Archaeology of Overshoot and Collapse

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title

Annual Review of Anthropology

Publication Date

1-1-2006

Volume

35

First Page

59

Last Page

74

Abstract

The literature on sustainability and the human future emphasizes the belief that population and/or mass consumption caused resource degradation and collapse in earlier societies. Archaeological literature proposing overshoot and collapse appears in current debates over resource conservation versus continued economic growth. The prominence of this debate, with its national and international dimensions, makes it important to assess whether there is evidence in the archaeological literature for overshoot and collapse brought on by Malthusian overpopulation and/or mass consumption.

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