The Economic Rise and Fall of the Silesian Únĕtice Cultural Population : a Case of Ecologically Unsustainable Development ? - Université de La Réunion Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Anthropologie - International Journal of Human Diversity and Evolution Année : 2018

The Economic Rise and Fall of the Silesian Únĕtice Cultural Population : a Case of Ecologically Unsustainable Development ?

Résumé

After a long period of substantial economic growth and population increase in the Early Bronze Age, the reason(s) for the relatively rapid disappearance of Únĕtice cultural populations in Silesia and the subsequent lack of population in much of their former territory for around 200 years remains unclear. Various theories have been proposed for these developments, such as changed long distance trade routes or the depletion of materials for bronze-making. However, these fail to explain why large areas formerly occupied by the Únĕtice cultural population remained unoccupied (or virtually so) for so long after their abandonment. We argue, on the basis of demographic and other scientific evidence, that the collapse of this population was primarily the result of unsustainable ecological development. Human-induced changes to ecosystems eventually reduced agropastoral productivity, substantially reduced the standard of living of the populations involved and resulted in the abandonment of their settlements. The extent and nature of ecological damage was such that it took a considerable amount of time for natural ecosystems to recover sufficiently before the affected areas were economically suitable for resettlement. The possibility that resource shortages for bronze-making and changed trade routes contributed to the unsustainable economic development of Silesian Únĕtice cultural groups is also considered.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
Economicriseandfallofsilesian.pdf (159.76 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
Loading...

Dates et versions

hal-02145471 , version 1 (03-06-2019)

Identifiants

Citer

Clement Allan Tisdell, Serge Svizzero. The Economic Rise and Fall of the Silesian Únĕtice Cultural Population : a Case of Ecologically Unsustainable Development ?. Anthropologie - International Journal of Human Diversity and Evolution, 2018, 56 (1), pp.21-38. ⟨10.26720/anthro.17.05.10.1⟩. ⟨hal-02145471⟩
71 Consultations
284 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More