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CONFERENCE

PROGRAMME AND
GENERAL
I N F O R M AT I O N

C L I M AT E C H A N G E ,
ARCHAEOLOGY
AND HISTORY
A Multidisciplinary Approach From Archaeology,
Climatology And History On Climate Change And
The Possible Collapse Of Civilization 

ORGANISERS
Miguel Fuentes
Francisco Diego
 
SPONSORS
CREDOC Institute, UCL
Institute of Archaeology, UCL
World Archaeology Section, IoA-UCL

Institute of Archaeology, UCL


31-34 Gordon Square, London
CLIMATE CHANGE, ARCHAEOLOGY AND
HISTORY

A Multidisciplinary Approach from Archaeology,


Climatology and History on Climate Change
and the Possible Collapse of Civilization.

ORGANIZERS
Miguel Fuentes
uczlfue@ucl.ac.uk
PhD Student. Institute of Archaeology, UCL

Dr. Francisco Diego Fras


fd@star.ucl.ac.uk
Senior Teaching Fellow Astrophysics Group, UCL

SPONSORS
CREDOC Institute, UCL
Institute of Archaeology, UCL
World Archaeology Section, IoA-UCL
C O U L D M O D E R N C I V I L I Z AT I O N C O L L A P S E ?
S C H E D U L E O F P R E S E N TAT I O N S
Day One: December 19 

09:30 - 10:30 Opening Of Conference


Miguel Fuentes, Institute of Archaeology, UCL

10:30 - 11:30 Francisco Diego


Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCL

11:30 - 12:00 Coffee Break

12:00 - 13:30 Short Documentaries and Discussion


Magnitude, Scale and Rhythm of Current Climate Change

13:30 - 15:00 Lunch

15:00 - 16:00 Alessandro Cessarelli


University of Cambridge

16:00 - 17:00 Daniel Silva


University of Sheffield

17:00 - 17:30 Coffee Break and Brunch

17:30 – 19:30 Short Documentaries and Discussion


Climate Change and Past: An archaeological and historical perspective
Day Two: December 20

09:00 – 10:00 Francisco Diego Opening


Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCL

10:00 – 11:00 Bill Sillar Nick Branch


Institute of Archaeology, UCL University of Reading
Stuart Black
University of Reading

11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 – 12:30 Sue Hamilton


Institute of Archaeology, UCL

12:30 - 13:00 Short Documentaries


Climate Change and the XXI Century

13:00 – 14:30 Lunch

14:30 – 15:30 Claudia Comberti


Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford

15:30 – 17:30 Peter Wadhams


Polar Ocean Physics Group, University of Cambridge

17:30 - 18:00 Coffee Break

18:00 – 19:00 Dawn Gaietto


Slade School of Fine Art, UCL 

19:00 – 20:00 Miguel Fuentes


Institute of Archaeology, UCL

20:00 – 21:00 Short Documentaries and Discussion


Climate Change, Science, Academia and Politics
P R E S E N TAT I O N S T I T L E S A N D A B S T R A C T S
Day One: December 19 

MIGUEL FUENTES
Ins$tute(of(Archaeology,(UCL(
09.30 – 10:30
Title:
Magnitude, Scale and Rhythm of Current Climate Change: Why is it
important for archaeological and historical practice? General data and
discussions.

Abstract:
The main goal of this presentation will be to evaluate, from a general point
of view, the magnitude, scale and rhythm of current climate change and
some of its main characteristics and tendencies, this in comparison with
previous events of climatic transformations that occurred in the geological
past and considering its possible impacts on human civilization today. We
will also discuss several future scenarios of climate change during this
century, this attempting to establish some linkages between the current
climatic situation and some cases of climate change in the archaeological
past. Potentialities and limits of social and technological resilience of
human societies will be discussed. Relevant cultural questions will be
considered such as: How can we compare the role of climate change on
societies in the archaeological past with current situation? How can we
measure the possible impacts of climate change in the future, for example
considering archaeological data? What is the importance of climate
change for the archaeological and historical research, for example in
terms of theoretical and methodological problems?
FRANCISCO DIEGO
Department(of(Physics(and(Astronomy,(UCL((
10:30 - 11:30
Title:
Planet Earth I: Origin and development of environments in the Universe

Abstract:
From a simple and distant origin, our Universe has been growing in size
and complexity for billions of years. Environments suitable for life have
been around for most of that time, but only recently, planet Earth emerged
with perhaps the most complex environment that ever existed. How
diverse is this complexity? How did it develop? How does it compare with
environments found on other planets?

