Community | February 21, 2010 | 4 comments

Ancient Forest Management in the Chaco Canyon

source: http://tenthmil.com/mission/timeline/ancient_forest_management_in_the_chaco_canyon

Image
lookatmypix
Two excerpts:
"Deforestation isn't a new issue. In the ancient Chaco canyon region, we can see an excellent example of how the choices ancient people made while managing their forests are still affecting us today. Amazingly, this region provides us with a comparative example of what happens when a group of people decides to clearcut, versus what happens when they practice selective thinning. The results just might amaze you."



"As for the ancient inhabitants of Chaco Canyon, a climate change eventually sealed their fates. Around A.D. 1300, a drought hit the region, causing collapse of many nearby groups, and the Chacoans were also victims of the harsh environmental trap created by an already stressed ecosystem. The canyon was abandoned, and residents there probably moved into outlying communities, not romantically disappearing as many accounts would overzealously exclaim, but instead absorbing into nearby groups and becoming a part of a newly woven cultural fabric.

The lessons of Choco Canyon are plentiful, the most obvious displayed to the viewer as they gaze upon the treeless landscape of the canyon. The choice for our modern society, as always, is: will we heed these lessons? Will we practice sustainable forestry and irrigation? Will we live within the ability of our environment to sustain, or will we overrun that ability and import the material goods that we desire at the expense of ecosystems all over the planet? It’s time to ask these questions of ourselves, and to think deeply before we decide, because we cannot pick up the remains of our environmental disaster and move on anymore. We are reaching the end of our available resources, and have forced the entire planet to perform in an environmental balancing act upon which all of our collective fates are now hanging. We have the opportunity now to make an informed decision, and protect the future of our entire species."
http://tenthmil.com/mission/timeline/ancient_forest_management_in_the_chaco_cany...

This is a very interesting article. More in the responses below.



Join the Organic Revolution:
http://current.com/groups/organicgreen/
  1. groups:
    Community,   Green,   Current Tonight,   Earth and Science,   2 more
  2. tags:
    Environment,  Climate Change,  History,  Sustainability,  7 more
  3.     
    |

4 comments // Ancient Forest Management in the Chaco Canyon

  • Wetdog
    • 0
      Wetdog  

    • As far as energy is concerned, we have not progressed a day since the caveman era. We are still Hunter/Gatherers in so far as most of our energy is concerned. We hunt for coal and petroleum. Dig it up and burn it. Then hunt for some more to dig up and burn.

      We have only barely begun to apply the lesson of agriculture to solve our energy needs.

    • 1 year ago
  • lookatmypix
    • 0
      lookatmypix  

    • An interesting timeline:
      "Ten millennia ago, the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that humans had practiced for hundreds of thousands of years gave way to agriculture. People stored their surplus food, put down roots, and civilization sprang and spread like weeds. The result: 10,000 years of growth, and 10,000 years of unanticipated problems and disasters."
      http://tenthmil.com/mission/timeline

    • 1 year ago
  • lookatmypix
    • +1
      lookatmypix  
    • Image

    • http://tenthmil.com/mission/timeline/three_harvests_per_year

      "The Khmer controlled the most powerful empire ever to emerge in southeast Asia, and the capitol, Angkor, was probably the largest pre-industrial city on the planet (Angelina Jolie traipsed through its ruins in Tomb Raider). Their water management canals allowed them to grow three rice crops per year, but as their population grew they deforested hillsides to grow even more food. The canals filled with runoff silt, the system broke down, and the kingdom collapsed under the strain."

    • 1 year ago
  • pukemnukem
    • +1
      pukemnukem  
    • lookatmypix:

      This was seen in the collapse of many Aztec city sites as well. Cities exploded into sizes unmaintainable.

      Mentioning water management, the Romans tend to get knocked for using lead as their pipes (hence the scientific name for lead), But their entire empire was due to the fact that they developed and maintained an incredibly complex public water system. Without the lead pipes, no one would have ever lived long enough to die of lead poisoning.

      I got to see some ancient roman cities in Turkey and I completely dorked out when I saw the ancient tapered pipes at my feet in the middle of a field.

    • 1 year ago
more from Community:
from the community

top videos