Tectonics and ancient civilizations: summary and surmises

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498514279/Impact-of-Tectonic-Activity-on-Ancient-Civilizations-Recurrent-Shakeups-Tenacity-Resilience-and-Change

Tectonics and ancient civilizations: summary and surmises

This post has been revised and incorporated in a published book (Aug. 2015; link above)

Eric R. Force (eforce@email.arizona.edu)

What we’ve established

All the clues I know of regarding the paradoxical spatial relationship of active tectonism and ancient civilizations have now been described in other postings.  It’s time to sort through them to create a picture of the dynamics behind the relation, searching not for a cause per se (1), but for possible forms of a solution and some realistic pathways.

Let’s start with an inventory of what we know (2).  There is a spatial association of ancient civilizations with tectonically active plate boundaries, especially those related to the convergent southern boundary of the Eurasian plate (Apr. 22, ‘12), but also a quite independent and slightly different relation in the western hemisphere (Jan. 7, 2014).  This association is remarkably close—it looks almost like beads on a string-- and seemingly robust, i.e. insensitive to modifications in quite a number of variables and initial assumptions (Apr. 22, ‘12).  The spatial relation is especially clear at whole-continent scale (Mar. 4, 2014).  Though many other factors are clearly of importance to civilizations, none of them seem to control the hemisphere-scale distribution as well as the tectonics association (July 17, 2013).  The association is not as close for longer-lived, more static civilizations that developed independently along rivers (Feb. 1, 2014), but closer for civilizations that developed in contact with neighbors that were farther along the civilization path (Dec. 11, 2013).  Indeed, the paths along which civilization extended by trade contact of one center to another seem themselves to be closely associated with the tectonic boundaries (Nov. 26, 2013).  In the more homegrown (primary) civilizations, the association began prior to attainment of “ancient civilization” status, in the Neolithic, whereas other ancient cultures seemingly behaved in similar ways regardless of location until trade along these routes occurred, at which point only those on tectonic boundaries responded in substantial ways (Oct. 16, 2013)).  In most of the civilizations, volcanism is too distant to be a factor, but where young volcanics form a nearby parallel locus, they seem to play a part in the association (3).

            These relations leave us wondering how they could have come about.  Perhaps with a time-space description we can see their spatial evolution via trade without resorting to genetic explanations.  Starting at the beginning, two of four Neolithic cultural milieus that later coalesced directly into civilizations (Mesopotamia and Indus Valley) nucleated along tectonically-active boundaries (Feb. 29, ‘12).  Their urbanization and expansion continued along these boundaries until the need for increased irrigation scale prompted a migration away from them, requiring more complex trade networks.  We see the use of metals, writing, and architecture as beginning the Bronze Age and “civilization” at this time, but trade extended to cultures that were still basically Neolithic. It appears that those routes that followed tectonic boundaries were the ones that bore fruit in the form of eventual derivative civilizations (Nov. 26, and Oct. 16, 2013 respectively).  These routes, both maritime and overland, evolved by piecemeal extension to termini on tectonic boundaries. As each route extended, the former trade terminus became an intermediate stop, funneling goods and ideas throughout the process of civilization-building at new termini, and were themselves culturally energized.  Some termini became derivative civilizations.

            The derivative actors in this description include Minoan Crete, Assyria, Southwest Asia, Greece (twice), Etruria, Rome, and Persia.  Intermediate stops are too numerous to list but some of note are the Damascus area, Cyprus, Rhodes, cities on Aegean Islands and the Ionian coast, and Magna Graecia.  Two intermediate stop locations that later became ancient civilizations are Southwest Asia and Assyria.  The relations of the Indus Valley to Mesopotamia and later Aryan India are too sketchy to describe in this way. A glimpse of the propagation process from Greece and Phoenicia into the Italian peninsula forms my posting of Feb. 18, ‘13.

            A most important question seems to become--what is it about trade propagation along active tectonic boundaries that leads to civilizations there?  Or alternately put, what is it about settlements on active tectonic boundaries that makes them more receptive to the civilizing influences of trade?