ALESSANDRO CESSARELLI
University(of(Cambridge(
15.00 – 16:00
Title:
The Indus Civilisation, a Tale of Rains, Fires and Lost Cities: ceramic
technology vis-à-vis urban decline

Abstract:
This paper will present preliminary results of ceramic analysis on
assemblages from the excavation at Alamgirpur, North-Western India.
These results are part of a PhD research project which aims to trace
phenomena of social reproduction and change in Bronze Age South Asian
villages through a technological and compositional study of Indus Urban,
Post-Urban and Post-Indus ceramic industries. In this study, morpho-
stylistic and scientific analysis are used to explore ceramic production and
distribution, and co-dependent socio-material agencies and cultural
choices related to rural communities. Amongst others factors, Indus urban
development and decline will be considered in order to assess ceramic
materials consumed at small-scale settlements. Technological varieties
and the full trajectory of the chaîne opératoire for the production of a large
variety of pottery types during the Harappan, Late Harappan (c.
2500-1600 BC) and Protohistoric (Painted Grey Ware, possibly c.
1300/1200-500 BC) periods in NW India will be identified. Pottery will be
also used as a medium for understanding technological and social
changes which might have taken place in the arouse of a weakening of
the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) at c. 2200-2100 BC. After providing an
overview of the broad PhD research project and its methodology,
preliminary results of the current project will be proposed.

DANIEL SILVA
University(of(Sheffield((
16:00 – 17:00
Title:
A critical analysis of Environmental Services and Carbon Trade Markets
as mitigation policies for climate change. .

Abstract:
In this essay we examine and discuss the contention that climate change
cannot be tackled via the application of market-based approaches. The
fundamental thesis is that those approaches cannot undertake global
climate change and that their applicability will have minor and limited
success, just as they have had until now. Our focus of attention relies on
two of the most important public-private policies in existence today, which
are based on market mechanisms, namely: Environmental Services
Markets (ESMs) and Carbon Trade Markets (CTMs). Our thesis is backed
up by a number of arguments that have been posed by Larry Lohmann,
Kathleen McAfee and Dan Brockington: three of the main scholars and
activists in the field of political ecology and recognised experts on the
ESMs and CTMs strategies. Nevertheless, as there are some significant
blind spots in their approaches, we will put forward two positive criticisms
regarding their critique claims, namely: 1) the uncritical homologation of
economic growth with capital accumulation; and 2) the dynamics of
winners, losers and the ‘internal struggle’ between different sections of
capital.
P R E S E N TAT I O N S T I T L E S A N D A B S T R A C T S
Day Two: December 20 

FRANCISCO DIEGO
Department(of(Physics(and(Astronomy,(UCL(
09.00 - 10:00
Title:
Planet Earth II: From hell to paradise

Abstract:
A history full of accidental processes that allowed life to emerge and
evolve in close interaction with a unique and fragile environment. In this
talk, we explore the science behind the origin and nature of paradise and
humanity. We look at examples of environmental strategies that may help
the human race survive and flourish in the long-term.

BILL SILLAR NICK BRANCH


Ins$tute(of(Archaeology,(UCL(((((((((((University(of(Reading(
(
STUART BLACK
University(of(Reading(
10:00 – 11:00
Title:
Food production and resilience to climate change in the Peruvian Andes

Abstract:
The central Andes is characterised by intensive agricultural production
focused on the use of terracing and canal irrigation as well as herding.
Food crops and domesticated animals have not only been the basis of
household subsistence but also a major concern of colonising empires
such as the Wari, Inca and Spanish. Past changes in the climate and
social-economic organisation resulted in changes in the emphasis of agro-
pastoral activities. But, equally changes in land, water, plant and animal
management affected local and regional ecologies and transformed
society. In this paper we raise questions about the degree to which
previous examples of radical social change (e.g. the collapse of Wari/
Tiwanaku and the emergence of the Inca Empire) can be linked to climate
change, and the degree to which the agricultural and social systems in the
Andes today have sufficient resilience to withstand future climate change.

SUE HAMILTON
Ins$tute(of(Archaeology,(UCL(
11:30(–(12:30(
Title:
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) making monuments, eco-changes and resilience
(circa AD 1200-1600)

Abstract:
Interest in Rapa Nui’s iconic moai (statue) construction period is dominated
by a focus on its demise. Words and phases such as ‘collapse’, ‘the island
that self-destructed’, ‘ecodisaster’ and ‘disastrous European contact’
abound. There is a tendency to analyse the moai as isolated entities, rather
than as elements of a dynamic interrelationship between people,
landscape, places and architecture. A neglected mystery of Rapa Nui is the
relationship between a remote island’s changing environment and the
emergence of an island-wide cosmology of constructing with stone. The
presentation will pull together the diverse research avenues by which the
UCL AHRC funded ‘Rapa Nui Landscapes of Construction Project’ has
investigated the meaning, contexts and adaptive resilience of the moai-
period construction activities. It offers a Polynesian framework of
understanding place and environmental change.
CLAUDIA COMBERTI
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford
14:30 - 15:30
Title:
Climate change adaptation past and present: the role of ancient landscapes
in the Bolivian Amazon in present-day adaptation

Abstract:
Whilst present-day climate change is having unprecedented impacts across
societies and ecosystems, some past human societies have faced challenges
analogous to today. In the Llanos de Moxos region of the Bolivian Amazon,
the responses and solutions of pre-Colombian civilisations to seasonal
flooding are evident across the landscape in the form of ancient earthworks.
These are influencing adaptation responses today amongst the Indigenous
communities now residing within the anthropogenic landscape, who are
facing extreme floods and droughts more severe than any in cultural memory.

