Volcanic Eruptions Versus - Essay Example

? Volcanic Eruptions versus Human Civilizations 2mya By of Institute Executive Summary This paper will discuss the hypothesis that volcanic eruptions have more frequently acted as a stimulus, rather than a brake, to human civilization over the last 2 million years. It will assess the validity of this statement by taking a deep analysis into some of the world’s ancient civilizations that have had a closer history with volcanic activity. It will also consider some of the ancient civilizations, which flourished even in the absence of volcanic activity. Besides, it will also assess the connection between volcanic activity and population distribution in the modern world and the ancient world (Small and Naumann, 2001, p. 32). The structure of the ancient civilizations shall also be another element that this paper will address as it endeavors to unearth how different civilizations functioned. Case study of such civilizations shall come from China, Asia, Africa and India. Additionally, this paper will also analyze the evolution of hominid and their association with the selected civilizations that this paper shall analyze, evaluate and discuss (Sparks et al., 2005, p. 41). Introduction There are volcanic landscapes all over the world that one may observe that at one time in history has tremendous effects on human culture and civilization. Perhaps the most prominent eruption in the recent past was the Toba eruption (Machida and Sugiyama, 2002, p. 49). This was the last massive volcanic eruption in history for the last few hundred thousand years ago. That is as far as the Mediterranean basin is an item of analysis. Many historians assert that this eruption drew in large populations after the eruption, contrary to popular beliefs that populations would normally move away from disaster zones (Lowe, 2002, p. 47). That may have been a historic coincidence. This does not wash away other facts that volcanic eruptions may act to disperse populations (Rampino and Ambrose, 2000, p. 32). Other civilizations have also been victims of volcanic activity. In fact, some civilizations have even disappeared in the aftermath of immense volcanic activity. Some historic examples include empires that were hardest hit during the Cycladic and Minoan that suffered massive disasters during the 1628 B.C mammoth eruptions. To say generalize that volcanic activity has a negative effect on civilization would not suffice an informed assessment (Rampino, 2002, p. 33). Rather, at times in history, there were occasions when effects of volcanic activity were profound on civilizations. Sometimes civilizations fell or declined owing to volcanic activities (Torrence and Grattan, 2002, p. 14). Nevertheless, such is just like the rise and wane of kingdoms. It happens that sometimes there are factors that promote the growth of civilizations or sometimes factors may set in that disfavor growth of civilizations. There could be a probability of coincidences. As such, there may be close relationships between such success factors, volcanic activity and the emergence of a civilization (Sharma, 2004, p. 29). However, volcanic activity remains the overriding factor given that it has a record that one may relate closely with the emergence of civilizations. Some other factors about volcanic activities such as shaping the landscape have a connection with early civilizations. This is because landscapes influence human settlements and civilizations emerged out from organized settlements. Another aspect about volcanic landscape is that nature of economic life and cultures that arise have some complex similarities across the world. This is so intricate in such that one may conclude that there is something about volcanic landscapes and cultures. Probably one may explain the issue of related economic activities to the fact that the mountains presented modified climate that was a gift to economic life (Robock, 2000, p. 42). Most communities that inhabited such volcanic areas responded to the uniqueness of their surrounding by developing rituals, myths and other religious beliefs so that the life of the society then revolved around such high places. It is no doubt that many later civilizations also had related myths probably adopted from the earlier civilizations through trades, migrations or war as forms of interaction. Therefore, to what extent can we say that volcanic activities have acted as a stimulus to human civilizations in the last two million years? Ancient Mataram: A Civilization That Defied Volcanoes Ancient Mataram grew as a