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Environmental thresholds and the empirical reality of state collapse: a response to Erickson (1999)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Alan L. Kolata ,
Michael W. Binford ,
Mark Brenner ,
John W. Janusek  and
Charles Ortloff
Alan L. Kolata
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Chicago IL 60637, USA a-kolata@uchicago.edu
Michael W. Binford
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611, USA mbinford@geog.ufl.edu
Mark Brenner
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32653, USA brenner@ufl.edu
John W. Janusek
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235 USA john.w.janusek@vanderbilt.edu
Charles Ortloff
Affiliation:
Corporate Technology Center/United Defense, 1205 Coleman Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 95052, USA charles_ortloff@udlp.com
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Extract

We are grateful for the opportunity to respondto Erickson's (1999) critique of our articles onhuman-environment interactions in the LakeTiticaca basin of Bolivia (Ortloff & Kolata 1993;Abbott et al. 1997; Binford et al. 1997). Hisdecision to publish this critique in ANTIQUITY,rather than in the journals in which our articlesappeared, permits us to reach a broaderaudience. Erickson labels our interpretationsa form of 'neo-environmental determinism', buthis rejection of our conclusions stems fromserious misunderstandings and is misleadingto readers who have not examined our originaldata. He (p. 634) claims:1 our research represents 'simplistic reductionistthinking' that treats humans as 'passivepawns' of environmental change;2 our dating of the chronic drought in the Andeanaltiplano after AD 1150 is impreciseand not correlated with the 12th-centurydisintegration of the Tiwanaku state; and3 the drought did not affect intensive agriculturalproduction.

Information

Type
Papers
Information
Antiquity , Volume 74 , Issue 284 , June 2000 , pp. 424 - 426
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2000

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References

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