PREHISTORIC EUROPEAN & NEAR EASTERN SOCIETIES

Catalog description

We will investigate how climate influenced the rise and fall of complex societies in Europe and the Near East (15,000-700 B.C.) and explore questions such as these: How did simple agricultural societies develop into complex empires (can we really blame the weather)? Does climate affect the pattern of civilization (what might prompt war-like aggression)? Why did people choose to domesticate certain animals and plants and not others (why cattle and wheat instead of lions and acorns)? What significance did climate play in various historical events (was it a factor in the Trojan War or the building of Stonehenge)?