civilization that depended substantially on agriculture. The civilization grew right at the foot of volcanic mountains. This was a constant danger with which the society lived but surprisingly so comfortably. Geologists probably wondered how a civilization could flourish at the foot of a volcanic mountain that presented numerous disasters. This is because the volcanic mountains that nearly sandwiched Ancient Mataram was active volcanoes and occasional rumbling could be heard (Teeuw, 2001, p. 23). From this fact, some of them even theorized that probably the Ancient Mataram shifted from its original location in Central Java all the way up to Eastern part in a bid to avoid volcanic activities (Sarkar, H. 2004, p. 16). Could this be a case where nobody wants to give credence to the original inhabitants? Credence in the sense that there was more to the civilization expanding than running away from the fertile heights. The heights supported rich agricultural practice that was the economic base of the civilization (Weitzman, 2002, p.21). The fact that there are temples in Central Java reveals that the civilization also grew to along rich religious beliefs (Casparis, 2000, p. 11). With such practices, the area also grew to become a center for cultural interactions and cultural conservation all the way up to the 10th century. Aspects of Indian culture reveal that the civilization interacted with other regions within its proximity (Schomp, 2005, p. 35 and Kirkpatrick, 2002). Archaeologists have found volcanic ash all the way from Mount Merapi slopes and temples around that area (Mietto et al., 2003, p. 42). What one may wonder was how such a civilization grew and developed along the volcanic belt. It remains a puzzle what function the volcanic eruptions played in the growths of the civilization (Rodolfo, 2000, p. 45). It would not suffice academic analysis to assume that the existence of the civilization was mere coincidence. Perhaps there is more to the mountainous region that it is to the fact that the mountains were volcanic. One thing is that the region attracted rainfall thus its development as an agrarian civilization. The volcanic soils were also ideal for supporting various plant lives. One may also observe that mountainous regions often sheltered people from attacks. The area, save for periodic eruptions that probably the locals had to face, was an area in which one may say that volcanic eruptions did much to influence the civilization around. Nonetheless, the fact that the central government moved eastward may point out two things. First, volcanic eruptions served as a brake to the expansion of the Yogyakarta as the initial center of civilization in Ancient Mataram. The central government left magnificent temples buried in volcanic ash and swallowed by the expansive forest (Chester, 2001, p. 30). Secondly, the volcanic eruption seeming contributed to the expansion of the Ancient Mataram Eastwards. Those eruptions may have been Janus to the Ancient Mataram. Janus was the two-headed Roman god of beginnings and transitions. While volcanic mountains probably influence the initial settlements, they also stimulated the transition to think beyond the mountains. As such, Ancient Mataram was able to expand outwards. With regard to hominid association with the volcanic eruptions and early civilization, Multiregional model of human evolution and spread to different geographical regions assert that the early ancestor of such civilizations were ancient Homo erectus. They claim that such species, including ancestors of Australian Aborigines, probably have a common ancestry. They go ahead to highlight that ancestry of people in Java area of the Ancient Mataram civilization have a link with ancient Homo sapiens. Their social interaction and economic activities in the volcanic region affirms that volcanic eruptions have more frequently acted as a stimulus, rather than a brake, to human civilization over the last 2 million years. The Minoan Eruption of Santorini Volcano When one considers the Minoan Eruption of the Santorini’s volcano, there is a direct evidence of the role of volcanic eruptions in human civilizations. This eruption was also a disaster in which one may observe that there is a substantial correlation between human civilizations and volcanic activities (Driessen and MacDonald, 2000, p. 56). The associated civilization is Greek Civilization. Greek civilization had a tremendous effect on other civilizations of the world. This was because the population that made up the early Greek society was people who were willing to set out