In 'The Fate of Rome', Kyle Harper explores the pivotal role of climate change and pandemics in the decline of the Roman Empire. The book delves into how environmental factors, such as volcanic eruptions and solar cycles, combined with diseases like malaria and the plague, weakened Rome's resilience and ultimately led to its downfall. Harper integrates historical narratives with cutting-edge climate science and genetic discoveries to provide a comprehensive understanding of Rome's fate.
Plagues Upon the Earth offers a comprehensive view of how infectious diseases have shaped human history, from early origins to modern pandemics. The book intertwines historical narratives with insights from genetics, highlighting the entanglement of disease with societal factors like slavery, colonialism, and technological progress. It also explores how human advancements have both mitigated and exacerbated disease risks.
In 'Against the Grain', James C. Scott argues that the early agrarian states were not the result of a voluntary transition from hunter-gatherer lifestyles, but rather were formed through coercion and violence. He challenges the conventional narrative that agriculture led to settled communities, civilization, and improved living standards. Instead, Scott posits that these early states were often hierarchical, plagued by malnutrition and disease, and reliant on slavery. The book explores the domestication of fire, plants, and animals, and how these processes led to the control of populations and the emergence of states. It also discusses the tensions between states and non-state peoples, highlighting the adaptability and resilience of nomadic and hunter-gatherer communities.
The Last Animal by Kyle Harper explores the complex relationship between humans and other animals throughout history, from the Ice Age to the present day. It emphasizes how animals have contributed to human success and how human activities have shaped biodiversity. The book offers a comprehensive view of the ecological and historical contexts that have led to the current state of biodiversity.
This book provides a detailed examination of slavery in the late Roman world, from AD 275 to 425. It challenges traditional interpretations by arguing that slavery remained a vital part of Roman society until its abrupt end in the fifth century. The work covers economic, social, and institutional dimensions of slavery, offering insights into its role in agriculture, textile production, and social dynamics.
800 years before the Black Death, the very same bacteria ravaged Rome, killing 60%+ of the population in many areas.
Also, back-to-back volcanic eruptions caused a mini Ice Age, leaving Rome devastated by famine and disease.
I chatted with historian Kyle Harper about this and much else:
* Rome as a massive slave society
* Why humans are more disease-prone than other animals
* How agriculture made us physically smaller (Caesar at 5'5" was considered tall)
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KYLE'S BOOKS
* The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire
* Plagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History
* Slavery in the Late Roman World, AD 275-425
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TIMESTAMPS
(00:00:00) - Plague's impact on Rome's collapse
(00:06:24) - Rome's little Ice Age
(00:11:51) - Why did progress stall in Rome's Golden Age?
(00:23:55) - Slavery in Rome
(00:36:22) - Was agriculture a mistake?
(00:47:42) - Disease's impact on cognitive function
(00:59:46) - Plague in India and Central Asia
(01:05:16) - The next pandemic
(01:16:48) - How Kyle uses LLMs
(01:18:51) - De-extinction of lost species
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