Introduction to World History to 1600 - #18

[abe-no-seimei.livejournal.com]

Introduction to World History to 1600 (Terran)
Monday 1:00-3:00 pm

“My apologies for canceling classes last week. I hope everyone made use of the time wisely. And we’re ready to continue with our lessons,” Seimei said as he glided into class. His fan waved toward the front of the classroom and the discussion question on the scroll.

Discuss contributing factors for the early Indus civilization collapse.

Comments

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Tainter’s analysis of decline of complex societies:

1. human societies are problem-solving organisations

2. socio-political systems require energy for their maintenance

3. increased complexity carries with it increased costs per capita

4. investment in socio-political complexity as a problem-solving response often reaches a point of declining marginal returns

Socio-political control and bureaucracy - investment in complexity leads to declining marginal return because:

• increasing size of bureaucracy
• increasing specialisation of bureaucracy
• cumulative nature of organizational solutions
• increasing taxation
• increasing cost of legititimizing activities
• increasing cost of internal control and external defence

[sakuracchyan.livejournal.com]

Sakura slides into class, instantly taking notes on points touched on for the question. She glowers at her handwriting -- it was particularly girly and yet somehow that much more illegible today. She absently wondered the reasoning behind Seimei cancelling last weeks classes -- not that she was complaining -- but refrained from asking. That was Seimei's business, not hers.

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe is thinking and as her mind races she begins making notes on Profssor Seimei's question.

[demonbelthazor]

Cole sits possessively protectively close to Phoebe during class.

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe is very glad to have Cole sitting within reach.

[absolutesnark]

Piper wanders into class and begins to take notes.

[threeweapons.livejournal.com]

Alanna moves the tissue box she's been lugging around closer to her head and tries to stay awake.

[lisacuddy.livejournal.com]

A possible natural reason of the IVC's decline is connected with climate change. In 2600 BC, the Indus Valley was verdant, forested, and teeming with wildlife. It was wetter, too; floods were a problem and appear, on more than one occasion, to have overwhelmed certain settlements. As a result, Indus civilization people supplemented their diet with hunting. By 1800 BC, the climate is known to have changed. It became significantly cooler and drier.

The crucial factor may have been the disappearance of substantial portions of the Ghaggar-Hakra river system. A tectonic event may have diverted the system's sources toward the Ganges Plain, though there is some uncertainty about the date of this event. Such a statement may seem dubious if one does not realize that the transition between the Indus and Gangetic plains amounts to a matter of inches. The region in which the river's waters formerly arose is known to be geologically active, and there is evidence of major tectonic events at the time the Indus civilization collapsed.

[02maxwell.livejournal.com]

*wanders in, carrying his schematics like a safety blanket, and discreetly puts them behind his notes so he can sneak peeks at them every so often*