Robin Torrence

John Grattan

Contributors to this volume--from anthropology, archaeology, environmental studies, geology, and biology--show that human societies have been incredibly resilient and adaptive from the impacts of volcanic eruptions over human history and prehistory.

CULTURAL IMPACTS OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

LIVING UNDER THE SHADOW

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.

Cultural Impacts of Volcanic Eruptions

Living Under the Shadow

D. D. Gilbertson

Martin Kent

The studies of landscape, history, habitats and archaeology that are reported in this book will be of interest to visitors to these isolated and most attractive and hospitable Atlantic islands, and to researchers active in similarly fragile maritime environments around the world.

The Last 14,000 Years

The Outer Hebrides

Human cultures have been interacting with natural hazards since the dawn of time. This book explores these interactions in detail and revisits some famous catastrophes including the eruptions of Thera and Vesuvius. These studies demonstrate that diverse human cultures had well-developed strategies which facilitated their response to extreme natural events.

John Grattan

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