Bibliograph

The collapse of complex societies, Joseph A. Tainter

Type

Label

The collapse of complex societies, Joseph A. Tainter

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-242) and index

Illustrations

illustrationsmaps

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The collapse of complex societies

Oclc number

21815409

Responsibility statement

Joseph A. Tainter

Series statement

New studies in archaeology

Summary

Any explanation of political collapse carries lessons not just for the study of ancient societies, but for the members of all complex societies in both the present and future. Dr Tainter describes nearly two dozen cases of collapse and reviews more than 2000 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

Table Of Contents

Introduction to collapse -- The nature of complex societies -- The study of collapse -- Understanding collapse: the marginal productivity of sociopolitical change -- Evaluation: complexity and marginal returns in collapsing societies -- Summary and implications

Creator