Charles Redman Prof. Charles L. Redman International Institute for Sustainability Arizona State University USA If you would like to interview this scientist, please contact Leah Christen. > biographical information > abstract > paper

Biographical Information:

Charles Redman received his B.A. from Harvard University and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Anthropology from the University of Chicago. He taught at New York University and at SUNY-Binghamton before coming to ASU in 1983. Since then, he served for nine years as Chair of the Department of Anthropology, seven years as the director of the Center for Environmental Studies, and in November of 2004, he was chosen to be the Julie Ann Wrigley Director of the newly formed International Institute for Sustainability.

Redman’s interests include human impacts on the environment, sustainable landscapes, rapid urbanizing regions, urban ecology, environmental education and public outreach. The author or co-author of ten books including Explanation in Archaeology, The Rise of Civilization, People of the Tonto Rim, Human Impact on Ancient Environments, and most recently, The Archaeology of Global Change. He has directed archeological field projects in the Near East, North Africa and Arizona.

Abstract:

Human Impacts on Ancient Environments

There is no greater challenge than to seek a better understanding of the long-term interaction of society and the environment and to use that knowledge to preserve, nurture, and perhaps even to improve upon what we value in environment and society. These interactions can best be understood from a perspective that takes those long-term dynamics into account and that addresses questions from an integrated, often interdisciplinary, perspective on human societies and biophysical environments. Although this issue has attracted wide academic attention only in recent decades, the underlying, coupled human-nature interactions are millennia old and derive in part from the legacies of past choices, beliefs, and actions. Among the various causes for social collapse cited by Jared Diamond in his recent book, Collapse, the one that appeared repeatedly in all of his cases was a failure in the decision-making process as it related to coping with environmental challenges. This issue will be discussed in the context of several case studies of ancient societies and with the aim of suggesting general patterns and recommending agendas for research and for action.

Paper:

Human Impacts on Ancient Environments

Long-term coupled dynamics are responsible for today’s world
In response to growing evidence, increasing numbers of ecologists strongly assert that the current condition of many landscapes and the dynamics that govern them could not be understood without close attention to the effects of historic land use. These effects, both in the past and present, are the result of the closely coupled interaction of human and natural systems. Among the legacies of former use that have been shown to be surprisingly influential in explaining the current condition of the landscape are the species composition of modern ecosystems, the enrichment or impoverishment of formerly agrarian soils, the physical and biological aspects of aquatic environments, and the differential reaction to disturbance regimes.

Failure at decision-making is at the core of collapse
Among the various causes for collapse of historic and prehistoric societies cited by Jared Diamond in his recent book, Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed, the one that appears repeatedly in all of his case studies was a failure in the decision-making process as it related to coping with environmental challenges. This may have involved a failure to recognize the challenge in a timely manner, to respond inappropriately, or not to respond at all. All too often, in the past as well as the present, groups make decisions that reflect an attempt to maximize short term gains without adequate attention to long term consequences.

Mobility, ecosystem management, and complexification are basic human solutions
Although the specific tools we have at our command to respond to challenges to the coupled human-natural system appear to have grown over time, there are three basic categories of response. Mobility of people, goods, technologies, and information have for a long time been the basic means of addressing imbalances and opportunities. Ecosystem management has taken many forms, most obviously agriculture, but also other alterations and introductions of both species and technologies. Increasing social complexity through the emergence of new institutions has been a common response to perceived problems and opportunities. The most recent example of this that demands our immediate attention is the complexification of the coupled human and natural systems through Globalization.

Seemingly contradictory interpretations of the past may yield rich insights
As we attempt to understand basic human-nature relationships it is important to thoroughly examine the results, even from what appear to be conflicting viewpoints. Two case studies will be presented that challenge fundamental assumptions of human-nature interactions held by the author and many others. The first is the often-cited process of increasing population and social complexity leading to environmental degradation. The second is the widely held belief that climate predictability leads to economic success, while climate instability is necessarily negative. The cases presented do not indicate that these positions are always wrong, but that consideration of diametrically opposed interpretations may enrich our understanding of the past and our ability to contribute to the future.

Figure 1. Recently salinized farmlands on the desert-irrigated interface in south-central Iraq (1969).

Figure 2. Artist’s reconstruction of a prehistoric irrigation farming system, Hohokam (south-west USA).