and seek knowledge. The society believed knowing was better than not knowing. The society was, therefore, able to produce eminent philosophers, mathematicians, engineers, architects amongst others (Keys, 2000, p. 43). The Minoan Eruption of Santorini’s volcano caused massive loss of lives (Grattan and Durand, 2002, 32). It also significantly interfered with the flourishing cultures of the prehistoric Aegean society. Evidence has pointed out that the effect was so strong that volcanic sediments spread throughout the lacustrine region of Southern Turkey. This effect went all the way to the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. The effect had swept through the region that included Greek Islands of Crete and others like Rhode and Anaphe. It had further spread to the Nile valley, Syria, Anatolia and Israel. This area was famous for excellent civilizations. Such included the Greek Civilization, the Mesopotamia civilization and the Egyptian Civilization. The eruption of Santorini volcano thus led to the demise of an ancient civilization. This was the biggest eruption in history Europe was experiencing at a time when there was little knowledge about science. Many people were still interpreting natural phenomenon along religious lines that placed gods at the center of the people’s lives (Palmer and Palmer, 2002, p. 45). The Santorini eruption was thus one of those volcanic activities in which a whole civilization perished. The Minoan civilization suffered substantial negative effects from the eruption. There was a loss of generations and culture, as well. Archaeologists have attempted to reconstruct the history of the Minoan civilization given that there were no written records that the lava spared. There is a belief that the Minoan civilization flourished on trade. There are records of Cycladic culture marbles that archaeologists have recovered from remains of the eruption in some Greek islands. Remains of Crete architecture also point out the nature of advancement in the Minoan civilization (Bottema, S., Sarpaki, 2003, p. 64). Some historians point out that it must have been a palatial culture. Its economy appears to have been one that was still bronze based given the nature of objects excavated (McCoy and Heiken, 2000, p. 74). It would be crazy to claim that volcanic eruptions acted as a stimulus to this civilization. This ancient civilization suffered havoc of a natural disaster. Minoan civilization came to its end due to the Santorini volcanic eruption. In the aftermath, the next civilization that rose from the ashes of the volcanic eruption was Greek civilization. The Rise of Greek Civilization: The Aftermath of Santorini Volcano The havoc that the eruption caused was quite huge. There was a loss of lives, destruction of cultivated land, death of domestic animals and significant climatic changes. It would be beneficial to note how Greek civilization grows and flourishes out of such perceived chaos and disorder from natural disaster. Great was the destruction that even Plato describes it in Lost City of Atlantis several years down the line. The demise of the Minoan civilization led to the rise of Greek civilization. Greek civilization began after the Minoan civilization, making tremendous grounds in a culture that had by sports and military characteristics. The states built their cities on hilltops so that they provide extra security in case of any attack. The early Greek civilization that came into being after the fall of the Minoan civilization had on a strong cultural foundation. It was a foundation of values and practice of democracy, philosophy, and arts. Other aspects of the civilization were theatre, poetry, history writing architecture and sculptor making. The practice of democracy was one in which the society had rulers that tried to involve the people in the affairs of the state. The Greeks also believed in the role of sports in helping to keep one healthy in mind body and soul. They thus developed a series of games, which they took part in to observe a man’s strength. There was theatre where citizens performed various plays as a pass time activity. Poetry also marked that culture especially that it reflected mastery of language and the beauty of proper syntax. Some found pleasure in history writing, for instance Herodotus. Such was the varied nature of the Greek society in the post Minoan civilization. The society also later had philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. In fact, Aristotle was a personal teacher to Alexander the great. He imparted in the boy powerful lessons