Monsoon Rains, Great Rivers and the Development of Farming Civilisations in Asia

Monsoon Rains, Great Rivers and the Development of Farming Civilisations in Asia PDF Author: Peter D. Clift
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009028251
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
The Asian monsoon and associated river systems supply the water that sustains a large portion of humanity, and has enabled Asia to become home to some of the oldest and most productive farming systems on Earth. This book uses climate data and environmental models to provide a detailed review of variations in the Asian monsoon since the mid-Holocene, and its impacts on farming systems and human settlement. Future changes to the monsoon due to anthropogenically-driven global warming are also discussed. Faced with greater rainfall and more cyclones in South Asia, as well as drying in North China and regional rising sea levels, understanding how humans have developed resilient strategies in the past to climate variations is critical. Containing important implications for the large populations and booming economies in the Indo-Pacific region, this book is an important resource for researchers and graduate students studying the climate, environmental history, agronomy and archaeology of Asia.

Monsoon Rains, Great Rivers and the Development of Farming Civilisations in Asia

Monsoon Rains, Great Rivers and the Development of Farming Civilisations in Asia PDF Author: Peter D. Clift
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107030080
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
A detailed review of climate change and its impacts on farming systems since the Neolithic, including anticipated future changes.

Monsoon Dynamics

Monsoon Dynamics PDF Author: James Lighthill
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521224970
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 768

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Book Description
This volume presents a survey of our state of knowledge of the physical and dynamical processes involved in the Asian monsoon. Although traditionally the main emphasis has been on the study of the atmospheric component, it has long been known that the oceans play a vitally important part in determining the occurrence of this spectacular seasonal event. A scientific study of this phenomenon involves a detailed investigation of the dynamical processes which occur in both the atmosphere and the ocean, on timescales on up to at least a year and on spatial scales from a few hundred kilometres or so up to that of the global atmospheric and oceanic circulations. The editors present a coherent survey of each of the meteorological, oceanographic and hydrological aspects and of their implications for weather forecasting and flood prediction. Monsoon Dynamics is a timely survey of a dramatic meteorological phenomenon which will interest meteorologists, climatologists and geophysicists.

The Civilizations of Monsoon Asia

The Civilizations of Monsoon Asia PDF Author: Arthur Llewellyn Basham
Publisher: Sydney : Angus and Robertson
ISBN:
Category : ASIA
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
An Attempt To Explain The Salient Features Of History And Cultures Of Monsoon Asia. Helps The Readers To Know About These Important Factors In The Modern World. Covers 5 Of The Most Important Regions Of Asia. Introduction - South Asia - Mainland South-East Asia - Indonesia And Malaysia - China And Korea - Japan. Index And Glossary - Number Of Maps And Illustrations In B & W.

Migration and Diaspora in Modern Asia

Migration and Diaspora in Modern Asia PDF Author: Sunil S. Amrith
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139497030
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Migration is at the heart of Asian history. For centuries migrants have tracked the routes and seas of their ancestors - merchants, pilgrims, soldiers and sailors - along the Silk Road and across the Indian Ocean and the China Sea. Over the last 150 years, however, migration within Asia and beyond has been greater than at any other time in history. Sunil S. Amrith's engaging and deeply informative book crosses a vast terrain, from the Middle East to India and China, tracing the history of modern migration. Animated by the voices of Asian migrants, it tells the stories of those forced to flee from war and revolution, and those who left their homes and their families in search of a better life. These stories of Asian diasporas can be joyful or poignant, but they all speak of an engagement with new landscapes and new peoples.

Method and Theory in Paleoethnobotany

Method and Theory in Paleoethnobotany PDF Author: John M. Marston
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
ISBN: 1607323168
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
Paleoethnobotany, the study of archaeological plant remains, is poised at the intersection of the study of the past and concerns of the present, including agricultural decision making, biodiversity, and global environmental change, and has much to offer to archaeology, anthropology, and the interdisciplinary study of human relationships with the natural world. Method and Theory in Paleoethnobotany demonstrates those connections and highlights the increasing relevance of the study of past human-plant interactions for understanding the present and future. A diverse and highly regarded group of scholars reference a broad array of literature from around the world as they cover their areas of expertise in the practice and theory of paleoethnobotany—starch grain analysis, stable isotope analysis, ancient DNA, digital data management, and ecological and postprocessual theory. The only comprehensive edited volume focusing on method and theory to appear in the last twenty-five years, Method and Theory in Paleoethnobotany addresses the new areas of inquiry that have become central to contemporary archaeological debates, as well as the current state of theoretical, methodological, and empirical work in paleoethnobotany.

