The lifespans of ancient civilisations (2019)
The University of Cambridge's Luke Kemp analyzed ancient civilizations' lifespans, revealing durations from 14 to 1150 years. This study explores resilience and vulnerabilities, shedding light on historical societal rise and fall.
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The University of Cambridge's Luke Kemp compiled a list comparing the lifespans of ancient civilizations based on factors like agriculture, multiple cities, military dominance, and political structure continuity. The data includes durations for various civilizations such as Ancient Egypt, Norte Chico, Harappan, Akkadian Empire, Minoan, Xia Dynasty, and many others. The comparison reveals the varying lengths of these civilizations, ranging from as short as 14 years for the Qin Dynasty to as long as 1150 years for the Kushite Kingdom. The analysis sheds light on the rise and fall of these societies throughout history. Luke Kemp, a researcher at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, conducted this study. The comparison provides insights into the resilience and vulnerabilities of ancient civilizations over time, offering a glimpse into the complexities of their existence and eventual demise.
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1 commentsThe problem with that, is that the historical record allows much finer grained distinctions which makes the civilizations seem shorter, while the archeological record can not have those distinctions which makes them seem longer
For example, without the historical record, could we really distinguish between Ancient Rome and Roman Empire. Or between Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom Egypt? Or between the various Chinese empires since there has been a continuity of civilization and culture even across the various empires.
So this article ends up averaging two very different things.
In addition, some of the numbers are suspect. For example, Byzantine Empire is listed at 350 years. Most scholars would agree that the fall of the Byzantine Empire is 1453 with the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. The latest date for the considering the empire "Byzantine" would be 800 with the coronation of Charlemagne as split from western Europe. This gives over 600 years. If you take 476 (fall of Western Roman Empire) as the start of the Byzantine Empire, that gives almost 1000 years.
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