that saw him expand the Macedonian empire after the death of Darius. The Greek civilization thus began to pick emerged in as a distinct culture in which the along the volcanic belt of Minoa and continued to progress steadily. It would be hard to say that it has a direct influence from volcanic activity since the Minoan volcano. Scholars may hold divergent opinion in the Greek civilization and volcanic eruptions. It would be possible to come across opinions that would maintain that the eruption played a part in its emergence as a civilization. It would also be possible to have and contrary opinions that maintain that the civilization is a reflection of what the original Minoan civilization was like. Ancient Greek thus may have existed in two different lights. It may be possible that it existed as remnant of the buried Minoan civilization. This is from the fact that even Plato still associates with the eruption is his writings Lost City of Atlantis. On the other hand, Greek civilization may also have just emerged independently in the post Minoan civilization. The role of the volcanic activities becomes slim or unclear in this analysis. The civilization, nevertheless, existed along a deadly volcanic zone, and one may observe that volcanic eruptions have more frequently acted as a stimulus, rather than a brake, to human civilization over the last 2 million years. The Chinese Civilization: Qing Dynasty History has it that many Chinese dynasties that marked the Chinese civilization has exceedingly little connection with volcanic eruptions. This is with the exception of Qing dynasty. Qing dynasty lay right at the heart of a volcanic mountain. The temple, also called the Holly Temple of Volcano, is right at the mountain attributed with flowing lava. The last eruption had happened some five thousand years before the Chinese civilization (Cotterell, 2005, p. 42). This makes analysis how volcanic eruptions might have influenced the early civilizations in China, especially during the Qin dynasty. It is during this time that the rulers built the Holly Temple of the volcano. So much might have happened this time (O’Connor, 2002, p. 61 and Ali, 2003, p. 18). The Qin dynasty began shortly after the Tang dynasty. With the directive of the first emperor Shi Huangdi, the Chinese Great wall construction begins at this time. This period was 221 BC. Shi Huangdi also established a centralized system of governance to oversee the coordination of all activities in the empire. If at all the wall would tell of how much the volcanic region influenced the civilization that was in progress, then little is available as fare as the Chinese civilization is an  item of this analysis. There was improved security with construction of beacon towers that were fifteen miles to thirty miles apart. This is because the Qin dynasty leaders shifted from using horse riders to relay information to using smoke from beacon towers. Thus, with all its pomp and glory as a civilization, there is little to point out that the Qin dynasty, which sat right on top of a volcanic region, has anything with which one may analyze the role of volcanic eruption and civilization. As pertains to hominid association with the early civilization in China, one may observe that the existence of multiregional model. Archaeological evidence has pointed out that the region possesses a unique mixture of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens traits. The descendants of the early man in Qing dynasty held rituals at volcanic mountains. Records indicate that the Kangxi Emperor designated Changbai Mountain to the subjects to consider the place of birth of the royal family during his rule. As such, the mountain later became out of bounds. The volcano has no recorded history of eruption during his time but has a close relationship with the success of this early civilization. This case also exemplifies the thesis that volcanic eruptions have more frequently acted as a stimulus, rather than a brake, to human civilization over the last 2 million years. One may observe this from the fact that other dynasties also emerged after the Qing dynasty. The Egyptian Civilization The Egyptian civilization is one of Africa’s oldest civilizations that even the Aksum kingdom cannot rival (Mann, 1996, p. 53 and Kassinger, 2003, p. 56). The Egyptian civilization had stared long before Christ in an organized manner. The organization it portrayed made eminent scholars visit this North African country in search knowledge. Early Egyptians were eager thinkers who studied astronomy and interpreted the zodiac