Climate change killed golden civilisations

The Sunday Times ^ | 1/07/07 | Michael Sheridan

[melt]

NEW research suggests that climate change led to the collapse of the most splendid imperial dynasty in China’s history and to the extinction of the Maya civilisation in Central America more than 1,000 years ago. There has never been a satisfactory explanation for the decline and fall of the Tang emperors, whose era is viewed as a highpoint of Chinese civilisation, while the disappearance of the Maya world perplexes scholars.

Now a team of scientists has found evidence that a shift in monsoons led to drought and famine in the final century of Tang power. The weather pattern may also have spelt doom for the Maya in faraway Mexico at about the same time, they say.

Both ruling hierarchies at the start of the 10th century were victims of poor rainfall and starvation among their peoples when harvests failed.

The martial arts honed during the fall of the Tang still provide a staple of modern Chinese epic films and video games, while Mel Gibson, the actor-director, has just released Apocalypto, a blood-drenched film set in the last days of the Maya.

The Maya practised human sacrifices to please the gods of rain and Chinese soothsayers were employed by the court to divine the seasons, yet neither could have predicted the slow-motion catastrophe resulting from the changing weather.

[manic4organic]

Why didn't Gore protest this outrage? Oh, right, he wasn't born yet. Um, neither were any of us! Jerk.

[streetpreacher]

If only the dynasties would have signed Kyoto...

[doc1019]

From what I have seen on the History channel, they had the wheel, but used it for children’s toys … for some unknown reason they never matched the toy wheel to the needs of the adult culture.

[Zhang Fei]

There has never been a satisfactory explanation for the decline and fall of the Tang emperors, whose era is viewed as a highpoint of Chinese civilisation

The Tang dynasty collapsed for the usual reasons - inept hereditary rulers without the ability and vigor of their forebears, ambitious officials who decided to become political entrepreneurs and imperial overstretch. Blaming climate change for it is indescribably silly. Here's an account of why it collapsed. Why the author of the article feels that this collapse is inexplicable is in itself inexplicable - the collapse had an air of the inevitable.

[rhombus]

he new research should give China’s present rulers, who constantly strive to balance power, prosperity and pollution, considerable cause for thought.

Those Chinese are such great folk. I'm sure they are pulling a "blue ribbon" panel of "experts" together immediately. Then it's right back on the assembly line.

[Hugin]

It wasn't climate change, it was ManBearPig.

[vetvetdoug]

I believe the Anastazi suffered because of a climatic change.

[Malone LaVeigh]

NEW research suggests that climate change led to the collapse of the most splendid imperial dynasty in China’s history and to the extinction of the Maya civilisation in Central America more than 1,000 years ago.

IOW, they still don't know.

[elcid1970]

The Tang dynasty made sure that ancient Chinese astronauts had plenty of its citrus-based energy drink.

[sgtbono2002]

Travois.

[tickmeister]

Everybody knows that George W. Tang brought down his heriditary dynasty by refusing to put afterburners on Ox-butts. It was all documented by AlChink.

[SIDENET]

Buddha's fault.

[To Hell With Poverty]

One for the GGG?

[the anti-mahdi]

BS

[nkycincinnatikid]

"the martial arts honed during the fall of the Tang still providea staple of modern Chinese epic films, and Mel Gibsonhas just released Apocalypto, a film set in the last days of the Maya"
And this years Oscar for greatest civilization lost due to global warming goes tooo.......

[GOPJ]

I wonder if they carbon-dated the ancient Chinese & Mayan SUV's they dug up?

Yes, they did - and it was SUV's that caused the whole problem -- carbon dating proved it conclusively. In an odd twist, ancient elitist jets had almost no effect on Chinese climate change...

[LibFreeOrDie]

"The martial arts honed during the fall of the Tang still provide a staple of modern Chinese epic films..."

http://www.sonyclassics.com/curseofthegoldenflower/

[Torie]

The only problem with the Mayan thing, is that the towns in the dryest areas lasted the longest. It was war combined with environmental stress that did it in. The problem with these civilizations is that they required huge amounts of manual labor, coerced, religiously induced, etc, and intense organization. When the Swiss watch got some dirt into it, things were put under severe strain. There was not much margin for error. It really took the steam engine and the like to provide that critical margin, Rome to the contrary notwithstanding.

[DeaconBenjamin2]

Shifts happen.

[Wiseghy]

Interesting. Many of the MezoAmerican cultures seemed to have this problem with climate, not to mention other agriculturally based societies from the Greenland Vikings to Roanoke, VA.

Any Paleoclimatolist will tell you that instability is the rule geologic history, not the exception.