Fire and Civilization

THE CIVILIZING PROCESS AND THE CONTROL OF FIRE: Fire; Civilisation; The domestication of fire as a civilising process; Plan and scope of the book. THE ORIGINAL DOMESTICATION OF FIRE: The stage of predominantly passive use of fire; The transition to active use of fire; The formation of the species monopoly. THE EFFECTS OF THE USE OF FIRE IN PRE-AGRARIAN SOCIETIES: The widening gap between humans and other animals; Clearing land; Cooking; Warmth, light and other functions. FIRE AND AGRARIANIZATION: The second transition; Fire use and agrarianization; Slash and burn - the European case; After slash and burn - increased or decreased productivity? FIRE IN SETTLED AGRARIAN SOCIETIES: Dominant trends; Fire specialists: potters, smiths and warriors; Fire use and fire hazards in cities; Fire in the country. FIRE IN ANCIENT ISRAEL: Setting and sources; Fire and sacrifice; Fire as a sign of divine power; Fire as a sign of divine anger; Fire in war; Fire in everyday life. FIRE IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME: Setting and sources; Fire in the world of Odysseus: the military regime; Fire in the world of Hesiod: the agrarian regime; The age of the great Greek wars; Fire use and social stratification; Fires and fire-fighting in the Roman world; Fire in religion; Fuel and deforestation. FIRE IN PRE-INDUSTRIAL EUROPE: The four estates; Fire and religion; Fire in war; Fire in cities; Fire in the country; Fire in technology and science. FIRE IN THE INDUSTRIAL AGE: Industrialization as a dominant trend; The age of the steam engine and the safety match; New sources of energy - more discrete and diffuse use of fire; Large city fires; Beyond the fire-protected zones - war; Beyond the fire-protected zones - forest fires. THE CONTROL OF FIRE AT DIFFERENT LEVELS: The individual acquisition of control over fire; Variations in fire use among and within societies; Increased control over fire for humanity as a whole.