Browse Hierarchy GEOG6009: Dawn of Civilisation

How did the modern world come to be? The answer to this question lies in an understanding of the relationships between climate, landscape and society in Southwest Asia between 20,000 and 5,000 years ago. At the beginning of this period, during the height of the ice age, human communities existed as nomadic hunter gatherers, but by the end of this time, during the warmer Holocene period, many inhabitants of the region were living in the world's first cities, engaging in agriculture, long distance trade and warfare. The social, technological and economic complexity which characterises the modern world was born. This module will explore the archaeological evidence for these complex transformations, studying how, when and where they took place. We will focus on the role of climate change and landscapes on these processes, attempting to understand the causes of these momentous events: Is geography destiny? Or do human communities decide their own fate?