The rivers of civilization

Macklin, Mark G.; Lewin, John

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.02.004

Cited by 164 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…In northern Sudan within the modern desert Nile, archaeological evidences faithfully track the progressive aridification of a series of secondary Nile channels from the early Holocene to the end of the AHP that were all active and allowed seasonal cultivation during the Neolithic period (Macklin et al, 2013). Such environmental and societal disruptions resulted in large-scale human migrations towards the banks of the Nile River, contributing to the rise of Pharaonic dynasties (Kuper and Kr€ opelin, 2006;Macklin et al, 2013;Macklin and Lewin, 2015). The AHP is therefore a key period in Earth's history to investigate the connexions between climatic changes and human societies dynamics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Runoff and precipitation dynamics in the Blue and White Nile catchments during the mid-Holocene: A data-model comparison

Blanchet

Contoux

Leduc

2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

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International audienceThe Blue Nile is the major contributor of freshwater and sediments to the modern-day main Nile River and exerts a key control on seasonal flooding in the Nile valley. Recent studies have postulated that the relative contribution from the Blue Nile to the main Nile runoff might have been reduced during the mid-Holocene, at a time when higher boreal summer insolation stimulated enhanced precipitation in North Africa. Whether the decrease in the relative contribution from the Blue Nile resulted from a decrease in precipitation over the catchment, from an increase in White Nile runoff or from a combination of both is still a matter of debate. By comparing regional proxy-records with the output from a global atmospheric model zoomed on Africa, we propose that the reduced contribution from the Blue Nile at 6 ka originated from both a higher White Nile runoff and a lower Blue Nile runoff. Enhanced African and Indian monsoons at 6 ka induced a northern shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and an eastward shift of the Congo Air Boundary. Such an atmospheric configuration led to a negative anomaly of summer precipitation over the Blue Nile catchment that likely resulted in a reduction in the Blue Nile runoff. By contrast, a sustained positive anomaly of precipitation over the White Nile catchment during both summer and autumn most likely induced a higher main Nile runoff during the mid-Holocene. Using the model output, we propose a first synoptic view on regional rainfall dynamics that permits to reconcile contrasting proxy records

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Runoff and precipitation dynamics in the Blue and White Nile catchments during the mid-Holocene: A data-model comparison

Blanchet

Contoux

Leduc

2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

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“…Alluvial landscapes built by large perennial rivers form the environmental templates on which the earliest urban societies nucleated 1, 2 . Large-scale spatiotemporal settlement patterns in early urban societies are postulated to have been influenced by river migration across alluvial floodplains 1, 3, 4 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Counter-intuitive influence of Himalayan river morphodynamics on Indus Civilisation urban settlements

et al. 2017

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Urbanism in the Bronze-age Indus Civilisation (~4.6–3.9 thousand years before the present, ka) has been linked to water resources provided by large Himalayan river systems, although the largest concentrations of urban-scale Indus settlements are located far from extant Himalayan rivers. Here we analyse the sedimentary architecture, chronology and provenance of a major palaeochannel associated with many of these settlements. We show that the palaeochannel is a former course of the Sutlej River, the third largest of the present-day Himalayan rivers. Using optically stimulated luminescence dating of sand grains, we demonstrate that flow of the Sutlej in this course terminated considerably earlier than Indus occupation, with diversion to its present course complete shortly after ~8 ka. Indus urban settlements thus developed along an abandoned river valley rather than an active Himalayan river. Confinement of the Sutlej to its present incised course after ~8 ka likely reduced its propensity to re-route frequently thus enabling long-term stability for Indus settlements sited along the relict palaeochannel.

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“…r max´ri r max´rmin (1) x i2 " r i´rmin r max´r (2) where x i is the standardized indicator, x i1 and x i2 represents the cost indicator and the efficiency indicator, respectively; r i is the raw indicator value, and r min , r max are the actual values of the lower and upper limits of the raw data, respectively.…”

Section: Indicator Normalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…River-lake systems and their connections both affect and change the rise of human civilization, the progress of society, and economic development [1]. The large-scale exploitation of water and soil resources and the building of infrastructure both constantly alter the driving force behind river-lake system development, as well as the hydraulic connection of the river network and the environment of rivers [2][3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolution of River–Lake and Urban Compound Systems: A Case Study in Wuhan, China

2015

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Abstract:The process of urbanization takes up a lot of wetlands, profoundly changing the natural connection of surrounding river-lake systems, all the while causing serious damage to the environment of connected catchments. Urban systems and river-lake systems are not isolated and static, there is a relation between them which is constantly changing. Based on the idea of system research, the urban system is simplified into four subsystems: environment, infrastructure, social, and economic. These four components interact together, influencing the river-lake system to form a compound system. This paper aims to reflect the features and evolution laws of the compound system, by building a Collaborative Development Model to study the changing of the compound system in Wuhan, China over a 10-year period. The results show that by implementing the Donghu Lake Ecological River Network Engineering Project, the damaged river-lake system in Wuhan showed some improvement. However, in order to improve the sustainability of the compound system in Wuhan, the status of the river-lake system, social system and environment system, which are still comparatively substandard, should be constantly improved. The Collaborative Development Model could also be used in other cities and regions, to provide the basis for sustainable development.

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The rivers of civilization

Cited by 164 publications

References 107 publications

Runoff and precipitation dynamics in the Blue and White Nile catchments during the mid-Holocene: A data-model comparison

Runoff and precipitation dynamics in the Blue and White Nile catchments during the mid-Holocene: A data-model comparison

Counter-intuitive influence of Himalayan river morphodynamics on Indus Civilisation urban settlements

The Evolution of River–Lake and Urban Compound Systems: A Case Study in Wuhan, China

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