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| Titel |
Endogenous change: on cooperation and water availability in two ancient societies |
| VerfasserIn |
S. Pande, M. Ertsen |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1027-5606
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ; 18, no. 5 ; Nr. 18, no. 5 (2014-05-14), S.1745-1760 |
| Datensatznummer |
250120355
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/hess-18-1745-2014.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| We propose and test the theory of endogenous change in societal institutions
based on historical reconstructions of two ancient civilizations, the Indus
and Hohokam, in two water-scarce basins, the Indus Basin in the Indian
subcontinent and the lower Colorado Basin in the southwestern United States.
In our reconstructions, institutions are approximated by the scale of
"cooperation", be it in the form of the extent of trade, sophisticated
irrigation networks, a central state or a loosely held state with a common
cultural identity. We study changes in institutions brought about by changes
in factors like rainfall, population density, and land-use-induced water
resource availability, in a proximate manner. These factors either change
naturally or are changed by humans; in either case we contend that the
changes affect the stability of cooperative structures over time. We relate
the quantitative dimensions of water access by ancient populations to the
co-evolution of water access and the socioeconomic and sociopolitical
organizations. In doing so, we do not claim that water manipulation was the
single most significant factor in stimulating social development and
complexity – this would be highly reductionist. Nonetheless, we provide a
discussion with the aim to enhance our understanding of the complexity of
coupled human–hydrological systems. We find that scarcity triggered more
complex cooperative arrangements in both Indus and Hohokam societies. |
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