
The Collapse of Complex Societies
Joseph Tainter(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 27. May 1988
Book
Hardback
262 pages
978-0-521-34092-2 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
Any explanation of political collapse carries lessons not just for the study of ancient societies, but for the members of all complex societies in both the present and future. Dr Tainter describes nearly two dozen cases of collapse and reviews more than 2000 years of explanations. He then develops a new and far-reaching theory that accounts for collapse among diverse kinds of societies, evaluating his model and clarifying the processes of disintegration by detailed studies of the Roman, Mayan and Chacoan collapses.
Reviews / Votes
'Tainter's model accommodates all levels of complexity and all kinds of evidence. It deserves to be widely read.' Antiquity 'Tainter's is an attractive and compelling thesis, of a genre which is nearly extinct among domestic historians.' History TodayMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
1 Halftones, unspecified; 30 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 247 mm
Width: 174 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
628 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-34092-2 (9780521340922)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions

Joseph Tainter
The Collapse of Complex Societies
Book
03/1990
Cambridge University Press
€50.00
Available immediately
Additional editions

Joseph Tainter
The Collapse of Complex Societies
Book
03/1990
Cambridge University Press
€50.00
Available immediately
Content
Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction to collapse; 2. The nature of complex societies; 3. The study of collapse; 4. Understanding collapse: the marginal productivity of sociopolitical change; 5. Evaluation: complexity and marginal returns in collapsing societies; 6. Summary and implications; References; Index.