Direct cultural influences of tectonism

In Aug. 29, 2013 ,  I summarized the evidence for direct cultural influence of tectonism on the observed distribution of ancient civilizations.  They comprised five independent lines of evidence. Ranked in order of diagnostic power, these are:

1) Transects of tectonic boundaries confirm that ancient civilizations are found near these boundaries, but also that quantitative measures of cultural complexity in neighboring societies show an increase toward them—the distribution has broad shoulders (Mar. 4, 2014);  

2) The longevity of an ancient civilization without appreciable change can be used as an indication of its static nature, and this longevity increases away from tectonic boundaries (Feb. 1, 2014), suggesting an influence on the cultures themselves--those closer to tectonic boundaries reached civilization status more quickly, only to be superseded by others in most cases;

3) Only two ancient civilizations (Greek and Hebrew) are both very near plate-tectonic boundaries and also have extensive preserved literatures.  Both of them internalized their tectonic environments in that literature as well as their other arts and sciences (Aug. 6, ‘11 and Apr. 3, ’12 respectively). 

4) The close spatial relation of ancient trade routes with tectonic boundaries, coupled with information on progressive propagation of those routes (Nov. 26, 2013), suggest cultural characters that preferentially attracted trade and accepted outside influences, as trade and culture are closely related; and

5) The modern world, though far more complex, nevertheless reveals direct cultural influences of tectonism in the fields of economics, politics, religion, philosophy, and psychology (Dec. 9, 2013), suggesting inherent human tendencies.

Thus we seem to be searching for a dynamic model that includes direct links between active tectonism and cultural complexification.  Three such links that survive structural analysis thus far follow, again ranked in order of probable importance:

Cultural effects of seismicity

Our question inevitably focuses on the cultural effect of seismic activity, though there may be undiscovered physical or chemical fields associated with these boundaries (4), some important water-resource aspect (Dec. 16, 2013), or subduction-related resources.  The cultural effects are bound to vary with the severity and recurrence interval of seismic damage.  These two variables are inversely related; in a zone where relative plate boundary movement is constant, long recurrence intervals mean greater earthquake magnitude (5).  The importance of earthquake intensities to a civilization is obvious; too much destruction cannot be helpful in either the short or long run (6).  But the importance of recurrence intervals though less obvious may be of great importance culturally.

Previous postings have noted the short recurrence intervals between earthquakes at some of the ancient civilizations described, especially those of derivative type (Feb. 29, ’12; June 7, ’11; Apr. 3, ’12; and Aug. 6, ‘11).  In most of them, this is known to be related to the type of faulting—for example, extensional or normal faulting above a convergent plate boundary is a response to gravity, and stresses do not build up past the point where gravitational collapse can relieve them.  Earthquakes tend to be moderate and recurrence intervals short.  However, where convergence of two plates is at unusually high rates, short recurrence rates can accompany severe earthquakes. 

When we look at maps of strain style (7), we find that six at least of our thirteen civilizations (Roman+Etruscan, Greek+Mycenaean, Minoan, Semitic West Asian) have originating sites where an extensional component is present (8), despite being on plate boundaries for which convergence and transcurrence are the dominant themes.  These same civilizations are in four regions where sophisticated anti-seismic devices evolved in the architecture of their stone structures.  Perhaps short recurrence intervals led to an expectation of tectonic events, and thus to precautions.

Our ancient civilizations clearly accommodated themselves to their tectonic activity in some way, and recurrence expectations probably were part of this accommodation. There may be some recurrence-severity relation that is optimal for positive human response.  And if this is so, perhaps it translates into an optimal locus for the founding of civilizations, one that represents a particular severity-recurrence relation regardless of plate-tectonic environment.  Since many of the sites with shorter seismic recurrence intervals and more moderate earthquake intensity were those that took precautions in the form of anti-seismic construction methods, it looks like this combination favored a cultural response.

It appears that change itself might be the generalized natural variable we seek, and receptivity to change could be the human dimension of response. This is consistent with our observations (Feb. 1, 2014 and Dec. 11, 2013) that the derivative civilizations are both the least static, and the most closely related to the plate boundaries.

Inertia is of course a major factor in any society, and in complex societies can be enshrined in bureaucracy, religion, etc.  The term “rigidity trap” has been used to describe this situation (9).  Architecturally, the inertia-rigidity factor becomes “why tear down a perfectly good building?”  and the same must apply to ceramic styles.  In the aftermath of an earthquake, however, this solution is not an option, and a common response in historic times has been to bulldoze the broken crockery along with remnants of a ruined building into its former basement, and to replace both building and ceramics with those in the style of that moment in time (10).  Our ancient sites damaged by seismic activity were reoccupied repeatedly, so some combination of resilience and tenacity is indicated.

