CORE Talk: Were ancient cities resilient to shocks? How would we know?
CORE Talk by AUFF Visiting Researcher Professor Michael E. Smith (Arizona State University).
Info about event
Time
Location
Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, Building 1483-524 or via Zoom.
Were ancient cities resilient to shocks? How would we know?
Abstract:
Because they offer deep temporal perspectives, the historical and archaeological records of past cities have potential to make unique contributions to the scientific understanding of urban resilience and urban adaptations to climate change today. I single out two ways that archaeologists and historians have begun to explore this potential for early cities: shocks and persistence. The responses of urban residents and institutions to diverse types of shock is a kind of specified resilience (i.e., resilience to what, who, when, and where) that can be studied for some well-documented early cities. I use the example of ancient earthquakes to discuss this theme. The temporal persistence of cities over time, on the other hand, provides insights on the general resilience of early cities by differentiating between cities that were more and less successful over the long run. I use the example of archaeological survey projects to illustrate persistence analysis, a new approach in archaeology. These two approaches build on current efforts in the fields of resilience and urban adaptations to address the importance of disturbances and deep temporal perspectives.
Join via Zoom: https://aarhusuniversity.zoom.us/j/61750343089