Climate change and early urbanism in Southwest Asia: A review

• Published in: Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Climate change 2022-01, Vol.13 (1), p.e741-n/a
• Main Authors: Lawrence, Dan, Philip, Graham, Gruchy, Michelle W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ancient climate change; Archaeology; Climate change; Climate trends; Climatic conditions; Climatic extremes; Complexity; Decoupling; Drought; Dryland farming; Empires; Environmental aspects; Environmental conditions; Environmental factors; Food production; Food security; Industrialized nations; Mesopotamia; Rural populations; Social systems; Southwest Asia; Urban climates; Urban development; Urban growth; Urban populations; Urban sprawl; Urbanism
• ISSN: 1757-7780; 1757-7799
• DOI: 10.1002/wcc.741

During the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age (c. 6500–4000 BP), the Fertile Crescent in Southwest Asia saw the earliest development of cities anywhere in the world. Climate and environmental factors are generally considered to be significant in these changes because in pre‐industrial societies they directly relate to food production and security. The emergence of cities also coincides with a decoupling of settlement and climate trends, suggesting urbanism may have enhanced the adaptive capacity of societies to withstand changing climatic conditions. Urban forms followed a variety of different trajectories, with a much more sporadic and episodic history in the dry farming plains of the North and West of the study region compared to the stable build‐up in the irrigated South. Although models dealing with urban growth have emphasized the differential access to agrarian resources as a key driver in promoting hierarchical social systems, climate has rarely been explicitly discussed. In contrast, so‐called “collapse” events brought about by extreme, but short‐lived, climate changes such as droughts have been blamed for declines in urban and rural populations, social complexity, political systems, and entire empires. However, the extent to which these “collapses” are visible in the archeological record, let alone how far they can be attributed to climate changes, is a matter of intense debate. The archeological and historical record, the variegated environmental conditions, and the deep time perspective on complexity available, make the Fertile Crescent an ideal laboratory for assessing causal links between urban formations and climate fluctuations. This article is categorized under: Climate, History, Society, Culture > Major Historical Eras Some of the earliest cities in the world occupied the dryland environments of Southwest Asia. We review the role of climate fluctuations in the emergence, collapse, and resilience of these cities, and argue for greater focus on the differential persistence of urban sites through time.