Many examples have been documented in historic time of important changes in societal mores catalyzed by volcanic and/or seismic events (Sept. 9, 2013 and note 11).  In antiquity, perhaps the most persuasive example of this phenomenon was documented by the late Klaus Kilian at Mycenaean Tiryns (June 7, ‘11).  There each of four horizons showing evidence of seismic damage corresponds with changes in ceramic styles and assemblages. He concluded, “earthquakes marked the beginning of a new phase and were related to, or even responsible for, changes in the organization and planning of the site.” (12)  Though this may be the best described such “seismo-cultural” series in antiquity, there are many others that are probably similar in type (13); some involve religious change (14) or accelerated religious evolution (Apr. 3, ‘12).

One societal response we should expect to tectonism at formative sites would be that elders would be passing on an expectation of change to younger generations.  This is unlike the behaviors of elders in more static societies, where elder-advice consists largely of “traditional ways are best.”

An expectation of change, once it exists, can take a number of independent forms, including receptivity to new ideas brought in from elsewhere, perhaps by that merchant (of Nov. 26, 2013) seeking to extend his route. That is, an expectation of change could produce a receptivity to “civilized” ways via better goods.  In this way, trade could be the initiating factor that favors the spread of civilization to less-advanced cultures along active tectonic boundaries, consistent with the trade-route connection.

In any case, the physical renewal required by frequent but moderate tectonic activity requires periodic cooperative effort by the entire community.  Community projects are inherently a step toward civilization, in that clan loyalties are superseded and community identity fostered by the needs for rescue and rebuilding, whether via state formation or local gatherings.   And each requirement for physical rebuilding brings with it an opportunity for improved facilities.  In an atmosphere where an expectation of change exists, there can be an expectation of improvement (see my Aug. 6, ’11 scenario for Eretria, where the ruins of a wooden Geometric temple becomes the site of a much larger stone Archaic temple).  A society accustomed to change and renewal might be prepared to be receptive to the experience of other cultures with similar problems.

In the short run, the change might not be a pretty sight.  It may involve revolutions of various sorts, as it did in Sparta in 465-4 BC.  More recent examples of similar responses to catastrophic natural events have involved religious change, revolutions, and political power transfers (Sept. 9, 2013). In some societies, catastrophic change leads to tribal fragmentation and dispersal followed by inmigration of tribal entities from elsewhere, leading to new cultures (15).  Many of our invisible changes may take such paths.  Indeed, far more cynical models involving military conquest seem plausible (Nov. 26, 2013).

The dynamic evolution proposed here is appropriate for leading a Neolithic society toward civilization.  We have seen that Neolithic precursors of derivative civilizations look somewhat like their neighbors until long-distance trade kick-starts cultural development, and this tends to occur along tectonic boundaries (Nov. 26, 2013).  Primary civilizations made this transition by themselves, but four of them (including two in the New World) did so at a point in their evolutions when they were closely related spatially to tectonic boundaries and already were parts of trade networks (Oct. 16, 2013).

The proposed relation to a forced pace of change is in line with principles put forward by historiographers.  A central tenet of Arnold Toynbee’s (exhaustive) view of history is that severe stresses of several sorts are positive factors in cultural development (16).  Toynbee excluded environmental stresses in his analysis, but environmental stresses are cited as catalysts of positive cultural evolution by other historiographic schools (17).  Where the stress is catastrophic, recovery has been called the Phoenix effect (18).  As noted above, an extensive literature discusses links between catastrophic volcanic or seismic events and consequent important social changes in the historic period.

This model is of course one among many possible hypotheses.  I am attracted to it because its structure fits the evidence presented in previous posts.  It also converts the seemingly counterintuitive relation of civilizations along sites of seismic danger into one we’re all familiar with, structured as “xxxxx was a horrible experience, but in the long run . . . ".  Viewed this way, the seismic and volcanic dangers of tectonism function on a whole-cultural level as a kind of expensive exercise program, which can lead to cultural athleticism in locations that are forced to subscribe.  
 Two other forms of solution that fit this structure less persuasively are described in the next sections:

Tectonism and anomalous water resources

Springs are associated with faults worldwide, but recent work has indicated that those along active faults are systematically more productive because the stress holds open one family of randomly oriented fractures, and tectonic topography can form reservoirs (June 3, '13).  Indeed this relation is behind the qanat system of transporting spring water from fault zones to adjacent basins in arid parts of Persia (19).  Abundant water supplies are of course important not only in agriculture but also for determining trade routes and making urban centers possible. 

