Mappae mundi: humans and their habitats in a long-term socio-ecological perspective

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Editors'Acknowledgements -- 1. Introduction: Towards a Historical View of Humanity and the Biosphere / Goudsblom, Johan / Vries, Bert de -- 2. Introductory Overview: the Expanding Anthroposphere / Goudsblom, Johan -- 3. The Holocene: Global Change and Local Response / Marchant, Robert / Vries, Bert de -- 4. Environment and the Great Transition: Agrarianization / Vries, Bert de / Marchant, Robert -- 5. Exploring the Past: on Methods and Concepts / Vries, Bert de / Marchant, Robert / Greef, Jodi de -- 6. Increasing Social Complexity / Vries, Bert de -- 7. Empire: the Romans in the Mediterranean / Leeuw, Sander van der / Vries, Bert de -- 8. Understanding: Fragments of a Unifying Perspective / Vries, Bert de / Thompson, Michael / Wirtz, Kai -- 9. Population and Environment in Asia since 1600 AD / Revi, Aromar / Dronin, Nikolai M. / Vries, Bert de -- 10. The Past 250 Years: Industrialization and Globalization / Goudsblom, Johan -- 11. Back to Nature? The Punctuated History of a Natural Monument / Westbroek, Peter -- 12. Conclusions: Retrospect and Prospects / Goudsblom, Johan / Vries, Bert de -- Notes -- Bibliography -- About the authors -- Index of Subjects -- Index of Names -- Index of Geographic Names

The interaction between humans and their natural environment today is unprecedented in its scope and complexity, and recent scholarly research attests to the need for a multidisciplinary approach to fully study it. Mappae Mundi answers this call for a scholarly synthesis, illuminating dominant social trends affecting the relationship between human societies and the environment.Contributors discuss this relationship, and analyze several different possibilities for the future. Mappae Mundi will appeal to social scientists or anyone interested in the current and future consequences of our interaction with the natural environment.