signs with ease. They analyzed seasons based on the stars and periodic flooding of the Nile. The Nile River played a crucial role in their lives given that most of them were farmers. At the time, the Minoan civilization was ending owing to Santorini eruption, the Nile valley where the civilization began was among the areas that were hardest hit. It also emerges in the aftermath of the Minoan civilization as a force to reckon with in the area around Mediterranean. It would be prudent to analyze the role that the eruption played its foundation since its economy was Nile-based. For a long time, it was the basket of the old world order given that it produced so much grain despite its climatic conditions. The organized Egyptian society was in to a class system of kings, nobles and the peasants. Slaves were at the bottom of the class hierarchy. The kings were pharaohs. Pharaohs built monumental pyramids in many cases in the Egyptian desert. Education was only to the son of the nobles and kings. The kingdom had a standing army of foot soldiers and knights. Such a kingdom as Egyptian by nature had a centralized system of governance in which the country had different provinces. There was the Upper Egypt and the Lower Egypt. The civilization had a system of writing that governors used to take records of farm produce. Cuneiform was the system of writing. The Egyptian civilization has a rich culture in which the society worshipped many gods. The civilization also had contact with Alexander the great during the rise of the Macedonian empire after the fall of Darius. The Egyptian priests had welcomed Alexander the great as the son of Ammon. One may notice that the civilization is unique in a way in that it also interacted with and influenced other civilizations but still stood for its principles. As pertains to the role of volcanic eruptions to the rise of fall of the Egyptian civilization, there is no direct evidence that links that claim. Although the Nile valley, the base of the Egyptian civilization, has suffered effects of the Santorini eruption, it is hard to find an interrelationship between the Egyptian civilization and volcanic activity. Ancient civilization in Egypt had a lot of influence in the history of human evolution. The Nile valley and the history of early man are a rich heritage. The exact manner in which volcanic eruption affected the early human evolution in Egypt began in the Bronze Age period. The Minoan civilization was ending this time owing to Santorini eruption. The two civilizations may probably have shared some similarities given that they were at the peak of their bronze age. Hunter-gatherer activities of Homo erectus initially defined Egyptian culture in this volcanic era. As a post-volcanic culture if the Santorini eruption, the Egyptian civilization during the bronze age went all the way to the end of Middle Pleistocene. Other species of Homo erectus moved out of Egypt to the rest of the word quite early before the civilization emerged. The hominid moved out of Africa almost two million years ago. The civilization probably existed with extremely little effect of volcanic eruptions in the areas around it. Although there is no evidence that links the early Egyptian civilization to any direct volcanic activities (Driessen, 2002, p. 254), it appears that the Santorini eruption had effects on that area. This is because its effects spread all the way to Nile valley where Egyptian civilization began. One can thus say that the volcanic activity in this area, in general, acted as a stimulus to human civilization. This is because several civilizations rose in the post eruption period. Such civilizations were Greek civilization, Egyptian civilization and Mesopotamia civilization. All the civilizations are associated with the early species of Homo sapiens species. Conclusion It appears that the role of volcanic eruptions .may only be assessed with respect to specific civilizations but not with all civilizations on the same scale. It is apparent that while volcanic eruptions profoundly affected some civilizations and shaped their history, it also had no direct relationship with the rise or fall of others. However, it is a force is capable of transforming civilizations in extraordinary ways. Bibliography Ali, D. et al. 2003.Great Civilizations of the East: Ancient Japan, Ancient India, the Chinese Empire, Mesopotamia. Anness. Allison, P., 2002. Recurring Tremors: the continuing impact of the AD 79 eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. In: Torrence, R., Grattan, J.P. (Eds.), Natural Disasters, Catastrophism