The faults that form parts of plate boundaries extend through the earth’s crust, and the spring waters along them may tap mantle fluids.   Thus the prolific springs along such faults may be providing anomalous waters.  For example, such springs locally carry anomalous helium isotope ratios indicative of mantle sources (20).  It may be that some anomalous chemistries associated with plate-boundary springs have cultural effects (21). As unlikely as this would seem, such factors have been suggested by other authors (4), and remember that only a few years ago such a relation was documented at Delphi (22). 

The structure of this factor, as attractive as it is because of the importance of water, is consistent with all our lines of evidence but lacks support from some of them, such as ancient literature.  Note too  that the originating sites are generally not located right on the plate boundary, and did not at first have aqueducts to transport water.  The gaps in distribution of complex cultures along tectonic boundaries is more consistent with seismic recurrence-severity relations than with spring distribution.  The spring-productivity factor can easily act in concert with the cultural effects, however, and since they occur together is a broad sense, we should expect that they reinforce each other.

Resources related to subduction

Igneous melts and other fluids may be generated along tectonic plate boundaries at depth, and these boundary planes may dip under the earth’s surface, as in the subduction zones of convergent plates.  If the fluids ascend vertically, they will be offset from the surface traces of the plate boundaries.  Thus are volcanic arcs offset from related plate boundaries—systematically so, as the melts are generated at certain depths. 

Where these fluids constitute resources, the cultures that use them may be similarly offset from plate boundaries, but seem at global scale to be spatially related.  One can suspect that separations between ancient civilizations and tectonic boundaries that correspond to expected distances to subduction-derived melts may be related in this way rather than as a response to seismic environments. 

I inadvertently conducted a test of this proposition, intrigued by the propagation of trade routes up the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy rather than the Adriatic side that forms the African-Eurasian plate boundary.  The resulting 130-150 km offset is a larger than “normal” distance between originating sites of ancient civilizations (Etruscan and Roman in this case) and tectonic boundaries. 

The first complex culture of the area, the “Villanovan” precursors of the Etruscans, proved to be taking advantage of soil fertility imparted by the very unusual potassium content of young volcanic rocks.  At about the same time, adventurous Greek traders were taking advantage of unusually valuable iron resources there; both were formed above the same subduction zone at depth (Feb. 18, ’13).  Villanovans also occupied the plate-boundary area (3), forming a bimodal or “two-track” distribution. 

It is quite possible that ancient civilizations formed such distributions elsewhere, especially in the western hemisphere (Jan. 7, 2014).  However, most ancient civilizations had no related volcanism nor other subduction-related resources of sufficient youth for this to form a general explanation of observed spatial relationships.

Composite factors?

The structures of these three possible forms of a solution to our quandary are quite different, and only cultural response to seismicity seems to satisfy all its requirements.  Push-pull relations among real-life causative factors are common, however, and the push commonly has a different structure from the pull.  It does not seem improbable, for example, that resource or water-supply factors would pull our merchant along tectonic boundaries, and cultural factors resulting from seismicity push settlements he encounters toward accelerated development.  The two factors would then reinforce each other, and the loci one expects from these two factors acting together are those we observe. 

            What other possibilities relate the tectonic and civilizations phenomena?  The imagination reels at the question.  Could there be some human motivations that are currently unknown but related somehow to tectonics? Or are there other physical or chemical properties of active tectonic boundaries that we haven’t yet detected?  It’s possible that some behavioral or environmental factor already known has a corollary linkage to tectonics, and I hope that some reader versed in the appropriate discipline will realize it.

Given the uncertainties, I have tried to concentrate on deciphering a structure of possible solutions first. We can substitute better links when they become available. And if our structures are good, they will.

