Environment, climate, and society

This section centres on the interaction between humans and the environment. Since the natural environment, the man-made structures within it, and the human societies that inhabit them form integrated systems, it explores the role of environmental conditions, climate, and natural phenomena more broadly as factors in historical developments—factors that often escape our attention. Environmental conditions are closely linked to ways of life, economic activity, and religious beliefs, and, in some cases, imposed dramatic changes, population movements, or even the collapse of social structures. How ancient societies managed their environment, how they responded to crises brought on by natural phenomena, and what preventive measures they took to cope with environmental vulnerability are issues that resonate strongly today, in light of the ongoing climate crisis faced by modern societies.