and Cultural Change. London: Routledge, pp. 107–125. Bottema, S., Sarpaki, A., 2003. Environmental change in Crete: a 9000 year record of Holocene vegetation history and the effect of the Santorini eruption. The Holocene 13 (5), 733–749. Casparis, J.G.de, 2000 'Review of: Roy E. Jordaan, The Sailendras in Central Javanese history: a survey of research from 1950 to 1999, BKI, 156:814-816. Chester, D.K., Degg, M., Duncan, A.M., Guest, J.E., 2001. The increasing exposure of cities to the effects of volcanic eruptions: a global survey. Environmental Hazards 2, 89–103. Cotterell, A., 2005. Ancient China (Eyewitness Books). London: DK Publishing. Driessen, J., 2002. Towards an archaeology of crisis: defining the long term impact of the Bronze Age Santorini eruption. In: Torrence, R., Grattan, J.P. (Eds.), Natural Disasters, Catastrophism and Cultural Change. London: Routledge, pp. 252–263. Driessen, J., MacDonald, C.F., 2000. The eruption of Minoan Crete and its effect on Minoan Crete. In: McGuire, W.G., Griffiths, D.R., Hancock, P.L., Stewart, I.S. (Eds.), The Archaeology of Geological Catastrophes, vol. 171. Geological Society of London Special Publication, pp. 81–94. Galipaud, J.-C., 2002. Under the volcano: Ni-Vanuatu and their environment. In: Torrence, R., Grattan, J.P. (Eds.), Natural Disasters, Catastrophism and Cultural Change. London: Routledge, pp. 162–171. Grattan, J.P., Durand, M., 2002. Distant volcanic eruptions, human health and mortality. In: Raynal, J.-P., Albore-Livadie, C., Piperno, M. (Eds.), Humans and Volcanoes. Arche? Kassinger, R., 2003. Iron and Steel. 21st Century Books. Keys, D., 2000. Catastrophe: an Investigation into the Origins of the Modern World. London: Arrow. Kirkpatrick, N., 2002. The Indus Valley (Understanding People in the Past). Heinemann Library, Lowe, D.J., Newnham, R.M., McCraw, D.J., 2002. Volcanism and early Maori society in New Zealand. In: Torrence, R., Grattan, J.P. (Eds.), Natural Disasters, Catastrophism and Cultural Change. Routledge, London, pp. 126–161. Machida, M., Sugiyama, S., 2002. The impact of the Kikai–Akahoya explosive eruptions on human societies. In: Torrence, R., Grattan, JP. (Eds.), Natural Disasters and Cultural Change. Routledge, London, pp. 313–325. Mann, K., 1996. Egypt, Kush, Aksum: Northeast Africa (African Kingdoms of the Past). Silver Burdett. McCoy, F.W., Heiken, G., 2000. The late-bronze age explosive eruption of Thera (Santorini) Greece: regional and localeffects. In: McCoy, F., Heiken G. (Eds.), Volcanic Hazards and Disasters in Human Antiquity. Geological Society of America, Special Paper 345, pp. 43–70. Mietto, P., Avanzini, M., Rolandi, G., 2003. Human footprints in Pleistocene volcanic ash. Nature 422, 133. O’Connor, J., 2002. The Emperor’s Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China. Viking. Palmer, J.T., Palmer, T., 2002. Natural catastrophes in the Ninth Century AD. Chronology and Catastrophism Review 1, 4–8. Rampino, M.R., 2002. Super eruptions as a threat to civilizations on earth-like planets. Icarus 156, 562–569. Rampino, M., Ambrose, S., 2000. Volcanic winter in the Garden of Eden: the Toba super- eruption and the late Pleistocene human population crash. In: McCoy, F., Heiken, G. (Eds.), Volcanic Hazards and Disasters in Human Antiquity, vol. 345, pp. 71–82. Robock, A., 2000. Volcanic eruptions and climate. Reviews of Geophysics 38, 191–219. Rodolfo, K.S., 2000. The hazard from lahars and Joku? lhlaups. In: Sigurdsson, H. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Volcanoes. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 973–995. Sarkar, H. 2004. 'The wilderness monks of the Abhayagirivihara and the origins of Sino- Javanese esoteric Buddhism', Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde, Vol. 160, No. 1:95-123. Schomp, V., 2005. Ancient India (People of the Ancient World). Franklin Watts. Sharma, B., 2004. The Ramayana for Children. Penguin. Small, C., Naumann, T., 2001. The global distribution of human population and recent volcanism. Environmental Hazards 3, 93–109. Sparks, S., Self. S., Grattan, J.P., .Oppenheimer, C., Pyle, D., Rymer, H., 2005. Super-eruptions: global effects and future threats. The Geological Society of London. Teeuw, A.2001. Revisiting early Mataram', in Klokke and Kooij (eds.), Fruits of Inspiration: Studies in Honour of Prof. J. G. de Casparis, pp. 25-56. Groningen: Egberg Gorsten. Torrence, R., Grattan, J.P., 2002. Natural Disasters and Cultural Change. London: Routledge. Weitzman, D., 2002. Rama and Sita: A Tale from Ancient Java. David R. Godine. Read More