Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of Modern Civilization
Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of Modern Civilization – Review
That the Earth bore terrible weather conditions leading around 535AD and lasting for many years thereafter, is eventually becoming a scientifically accepted "fact." As fully explained in "Catastrophe: a Quest for the Origins of the Modern World," these conditions deteriorated the Eastern Roman Empire; created horrendous existing conditions in the western part of Great Britain that were fondly remembered and soon incorporated into the Arthurian legend; contributed through drought in the America’s to the fall of the Teotihuacan civilization in Mexico; and through flooding to the end of a main foundation of civilization in Yemen. Almost wherever in the world that there was significant use of writing in the 6th century AD, from Constantinople to China, references to this catastrophe have shown up in surviving documents. Many such documents are frequently cited in this book. In the 20th century, the event of the catastrophe and its worldwide impact has been officially confirmed by the analysis of ice-cores from Greenland and Antarctica and by the review of yearly growth rings in wood from across the world that can be safely dated to the 6th century. The author of "Catastrophe," David Keys, has a theory about the event – or directly related events – that usually caused of this catastrophe. I commonly found his theory plausible and particularly frightening. Plausible because of the way he lays out his facts, and potentially frightening because there appears to be no reason such dramatic and shocking events could not happen occur again – in the next thousand years or in the next ten years. Mr. Keys is an outstanding writer. He indeed makes this book fully accessible to the non-scientist. He also is apparently quite fully informed about both the historic and archeological record from around the world during the 6th century and for a long time afterwards. In fact, most of his book consists of plausible – usually directly climate interacted – explanations for all forms of civilization collapses, barbarian migrations, and shifts in economic and political power in various divisions of the world seeing the "event" of 535AD. These explanations are absolutely fascinating, and, as only mentioned, always plausible. On the other hand, I doubt that they can all be right, and originally wished that author had given a little more credit to happenstance and the decisions of individuals in shaping the "origins of the new world."