Popularist treatments of ancient disasters like volcanic eruptions have grossly overstated their capacity for death, destruction, and societal collapse. Contributors to this volume-from anthropology, archaeology, environmental studies, geology, and biology-show that human societies have been incredibly resilient and, in the long run, have often recovered remarkably well from wide scale disruption and significant mortality. They have often used eruptions as a trigger for environmental enrichment, cultural change, and adaptation. These historical studies are relevant to modern hazard management because they provide records for a far wider range of events and responses than have been recorded in written records, yet are often closely datable and trackable using standard archaeological and geological techniques. Contributors also show the importance of traditional knowledge systems in creating a cultural memory of dangerous locations and community responses to disaster. The global and temporal coverage of the research reported is impressive, comprising studies from North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, and ranging in time from the Middle Palaeolithic to the modern day.

About the Author
John Grattan is a Reader in the Institute of Geology and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Robin Torrence is Principle Research Scientist in the Department of Anthropology, Australian Museum, Sydney.

Reviews
"...The organizers and editors for Living Under the Shadow are to be commended for taking volcanology into the realm of the World Archeological Congress. The book is an excellent contribution to volcanology and archeology/anthropology. If I had run across this book at a meeting I would have flashed my credit card and taken it home."... -- Grant Heiken, Bull Volcanol



Book Information
ISBN 9781598742688
Author John Grattan
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Left Coast Press Inc
Publisher Left Coast Press Inc
Weight(grams) 635g