SOCI201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Easter Island, Jared Diamond, Maya Civilization

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOCI201
• Professor: Best Joel

Document Summary

The bottom line: social arrangements aren"t permanent and they are vulnerable. The collapse of the mayan civilization was caused by ecological problems. We tend to think we are masters of universe other people have thought this too. Easter island statue heads (moai); religious/political; the location is quite remote, fewer animal and plant species; they like the island. Europeans were astonished by the statues, the civilians weren"t much. Trees used for the canoes needed to fish. How did it go from a lot of trees and no statues to a lot of statues and no trees. He is trying to place the environment in a historical context. Guns, germs, and steel why did civilizations emerge where they did (easter africa to across the globe, but some places civilization does not happen); rise of complex civilization. Collapse: diamonds factors for societal collapse: What were they think when they cut down the last palm tree?" : other scholars assign blame differently.