Thirst: Water and Power in the Ancient WorldHarvard University Press, 26. nov. 2012 - 234 sider Water is an endangered resource, imperiled by population growth, mega-urbanization, and climate change. Scientists project that by 2050, freshwater shortages will affect 75 percent of the global population. Steven Mithen puts our current crisis in historical context by exploring 10,000 years of humankind’s management of water. Thirst offers cautionary tales of civilizations defeated by the challenges of water control, as well as inspirational stories about how technological ingenuity has sustained communities in hostile environments. |
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2 The water revolution Be origins of water management in the Levant 15 million years ago to 700 BC | 12 |
3 The black fields became whitethe broad plainwas choked with salt Water management and the rise and fall of Sumerian civilisation 5000 1600 BC | 44 |
4 Water is the best thing of all Pindar of Thebes 476 BC Water management by the Minoans Mycenaeans and Ancient Greeks 2100146 BC | 75 |
5 A watery paradise in Petra Be Nabataeans masters of the desert 300 BCAD 106 | 104 |
6 Building rivers and taking baths Rome and Constantinople 400 BCAD 800 | 125 |
7 A million men with teaspoons Hydraulic engineering in Ancient China 900 BCAD 907 | 150 |
8 The hydraulic city Water management by the kings of Angkor AD 8021327 | 176 |
9 Almost a civilisation Hohokam irrigation in the American SouthWest AD 11450 | 200 |
10 Life and death of the water lily monster Water and the rise and fall of Mayan civilisation 2000 BCAD 1000 | 223 |
11 Water poetry in the Sacred Valley Hydraulic engineering by the Incas AD 12001572 | 256 |
12 An unquenched thirst For water and for knowledge of the past | 280 |
Notes | 300 |
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339 | |