things including volcanic activity, migrating populations and, of course,
the technological revolution of iron itself. Now, while there were some small and
medium volcanic events, these would have had a far more local impact than the
Eurasia-wide decline. And while there were migrating and warring peoples, this begs
the question as to why there was migration and war? Climate change seems to be
a key factor (Weiss, 1982). There are the alluvial deposits near Gibala-Tell Tweini
that provide a unique record of environmental history and food availability estimates
covering the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (Kaniewski et al., 2010). Indeed,
a refined pollen climatic proxy suggests that drier climatic conditions occurred in the
Mediterranean belt of Syria from the late 13th/early 12th centuries
Between around 1200 and 1150
bc
bc
to the 9th
century
. This period corresponds with the time frame of the Late Bronze Age
collapse and the subsequent Dark Age. The abrupt climate change at the end of the
Late Bronze Age caused region-wide crop failures, leading towards socio-economic
crises and sustainability failure, forcing regional habitat-tracking whereby people
moved as the locales where favourable conditions shifted. Archaeological data show
that the first conflagration of Gibala occurred simultaneously with the destruction of
the capital city Ugarit currently dated between 1194 and 1175
bc
. Gibala redeveloped
shortly after this destruction, so the environmental conditions in that area could not
have been that bad even if its destruction might be attributed to displaced populations
arriving from places where the climate was not clement.
The hemispheric if not global climate did seem to change and while there is no
clear evidence of global warming or cooling there does appear to have been a period
of European cooling and drought. At the very least there was some temporary change
in oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns. The impact of the Bronze Age Crisis
on early civilisation was sufficiently profound as to be considered a distinct episode
in prehistory.
Again, the decline of many civilisations after
bc
536 could also have been climate-
related, due to a major volcanic eruption (perhaps Rabaul in New Guinea, suggested
by Stothers, 1984; see also Figure 2.1). Chroniclers of the day from Rome to China
report that the Sun dimmed for up to 18 months, enough to have a marked effect on
some temperate species, and there were widespread reports of poor harvests. This
was early in the post-Roman European Dark Ages.
An ocean away,
ad
536 was also the time of the fall of Teotihuacan city in Mexico,
whose influence extended to Veracruz and the Maya region. At its height, in the first
half millennium
ad
, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas.
Its population may have reached more than 200 000, placing it among the largest
cities of the world at that time. Human remains from the time of the collapse show
signs of malnutrition, suggesting famine.
A couple of centuries later in Central America,
18
O sediment analysis from Lake
Chichancanab reveals that over the past 8000 years it was driest in
ad
750-900
(Hodell et al., 1995). This may explain the collapse of the Mayan civilisation that
ad
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