Beschreibung:
Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
The Pendulum of Paradigms.- Constructing the Jigsaw Puzzle of Palaeo-Climates.- The Near East: A Bridge from the Garden of Eden to the Fields of Toil.- The Great Transition - From Farming Villages to Urban Centers.- The Urban Revolution and the Dawn of History.- Dark Age, Renaissance, and Decay.- Migrations and Settlings.- The Age of Iron and Empires.- Crusaders, Mamluks, and Ottomans on the Eve of the Era of Industry (ca. 800 C.E. to the Present).- An Epilogue.
This survey of the ancient levels of lakes, rivers and the sea, as well as changes in the compositions of stalagmites and sediments reveals an astonishing correlation of climate changes with the emergence and collapse of civilizations in the Middle East. The authors conclude that climate change has been the decisive factor in the history surrounding the origins of the "cradle of civilization".