The Archaeology of China

The Archaeology of China PDF Author: Li Liu
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521643104
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 499

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Book Description
"Past, present and future "The archaeological materials recovered from the Anyang excavations ... in the period between 1928 and 1937 ... have laid a new foundation for the study of ancient China (Li, C. 1977: ix)." When inscribed oracle bones and enormous material remains were found through scientific excavation in Anyang in 1928, the historicity of the Shang dynasty was confirmed beyond dispute for the first time (Li, C. 1977: ix-xi). This excavation thus marked the beginning of a modern Chinese archaeology endowed with great potential to reveal much of China's ancient history.. Half a century later, Chinese archaeology had made many unprecedented discoveries which surprised the world, leading Glyn Daniel to believe that "a new awareness of the importance of China will be a key development in archaeology in the decades ahead (Daniel 1981: 211). This enthusiasm was soon shared by the Chinese archaeologists when Su Bingqi announced that "the Golden Age of Chinese archaeology is arriving (Su, B. 1994: 139--140)". In recent decades, archaeology has continuously prospered, becoming one of the most rapidly developing fields in social science in China"--

The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in HIstorical Outline

The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in HIstorical Outline PDF Author: D D Kosambi
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000653471
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
First published in 1965, The Culture and Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline is a strikingly original work, the first real cultural history of India. The main features of the Indian character are traced back into remote antiquity as the natural outgrowth of historical process. Did the change from food gathering and the pastoral life to agriculture make new religions necessary? Why did the Indian cities vanish with hardly a trace and leave no memory? Who were the Aryans – if any? Why should Buddhism, Jainism, and so many other sects of the same type come into being at one time and in the same region? How could Buddhism spread over so large a part of Asia while dying out completely in the land of its origin? What caused the rise and collapse of the Magadhan empire; was the Gupta empire fundamentally different from its great predecessor, or just one more ‘oriental despotism’? These are some of the many questions handled with great insight, yet in the simplest terms, in this stimulating work. This book will be of interest to students of history, sociology, archaeology, anthropology, cultural studies, South Asian studies and ethnic studies.

Water Societies and Technologies from the Past and Present

Water Societies and Technologies from the Past and Present PDF Author: Mark Altaweel
Publisher: UCL Press
ISBN: 1911576704
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
Today our societies face great challenges with water, in terms of both quantity and quality, but many of these challenges have already existed in the past. Focusing on Asia, Water Societies and Technologies from the Past and Present seeks to highlight the issues that emerge or re-emerge across different societies and periods, and asks what they can tell us about water sustainability. Incorporating cutting-edge research and pioneering field surveys on past and present water management practices, the interdisciplinary contributors together identify how societies managed water resource challenges and utilised water in ways that allowed them to evolve, persist, or drastically alter their environment. The case studies, from different periods, ancient and modern, and from different regions, including Egypt, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Southwest United States, the Indus Basin, the Yangtze River, the Mesopotamian floodplain, the early Islamic city of Sultan Kala in Turkmenistan, and ancient Korea, offer crucial empirical data to readers interested in comparing the dynamics of water management practices across time and space, and to those who wish to understand water-related issues through conceptual and quantitative models of water use. The case studies also challenge classical theories on water management and social evolution, examine and establish the deep historical roots and ecological foundations of water sustainability issues, and contribute new grounds for innovations in sustainable urban planning and ecological resilience.

An Agrarian History of South Asia

An Agrarian History of South Asia PDF Author: David Ludden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316025365
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Originally published in 1999, David Ludden's book offers a comprehensive historical framework for understanding the regional diversity of agrarian South Asia. Adopting a long-term view of history, it treats South Asia not as a single civilization territory, but rather as a patchwork of agrarian regions, each with their own social, cultural and political histories. The discussion begins during the first millennium, when farming communities displaced pastoral and tribal groups, and goes on to consider the development of territoriality from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Subsequent chapters consider the emergence of agrarian capitalism in village societies under the British, and demonstrate how economic development in contemporary South Asia continues to reflect the influence of agrarian localism. As a comparative synthesis of the literature on agrarian regimes in South Asia, the book promises to be a valuable resource for students of agrarian and regional history as well as of comparative world history.