MYSTERY OF FALLEN EMPIRES

Cache the chronicles of history and it witnesses the demise of civilizations - warfare increased, calamities struck and empires fell and left only ruins repressed under the earth; not to forget that some of civilizations such as Maya, Indus, Anasazi, Cahokia, Easter Island and Greenland’s Vikings mysteriously disappeared without traces! What swallowed them? Do we face any risk of the same forces today that doomed the societies ages ago? Perhaps yes!

The Beginning Of Civilization

Civilization dates back to 10,000 BC and narrates human settlement on earth through complex ways of life. Earliest civilizations were formed between 4000 and 3000 BC, first in Mesopotamia and then in Egypt. With the discovery of agriculture and trade, people had surplus food, creation of jobs and economic stability in a confined area. It ultimately gave rise to continents which later gave birth to nations. 

The timeline of Mesopotamia is estimated to be around 3300 BC to 750 BC and that of Egypt civilization is between 3100 BC and 2686 BC. Other ancient civilizations are Roman civilization that took place during the 6th century BC, Norte Chico that happened between 3100 BC and 1800 BC, Mayans who lived between 2600 BC to 250 BC, Indus Valley civilization that lasted from 2600 BC to 1900 BC and Inca Empire that flourished between 15th to 16th century.

What Made Civilizations Thrive

Good geographical areas with an abundance of water and efficient government were the key factors which supported civilizations. They had systems for administering territories, the ability to maintain social orders, a complex division of labour, division of people into social and economic categories, shared communication strategies, unique writing and art systems.

Indicators Of Civilization’s Collapse

According to archaeologists, the possible signs of collapse are primarily:

• Fragmentation of states into smaller political bodies
• Partial or complete dissertation of towns
• Loss of centralization of functions
• Disintegration of economic systems
• Death of mass
• Social dysfunction and class conflicts
• Mysticism

Why Civilizations Fall Apart

Many empires experienced an apocalyptic end. For example, Sumerians in Mesopotamia suffered water crisis and lack of food as crops were poisoned due to a process called salinization. The Romans were victims of environmental degradation and climate change along with other factors such as overexpansion. East Islanders eroded their own landscape unknowingly when they chopped off all the palm trees to clear farmland and cut down their food production. Drought demolished Akkadian empire and Cambodia’s Khmer civilization.

Where some collapses were permanent, some either recovered or transformed like Chinese and Egyptian. As there has not been substantial or satisfactory evidence to support the loss of civilizations, their disappearance continues to be an enigma. According to historians, there were internal forces and external forces responsible for the fall of civilizations. Let’s explore them:

1. Internal Forces: Population shifts caused internal structure breakdown. Owing to recurring pestilences and extreme weather conditions, people were compelled to migrate to rural regions which ultimately dissolved their unity. Predictably, people became rebellious and as corruption prevailed, it declined their ability to withstand external pressures. 
2. External Forces: 

• Exhaustion Of Resources: In ancient times, people had little understanding of the effects of deforestation. The exploitation of the environment through ill activities such as excessive usage of logs in building unnecessary structures and overconsumption of non-renewable resources rock minerals, oil etc. are believed to be the most likely cause of their disappearance.
• Foreign Invasion: Since the civilization began, kingdoms intruded each other where large numbers of people were massacred causing an irreversible decline in population. Also, intermarriages between invaders and slaves led to the dilution of their societal identities. Some of the prominent examples of foreign invasion are Mongol which caused the destruction of many native communities in China, Russia and the Middle East.
• Natural Causes: Natural disasters and the spread of deadly epidemics are believed to cause the end of many civilizations. Vikings failed to settle in Europe because their farming methods were unsuitable for Greenland’s thinner soil and short growing seasons. The bubonic plague hit medieval Europe and millions of people died in just a few years. The eruption of Thera volcano in ancient Greece caused a giant tsunami that decreased their population and affected their trading power bringing Minoan civilization to end.
• Inequality: It is also believed that oligarchy and centralization of power crippled societies’ potential to combat socio-economic as well as ecological issues. Studies suggest that when the population became surplus, workers became cheap as the supply of labour surpassed the demand which eventually led to political turbulence and violence.
• Randomness: Research revealed that many a times the collapse was random and independent of the era. When species constantly struggle and compete for their survival due to change of environment and other factors, with pressures overriding societal coping capacity, there is a high probability that they will lose their existence.

Law Of Diminishing Returns

As ancient societies expanded and reached an optimum level, an ever more need of resources broke down the system which is called a decline in marginal returns bringing the sudden downfall and catastrophe. Climate was always favorable for productive farming methods. If intensive agriculture practice was avoided, it would have produced less stress on soil and water resources saving the nature from reverse ecological leverage. And communities may have continued their existence. Also, some of them rejected copying survival strategies from other civilizations considering them as inferiors. Hence, in this case, fishing could be adopted when their livestock failed. Thanks to technology that we have today which can predict the signs of diminishing returns.

How Long Will Current Civilization Last?

As we saw the fate of civilizations they encountered since its inception, not one of them was spared. What if modern civilization in which we live suddenly collapses? Are we prepared for any chaos? 

As per new research, our civilization today is expected to collapse by 2050. Where on one side geologic processes such as global warming effects, earthquakes, floods etc. tend to haunt us by indicating the near end of humanity, on the other side, we are heading towards international conflicts and civil wars due to unrestful political situations. 

In the age of technological innovation, we have achieved milestones in the form of telecommunication, transportation and internet like never before. Can technology save us from the fall? 

Can We Survive The Fall?

There is no promise that we would be unhurt but the least we can do is to build resilience against such unpleasant times. Let’s safe hunt the possible solutions:

1. The goal should be not to let global warming reach beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius. Even a prospect of 2-degree rise would be a sumptuous scenario to make the earth uninhabitable.
2. A global movement for transitioning the world economy to a carbon-neutral system should be mounted.
3. Innovations in renewable energy technologies and agro-ecological farming offer great opportunities for the survival of our civilization.
4. Effective measures should be taken to avoid instruments for mass destruction as it is the fastest route to blot out humanity.
5. Technology should play a vital role in nature conservation efforts such as monitoring ecologically sensitive regions, detection of illegal logging, identifying poachers through thermal imaging etc. 
6. Another long-term solution for individuals is to start farming water through rainfall barrels.
7. Voluntary reduction of consumption of things.
8. Maintenance of survival food kits and essential supplies.
9. Sanitation of places to keep away diseases.
10. Learning basic self-reliant survival skills.
11. Since in general situation, governments are uprooted, it’s wise to build a home or find a small farm to be self-sufficient for a longer time.