Water Engineering in the Ancient World
Archaeological and Climate Perspectives on Societies of Ancient South America, the Middle East, and South-East Asia
ISBN13: 9780199239092ISBN10: 0199239096
Hardback,
440 pages
Dec 2009,
In Stock
Price:
$150.00 (06)Description
Charles Ortloff provides a new perspective on archaeological studies of the urban and agricultural water supply and distribution systems of the major ancient civilizations of South America, the Middle East, and South-East Asia, by using modern computer analysis methods to extract the true hydraulic/hydrological knowledge base available to these peoples. His many new revelations about the capabilities and innovations of ancient water engineers force us to re-evaluate what was known and practised in the hydraulic sciences in ancient times. Given our current concerns about global warming and its effect on economic stability, it is fascinating to observe how some ancient civilizations successfully coped with major climate change events by devising defensive agricultural survival strategies, while others, which did not innovate, failed to survive.Features
- Uses the latest computing methods to understand water resource problems and solutions developed in ancient civilizations
- Study of the technical innovations devised by ancient peoples to overcome climate stress problems is relevant to the current issue of global warming
- Covers civilizations in three continents, including little-known South American contributions to the hydraulic sciences
About the Author(s)
Charles R. Ortloff is a Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago.
