Impact of Tectonic Activity on Ancient Civilizations

Eric R. Force is adjunct professor at the University of Arizona and a practicing geologist with field research spanning fifteen countries.

• List of Figures, Images, and TablesPrefaceChapter 1 IntroductionPart I: “The Great Ancient Civilizations”Chapter 2 Tectonic Footprints in the Ancient Hellenic WorldChapter 3 A Volcanic Connection in Iron-Age Italy: The Etruscans and RomansChapter 4 Ancient Tectonism in SW Asia, Impact on Judeo-Christian Traditions, and General Considerations on Religious InfluencesChapter 5 Filling in the Picture: Remaining GAC’s and a Qualitative OverviewPart II: Analysis and Separate Lines of InquiryChapter 6 Quantification of the Spatial Relation via Probability AnalysisChapter 7 Transects: Comparing Complexities of Ancient Cultures at a Continental ScaleChapter 8 A Tendency toward Stasis in Tectonically Quiescent Ancient CivilizationsChapter 9 Tectonic Context of Pre-Columbian Civilizations of the Western Hemisphere—an Independent “Experiment”Chapter 10 Revelations from Some GAC SubsetsChapter 11 Tectonics and Trade Route Propagation in AntiquityPart III: Variations with TimeChapter 12 Tectonic Environments of Complex Cultures just before and after the Period of Classical AntiquityChapter 13 Cultural Roles of Tectonism in the Modern WorldPart IV: Possible Forms of a SolutionChapter 14 Direct Influences of Active Tectonics on Cultural Development in Antiquity: A Summary of Five Lines of EvidenceChapter 15 Possible Indirect Links between Ancient Civilizations and Active TectonismChapter 16 An Adjunct Direct Factor: Unusual Springs along Active FaultsChapter 17 Tectonics and Ancient Civilizations: Summary and SurmisesPostscript: Some Implications from the Bare FactsAppendicesReferencesAbout the Author

Force posits that they [quakes] may have rocked the cradles of past civilizations. . . .[The author] pursues [his thesis] tenaciously and with considerable skill. . . .Force’s speculation remains an intriguing possibility.