The ancient Mediterranean environment between science and history

The Ancient Mediterranean Environment between Science and History......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
List of Tables and Figures......Page 8
Notes on Contributors......Page 14
Abbreviations......Page 18
Preface......Page 20
Part I: Frameworks......Page 34
Paolo Malanima: Energy Consumption in the Roman World......Page 36
1. The Input of Energy......Page 37
2. A Quantification......Page 40
3. Efficiency and Energy Intensity......Page 42
4. The Energy Constraints......Page 43
5. Innovations......Page 45
6. An Energy Crisis?......Page 47
Conclusion......Page 51
Estimates of Energy Consumption in the Early Roman Empire......Page 53
The Estimates by Ian Morris......Page 57
Introduction......Page 60
Studying the Fuel Economy:\rModern and Ancient Difficulties......Page 61
Sources of Information about Fuel......Page 63
Physical Factors......Page 64
Woodland Use and Management......Page 65
Cultural Uses of Wood and Wood Charcoal Fuel......Page 67
Which Fuel: Raw Wood or Manufactured Charcoal?......Page 70
Charcoal Analysis......Page 71
General Studies on Fragmentation Rates and\rRepresentativeness of Charcoal Assemblages......Page 73
Tree Ring Counting and Curvature......Page 74
Heat Values of Different Woods......Page 75
Measuring the Absolute Burn Temperature\rof Charcoals: the Reflectance Technique......Page 76
Charcoal Quality Analysis: Measuring ‘Purity’ of Charcoal......Page 77
Pompeii As a Case Study......Page 78
Conclusions......Page 80
Part II: Climate......Page 82
Michael McCormick: What Climate Science, Ausonius, Nile Floods, Rye, and Thatch Tell Us about the Environmental History of the Roman Empire......Page 84
1. The Poet and the Tree Ring:\rDendroecological Dating of Ausonius’ Mosella......Page 86
2. What We Know Today about Climate\rConditions under the Roman Empire......Page 92
3. Opportunities and Challenges for\rthe Study of the Ancient Climate......Page 96
4. Nile Flood Qualities under\rthe Roman Empire: A Closer Look......Page 99
5. Is Tile More Comfortable Than Thatch? Climate Change\rand Human Response in the Archaeological Record......Page 104
Megadroughts in North-Central China......Page 112
ENSO as a Hypothesized Cause\rof the Hun-Avar Megadroughts......Page 115
Concluding Remarks......Page 124
Acknowledgements......Page 125
Introduction......Page 126
Some Issues......Page 127
8th Century BC Greek Renaissance: Sun, Climate Change and Patterns......Page 135
Aims and Limitations......Page 138
What the Sun Was Doing in the Roman Period......Page 143
Some Other Records of Climate and\rTheir Relevance to the Roman World......Page 158
Tree-Rings......Page 159
Speleothems......Page 169
Discussion......Page 176
Conclusions......Page 189
Part III: Woodlands......Page 194
The Problem......Page 196
Definition......Page 198
Destructive Forces......Page 199
Wood Shortages......Page 200
The Palynological Evidence......Page 206
Sedimentation and Erosion......Page 209
A Demographic Approach......Page 210
Woodland Management......Page 212
The Impact of Climate Change......Page 215
Conclusions......Page 216
Part IV: Area Reports......Page 218
Introduction......Page 220
Background......Page 221
Environmental Data......Page 223
Settlement and Climatic Change in the Petra Region......Page 227
Conclusion......Page 233
1. Introduction......Page 236
2.1. Parthenope-Neapolis......Page 237
2.2. Elea-Velia......Page 238
3. Methodological Approaches......Page 239
4.1. Step 1—First Millennium BC......Page 241
4.2. Step 2—Greco-Roman Period......Page 242
4.2.1. The Landscape of Neapolis through Pollen Analysis......Page 245
4.3.1. Pollen Results from the Third to the Fifth Century AD......Page 247
5.2. Step 2—Greco-Roman Period......Page 248
5.3. Step 3—Since the Late Ancient......Page 251
6. Conclusions......Page 252
Duncan Keenan-Jones: Large-Scale Water Management Projects in Roman Central-Southern Italy......Page 256
Hydrological and Climate Change\rin Central-Southern Italy......Page 257
Flood History......Page 258
Rural Water Use and Access in Central-Southern Italy......Page 262
Case Study 1: The Aqua Augusta......Page 263
Case Study 2: Tiber Flood Control......Page 269
Conclusion: The Return of Modernity......Page 276
Part V: Finale......Page 280
Energy......Page 282
Climate Reconstructions......Page 284
Climate, Settlement and the Economy......Page 285
Ancient Understanding of the Hydrological Cycle......Page 289
Case Study: Controlling Tiber Floods......Page 291
The Environment of Production......Page 295
Future Directions......Page 296
Bibliography......Page 300
Index......Page 350