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The Collapse of Complex Societies

New Studies in Archaeology

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The Collapse of Complex Societies

By: Joseph A. Tainter
Narrated by: Brian Arens
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About this listen

Political disintegration is a persistent feature of world history. The Collapse of Complex Societies, though written by an archaeologist, will therefore strike a chord throughout the social sciences. Any explanation of societal collapse carries lessons not just for the study of ancient societies, but for the members of all such societies in both the present and future. Dr. Tainter describes nearly two dozen cases of collapse and reviews more than 2,000 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.

©1988 Cambridge University Press. Produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©1988 Joseph A. Tainter (P)2024 Echo Point Books & Media, LLC
Ancient Archaeology World

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