Review of After Collapse: The Regeneration of Complex Societies by Glenn M. Schwartz and John J. Nichols

Authors

Kelly Orr, Department of Anthropology at the University of Georgia

Date of this Version

2007

Comments

Published in Ecological and Environmental Anthropology Vol. 3, No. 1, 2007. Copyright © 2007 Orr. Used by permission. Online at http://eea.anthro.uga.edu/index.php/eea/index

Abstract

Studies of sociopolitical change in early complex societies tend to focus on the emergence, florescence, and collapse of state-level polities with minimal attention to post-collapse processes such as dissolution, reorganization, and regeneration. Most archaeologists recognize the inherent instability and cyclical nature of early complex societies, particularly since the publication of The Collapse of Ancient States and Civilizations edited by Yoffee and Cowgill (1988) and Collapse of Complex Societies by Tainter (1988). After Collapse: The Regeneration of Complex Societies follows up these publications by extending the study of sociopolitical change to include post-collapse processes. Schwartz and Nichols organize the volume into a series of case studies, most of which were originally presented at the 68th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.