Recent flooding events in particular have catalysed two main responses,


which are explored through this research project: 1)Development-style
adaptation projects modelled on the techniques of the ancient civilisations are
being implemented across the region; 2) An autonomous movement,
whereby local peoples are beginning to notice and use the structures that
have until now been a prominent but largely irrelevant feature of the
landscape.

This research explores the unique situation and the potential relevance of
historical adaptation strategies. It explores the outcomes of the two
strategies, and what lessons the situation offers for adaptation to climate
change elsewhere. Methods used combine ethnographic techniques of
participant observation, interviews, surveys and site visits; and examination
of historical records.

Findings highlight issues and challenges in implementing adaptation projects,


and factors important in autonomous adaptation at the local scale – including
perceptions of the historical ancestors of the region, which emerge as
important in influencing local peoples’ responses. Finally, it offers
recommendations for supporting local-scale, equitable and empowering
adaptation processes to cope with current environmental change.
PETER WADHAMS
Polar Ocean Physics Group, University of Cambridge
15:30 - 17:30
Title:
Climatic threats arising from polar changes.

Abstract:
The rapid loss of sea ice arising from the polar amplification of global
warming is causing a number of immediate threats to the global climate.
These include: a reduction in global albedo, amplifying warming at all
latitudes; acceleration of sea level rise due to melt of ice sheets on land;
the possibility of a large methane pulse from the Arctic offshore continental
shelves. I discuss the impact of these and other threats.

DAWN GAIETTO
Slade School of Fine Art, UCL
18:00 - 19:00
Title:
Climate Change & Non-Cartesian Representation: A Call for the Collapse
of a Culture of Consumption

Abstracts:
The images in Unfixed Consciousness/Positive Unconsciousness are
manifestations of the collective agency between the mechanical,
technological, and atmospheric elements as well as my own as composer
and interpreter. This work explores the problem of anthropocentric
positions in viewing environmental issues by vacillating between degrees
of constructing situations and harnessing existing phenomena to create
work in a way that does not provide preference to humans specifically in
the context of environmental concerns. The position of the human self and
ego as central is a perspective that must be challenged, and I argue to be
replaced with non-cartesian ways of seeing that require reciprocity. This
must first be executed at the level of art and thereby societal self-
representation and superiority. I am proposing the notion of
anthrodecentric art to work on this task. Anthrodecentric Art is art that
does not create nor reify a position of privilege for the human actors as a
central point or perspective, but aids in revealing the agency of nonhuman
actants present in the materials, processes, and receiving of art. As such,
anthrodecentric art seeks to actively refuse the positioning of nonhumans
as a resource for human consumption and allow the nonhuman agencies
to be present in their own capacities and allow room for their agencies to
become visible, avoiding a longstanding framework that has suppressed
their presence. My work in Unfixed Consciousness/Positive
Unconsciousness investigates the relationships of the human to non-
human and seeks an ontological state that evades human privilege
particularly in the realm of environmental thinking.

MIGUEL FUENTES
Institute of Archaeology, UCL
20:00 – 21:00
Title:
The possibility of collapse from a marxist perspective: Marx, Luxemburg
and Benjamin

Abstract:
This presentation will focus in discussing some ideas of Karl Marx, Rosa
Luxemburg and Walter Benjamin regarding to the concept of collapse, this
integrating some of the most accepted scenarios of global warming for
this century and its possible relationship with class struggle and the
historical process during the next few decades. It is stated here that the
concept of collapse, widespread within the marxist tradition as the
"possibility of barbarism" (in opposition to socialism), need to be
understood from now, far from being a theoretical problem, as one of the
most fundamental strategical problems of the history of revolutionary
theory.
C L I M AT E C H A N G E ,
ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY
DEC 19 & 20, 2016

The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and


baffling expedients, of delays is coming to its close. In its
place we are entering a period of consequences.
—Winston S. Churchill

If the abolition of the bourgeoisie is not completed before an


almost calculable moment in economic and technical
development (a moment signaled by inflation and poison-
gas warfare) all is lost. Before the spark reaches the
dynamite, the lighted fuse must be cut.
Walter Benjamin

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