Conclusion

Several strains of evidence suggest that the remarkable spatial correspondence between originating sites of ancient civilizations and plate-tectonic boundaries is mostly based on direct cultural ties between active tectonism and the character of complex cultures that evolve along the active loci, probably via the resilience that is required there.  Increased complexity seems to occur by introduction of complex ideas from elsewhere as trade begins.  Adaptation of these ideas and the resilience required by the environment can be related via an expectation of change.  Enhanced spring productivity is likely to be an auxiliary factor that localizes proto-urban settlements, as are resources formed in nearby subduction environments.

Notes

1. The ingredients for proving any causal connections are seriously lacking in our case. John Stuart Mill suggested that invariant succession (i.e. one event always followed by another) was sufficient to demonstrate causation.  The difficulties with both this approach and its denial are perhaps illustrated by the course of Bertrand Russell’s life.  During most of it, he held that supposed causes were merely probability anomalies, and reveled in situations like “Factory workers all over Britain leave their jobs when factory whistles go off in Brussels.” Russell could of course have cleared up this hypothetical error in logic by looking at the evidence from several different points of view, as we have done by looking at the civilization-tectonics relation from various different angles.

            Later in life, and in “Human Knowledge” (1948), perhaps as a result of some household encounter with gravity, Russell enumerated conditions for determining causation, which I summarize as 1) permanence of association, 2) spatial-temporal continuity, 3) separate lines of evidence, and 4) structural linkage.  Note that the relation between tectonics and ancient civilizations cannot meet these criteria.  We are dealing with a recent concept (plate tectonics) and applying it retroactively to an ancient phenomenon, and the linkage cannot be tested; this disjunct time scale prevents all approaches except separate lines of evidence and an attempt to explore structural linkage. Examining the structure of a relationship of course has a great potential for clarifying causal connection; we are still flirting with Russell’s fallacy if we rely only on invariant succession no matter how intricately examined.  But structural links presented here are merely suggestive.  The probability approach certainly is well in hand; our probabilities compare well with causal connections we believe instinctively.

2. See also Force 2008, Force and McFadgen 2010, 2012.

3. Force, submitted.  This paper, the result of my desire for glimpse into the actual dynamics of civilization propagation, showed me the potential importance of subduction-related resources.  A considerable part of the content of this paper is incorporated in my post of  Feb. 18, ’13.

4. Trifonov and Karakhanian 2004, for example.

5. The relation takes a form such that average fault movement in an earthquake divided by the recurrence rate gives the slip rate of the fault blocks, which in a simple case would be the relative movement of tectonic plates.  Fault movement in an earthquake is of course related to its magnitude. 

6. For example, McFadgen 2007, Force and McFadgen 2012

7. Kreemer et al., 2003

8. Table 1 of Force and McFadgen 2010.

9.  “Rigidity trap”--This term belongs to a new field of study called resilience theory, which has been applied to a wide variety of phenomena (in archaeology, see Hegmon et al. 2008)

10. Described for the 1855 Wellington earthquake by references in Force and McFadgen 2010

11. References in Sept. 9, 2013; see also Sheets and Grayson 1979, Oliver-Smith 1979; Oliver-Smith and Hoffman 1999, Reycraft and Bawden 2000, de Boer and Sanders 2005, Balmuth et al. 2005, Nur 2008, Gratton and Torrance 2008

12. Kilian 1996

13. For example Shaw 2006

14. Soren and James 1988, Rothaus 1996

15. Force and McFadgen 2010, 2012; W. K. Howell, pers. comm.., 2008 based on native-Alaskan examples

16. Toynbee 1946. Nur 2008 has castigated Toynbee for neglecting response to catastrophic natural change, but Toynbee’s model of catalysts of such change is in my opinion quite pertinent.

17. Huntington 1945, Braudel 2001, Fernandez-Armesto 2001; also some anthropologists (Nolan, 1979; Dyer, 1999; Reycraft and Bawden, 2000), and earth scientists (Fisher et al., 1997; Trifonov and Karakhanian 2004) view  “catastrophic” events as potential catalysts of positive societal change. Nolan 1979 (and others) have shown that long-term disaster response varies with community attitudes, leadership, and organization.

18. Dyer 1999

19. Jackson 2006

20. Kennedy et al. 1997; Kulongoski et al. 2003; Mack and van Soest 2005

21. As suggested in a comment by Alastair Gill to my posting of Feb. 18, ’13.

22. deBoer, Hale, and Chanton 2001

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