(Geological Society
Special Publication)
W.J. McGuire (Editor), Dafydd Griffiths (Editor), P.L. Hancock (Editor), Iain Stewart (Editor)
Hardcover: 440 pages
Publisher: Geological Society Publishing House (7 April 2000)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1862390622
Archaeology is playing an increasingly important role in unravelling the details of geological catastrophes that occurred in the past few millennia. This collection of papers addresses both established and innovative archaeological methods and techniques, and their application in examining the impact of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This comprehensive volume includes case studies from around the world, such as Europe, Africa, SE Asia, Central and North America; covering historical and archaeological aspects of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Although the bulk of the collection views earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as agents of destruction, the volume also considers their potential benefits to past cultures - providing materials for tools, building and sculpture, and even the fertile environmental conditions on which society depended. New geophysical, geological, and archaeological methods and techniques are described and the application of these new ideas presented, providing improved knowledge of these ancient catastrophes. There is a strong focus on arguably the most prominent geological catastrophe in the archaeological record - the Bronze Age eruption of Thera (Santorini, Greece) and its consequent regional impacts on Minoan culture. This multidisciplinary text is of benefit to academic researchers and educators in archaeology, palaeoseismology and volcanology alike.
reviews
The Geological Society...should be commended for its sponsorship of
this publication. The book brings together a wide variety of papers
that address the archaeological identification of large-scale geological
events, mainly earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The book is particularly
significant as it recognizes the importance of long records that can
be correlated interpretively with modern instrumental data to provide
an understanding of the history of earthquakes and volcanism over
a millennial time scale.
The bulk of contributions focus on the destructive power of earthquakes
and volcanoes and several papers deal with archaeo-seismology. The
study is of pre-instrumental earthquakes that affect locations and
their environments and have left their mark on the archaeological
record. A group of papers address different facets of the more pertinent
geologic catastrophes as the Bronze Age eruptions of Thera and the
impact on Minoan culture. Human responses to volcanic eruptions of
Sicily, Mexico, Iceland, and the Scottish Highlands are addresses
as well as case studies from Italy, Greece, the Canary Islands and
the Cape Verde Islands.
Finally, the book will act as a catalyst in the development of interdisciplinary
research in which historians, archaeologists and geologists can collaborate
and carry out a more extensive exchange of information, ideas and
procedures. The book provides an outstanding and fascinating source
of reading and information and will be of interest to a broad scientific
community’.
Environmental Geology
‘The current interest in risk assessment and management has
generated immense motivation in extending the data base of low-frequency
(millennial timescale), high-impact geological events back before
the onset of scientific observation. Equally, archaeologists are increasingly
aware of the need to place cultural evolution within a framework of
environmental change. Natural catastrophes may provide some of the
punctuation of that change. This volume addresses geological catastrophes,
essentially large-scale earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, from both
of these perspectives.....it offers a set of 28 case studies of volcanic
eruptions and earthquakes, and the use of natural resources deriving
from such events.
This volume should find a home on university library shelves, for
it provides much rich source material for undergraduate essays in
both archaeology and geology......These collaborations should embrace
a wide variety of disciplines; the role of geoarchaeologists, palaeoecologists,
geographers and civil engineers is, for instance, crucial in unravelling
the story of geological catastrophes...There is much to learn for
all the groups involved; geologists may be largely unaccustomed to
the humans dimension, archaeologists are perhaps equally unaccustomed
to the interpretation of disasters, and civil engineers rarely deal
with the details of ancient construction techniques. This volume signals
the need for increased recognition of archaeoseismology and archaeovolcanology
as specialisms in their own right in which these interactions may
be nurtured’.
The Holocene.
‘This Geological Society of London Special Publication arose
from a meeting titled 'Volcanoes, earthquakes and archaeology' convened
at Burlington House in London in 1997. The main theme running through
the book is the integration of geology and archaeology in order to
understand the impacts of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on past
societies, and to consider, in some cases, the lessons for understanding
hazard and risk today.....this is a very worthwhile collection for
those interested in the geoarchaeology of volcanic and seismic hazards
in the ancient world, and the interrelationships between natural disasters
and cultural change....Bill McGuire and the other editors deserve
much credit for putting together such a varied and interesting set
of contributions’. Geological Magazine.
‘This book is an excellent collection of 28 papers on earthquake
seismicity and volcanism, and their associated geological and archaeological
contexts. [The Archaeology of Geological Catastrophes]
is a monumental collection of raw data, integrated observations
and inferences [and it] is highly recommended. Its interdisciplinary
focus will appeal to a wide range of scholars, particularly those
with related research interests.’
Geoarchaeology