The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology)

The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology)
by Joseph Tainter

The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology)
List Price: $39.99
Our Price: $35.99
You Save: $4.00 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $27.39 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Compare Prices for The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology)

(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Joseph Tainter
Edition: Paperback
Published: 1990-03-30
ISBN: 052138673X
Number of pages: 260
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Book Reviews of The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology)

Book Review: Outstanding Scholarship
Summary: 5 Stars

This is well researched and well written overview of complex societies, describing their strengths and weaknesses. As the author states "This is a work of archeology and history, but more basically of social theory." It investigates societies as complex adaptive systems.

One of the most useful lists describes that Collapse is manifest in such things as:

* A lower degree of stratification and differentiation
* Less economic and occupational specialization, of individuals, groups, and territories
* Less centralized control; that is, less regulation and integration of diverse economic and political groups by elites
* Less behavioral control and regimentation
* Less investment in the epiphenomena of complexity, those elements that define the concept of "civilization": monumental architecture, artistic and literary achievements, and the like
* Less flow of information between individuals, between political and economic groups, and between a center and its periphery
* Less sharing, trading, and redistribution of resources
* Less overall coordination and organization of individuals and groups
* A smaller territory integrated within a single political unit.

This is not a simple book to read. To really understand the message you need to read the whole book and not key sections.
Write your own review
All The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology) Customer Reviews

Summary of The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology)

Political disintegration is a persistent feature of world history. The Collapse of Complex Societies, though written by an archaeologist, will therefore strike a chord throughout the social sciences. Any explanation of societal collapse carries lessons not just for the study of ancient societies, but for the members of all such societies in both the present and future. Dr. Tainter describes nearly two dozen cases of collapse and reviews more than 2000 years of explanations. He then develops a new and far-reaching theory that accounts for collapse among diverse kinds of societies, evaluating his model and clarifying the processes of disintegration by detailed studies of the Roman, Mayan and Chacoan collapses.
Twenty-four examples of societal collapse help develop a new theory to account for their breakdown. Detailed studies of the Roman, Mayan and Cacoan collapses clarify the processes of disintegration.

Ancient Books
Book Subjects
Most talked about in Books I want to read
SAS Urban Survival Handbook ImageSAS Urban Survival Handbook
by John "Lofty" Wiseman
Skyhorse Publishing; Published: 2008-04-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.94
Price in other shops: $17.95
The Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology) ImageThe Collapse of Complex Societies (New Studies in Archaeology)
by Joseph Tainter
Cambridge University Press; Published: 1990-03-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $30.25
Price in other shops: $39.99
Earth: The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming ImageEarth: The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming
by Fred Krupp, Miriam Horn
W. W. Norton; Published: 2008-03-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.45
Price in other shops: $24.95
Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City, & the People of God ImageUrban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City, & the People of God
by Harvie M. Conn, Manuel Ortiz
InterVarsity Press; Published: 2001-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.99
Price in other shops: $35.00
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why ImageThe Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why
by Amanda Ripley
Crown; Published: 2008-06-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.87
Price in other shops: $24.95
Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire ImageBeing Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire
by William T. Cavanaugh
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Published: 2008-03-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.78
Price in other shops: $12.00
God And the Evil of Scarcity: Moral Foundations of Economic Agency ImageGod And the Evil of Scarcity: Moral Foundations of Economic Agency
by Albino Barrera
University of Notre Dame Press; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.07
Price in other shops: $22.00
Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming (Vintage) ImageCool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming (Vintage)
by Bjorn Lomborg
Vintage; Published: 2008-08-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.16
Price in other shops: $13.95
Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises ImageHope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises
by Bob Goudzwaard, Mark Vander Vennen, David Van Heemst
Baker Academic; Published: 2007-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops: $19.99
Similar Books and other products
Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy ImageTwilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy
by Matthew R. Simmons
Wiley; Published: 2006-06-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.51
Price in other shops: $16.95
Eating Fossil Fuels: Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture ImageEating Fossil Fuels: Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture
by Dale Allen Pfeiffer
New Society Publishers; Published: 2006-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.43
Price in other shops: $11.95
The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies ImageThe Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies
by Richard Heinberg
New Society Publishers; Published: 2005-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.13
Price in other shops: $17.95
The Coming Economic Collapse: How You Can Thrive When Oil Costs $200 a Barrel ImageThe Coming Economic Collapse: How You Can Thrive When Oil Costs $200 a Barrel
by Stephen Leeb, Glen Strathy
Business Plus; Published: 2007-02-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.79
Price in other shops: $16.99
Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines (New Society Publishers) ImagePeak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines (New Society Publishers)
by Richard Heinberg
New Society Publishers; Published: 2007-10-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.48
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century ImageThe Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
Grove Press; Published: 2006-03-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.13
The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization ImageThe Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization
by Thomas Homer-Dixon
Island Press; Published: 2008-01-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops: $18.95
Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update ImageLimits to Growth: The 30-Year Update
by Donella H. Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Dennis L. Meadows
Chelsea Green; Published: 2004-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops: $22.50
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed ImageCollapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
by Jared Diamond
Published: 2005-12-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.14
Price in other shops: $17.00
Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change ImageOvershoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change
by William R. Catton
University of Illinois Press; Published: 1982-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $21.60
Price in other shops: $27.00
Health and Personal Care | Beauty | Digital Cameras and Photo | Kitchen and Housewares | Tools and Hardware
Copyright © 2003-2007 bookhills.com
Google
 
Web bookhills.com
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories