Note: this topic is from 7/30/2011. Never got pinged.
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Posted on 07/30/2011 7:26:54 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
As ancient civilizations across the Middle East collapsed, possibly in response to a global drought about 4,200 years ago, archaeologists have discovered that one settlement in Syria not only survived, but expanded.
Their next question is -- why did Tell Qarqur, a site in northwest Syria, grow at a time when cities across the Middle East were being abandoned?
"There was widespread abandonment of many of the largest archaeological sites and ancient cities in the region and also large numbers of smaller sites," said Jesse Casana, a professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas. "At Tell Qarqur and probably at other sites also in the Orontes River Valley, where our site is located, [settlement] continues, and in our case, seems to have probably broadened [during that time]."
Casana and Boston University archaeologist Rudolph Dornemann discovered mud-brick homes beyond the city's fortification walls, suggesting the area was thriving. [See images of the ancient city]
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Actually, over-irregation may have played a part in the collapse elsewhere - the accumulation of mineral salts in the topsoil from irregation can poison crops.
Something TX has to worry about.
Rain, in contrast, is pretty darn pure.
it’s interesting that there were two collapses of civilization in that area, the first one 4200 years ago, about 2200 bc when the Indus vally and the Old kingdom of Egypt collapsed, and later in 1200 bc when the “bronze age” Aegean collapse occured.
This first one has scenes of starvation and laments written in Egyptian tombs about it, and some archeological suggestions that it was due to drought.
The second is well known, and although many think it was due to Thera/Santorini volcano, it was actually later, after the Trojan war and after Ramses, and there are Egyptian reports of “sea people” that preceeded the third intermediate period in Egypt.
They are still squabbling about what caused the second intermediate period, when the Hyksos took over Egypt.
There was an impact around 150 years earlier, in the area of Iraq; I don’t think that was the direct cause of this boomtown. Possibly an economic revival after said disaster caused an uptick in trade.
Without going into detail again, and boring the heck out of everyone, there was no 1200 BC collapse; there was no megaeruption of Thera; the Trojan War occurred during Egypt’s 25th dynasty, and before Ramses II and Ramses III (who are normally claimed to have preceded the Nubian pharaohs).
Note: this topic is from 7/30/2011. Never got pinged.
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