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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN"><HTML><HEAD> <HTML><HEAD> <TITLE>Late Bronze Age Collapse - Crystalinks</TITLE> <META NAME="Late Bronze Age Collapse - Crystalinks"> <META CONTENT="Late Bronze Age Collapse - Crystalinks"></HEAD> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#0066FF" ALINK="#0000FF"> <P> <BR> <center><p style="font-size:20px"/>Late Bronze Age Collapse <P> <BR> <IMG SRC="BronzeAgeCollapseMap.jpg" width=800> <P> <BR> <IMG SRC="BronzeAgeCollapse.jpg" width=800></center> <P> <BR> The Late Bronze Age collapse was a period of societal collapse in the Mediterranean basin during the 12th century BC. It is thought to have affected much of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East, in particular Egypt, Anatolia, the Aegean, eastern Libya, and the Balkans. The collapse was sudden, violent, and culturally disruptive for many Bronze Age civilizations, creating a sharp material decline for the region's previously existing powers. <P> The palace economy of Mycenaean Greece, the Aegean region, and Anatolia that characterized the Late Bronze Age disintegrated, transforming into the small isolated village cultures of the Greek Dark Ages, which lasted from c. 1100 to c. 750 BC, and were followed by the better-known Archaic Age. <P> The Hittite Empire spanning Anatolia and the Levant collapsed, while states such as the Middle Assyrian Empire in Mesopotamia and the New Kingdom of Egypt survived in weakened forms. Other cultures such as the Phoenicians enjoyed increased autonomy and power with the waning military presence of Egypt and Assyria in West Asia. <P> Competing theories of the cause of the Late Bronze Age collapse have been proposed since the 19th century, with most involving the violent destruction of cities and towns. These include climate change, volcanic eruptions, droughts, disease, invasions by the Sea Peoples or migrations of the Dorians, economic disruptions due to increased ironworking, and changes in military technology and strategy that brought the decline of chariot warfare. Following the collapse, gradual changes in metallurgic technology led to the subsequent Iron Age across Europe, Asia, and Africa during the 1st millennium BC. <P> Scholarship in the late 20th and early 21st century has articulated views of the collapse as being more limited in scale and scope than previously thought. <A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Bronze_Age_collapse">Read more ...</a> <P> <P> <BR> <HR> <P> <BR> <center><IMG SRC="BronzeAgeCollapse114.jpg" width=800></center> <P> <BR> <A HREF="https://www.iflscience.com/in-1177-bce-civilizations-fell-apart-in-a-mysterious-simultaneous-collapse-76858">In 1177 BCE, Civilizations Fell Apart In A Mysterious Simultaneous Collapse</a>   IFL Science - November 20, 2024 <P> Just over 3,200 years ago, it must have felt as if humanity was reaching never-before-seen heights. Across the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Near East, a collection of complex and highly organized civilizations became interconnected through diplomacy, trade, and exchanges. Cultures boomed and cities rose. Then, it all fell apart - and no one is really sure why. <P> Some of the major societies impacted by the so-called "Bronze Age Collapse” were the Middle Assyrian Empire in Mesopotamia, the New Kingdom of Egypt, the Babylonians, the Hittite Empire of Anatolia, the Trojans, the Mycenaeans in mainland Greece, and the Minoans in Crete. For most of these societies, what followed was somewhat of a "dark age" with little remarkable technological or cultural advancement as well as social stagnation. <P> The societies came to prominence during the Bronze Age, a period starting around 3300 BCE that was marked by the use of bronze tools, produced by smelting copper and alloying it with tin, arsenic, or other metals. This technological breakthrough created a stronger and more durable material than previously available metals, giving these societies a significant edge in weaponry, toolmaking, engineering, and art. <P> This revolution also laid the foundation for the development of larger urban centers, the establishment of complex social hierarchies, and the invention of various writing systems, such as cuneiform. <P> For reasons that aren’t clear, this prosperous network came crashing down around the 12th century BCE. <P> In his 2014 book about the late Bronze Age collapse, American archaeologist Eric Cline highlights the year 1177 BCE as a decisive moment when things significantly deteriorated. However, as he notes, complex systems take time to unfold. Over the course of a few decades, rebellions raged, wars broke out, cities fell into ruin, writing systems were extinguished, and cultures were seemingly wiped from the planet. <P> Historians have come up with a variety of explanations for the demise, including many of the usual suspects behind society's collapse. <P> One long-held explanation is the arrival of a new dominant force: the "Sea Peoples.” This supposed band of marauding conquerors didn’t leave any monuments or written records, so their identity is far from clear, and their existence is still widely debated. Perhaps they weren’t a unified culture, but a catch-all term applied to any sea-faring peoples from elsewhere in the Mediterranean. <P> Whatever the identity, their arrival may account for the widespread abandonment of cities across Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Canaan, Cyprus, and Egypt between the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. <P> It’s also a possibility that some civilizations rotted from the inside through a general system collapse. Scholars have noted that many late Bronze societies had “fatal centralized, complex, and top-heavy” political structures that made them vulnerable to inequality and exploitation, leading to social instability. <P> Another explanation is that an environmental catastrophe was at play. A 2013 study looked at pollen grains from sediments of an ancient lake in the region and found evidence of climate changes around this time. This environmental change, the study authors argue, led to widespread droughts, food shortages, and famines. The consequence of this was mass migration, social upheaval, and these once-strong civilizations being left vulnerable to invaders, perhaps the Sea Peoples. <P> Likewise, studies have highlighted an outbreak of plague in Crete at the end of the 3rd millennium BCE, although there’s limited evidence to suggest it impacted other societies. <P> As Cline points out in his book, the Bronze Age collapse is unlikely to be explained by a single factor. Instead, he proposes that it was a 'perfect storm of calamities', including many of the themes mentioned here. <P> History is a humbling reminder that no civilization, no matter how powerful or advanced, is immune to collapse. When the great civilizations of the Bronze Age were on their upward trajectory, few could have foreseen that their grand cities and grander ideas would eventually fade into obscurity. Yet, with the right mix of climate change, internal conflict, and technological shifts, even the most formidable societies can easily falter and fall. <P> <BR> <HR> <P> <BR> <center><p style="font-size:20px"/>Pseudoscience</center> <P> Reality is a <A HREF="SimulationTheory">Simulation</a> in which people, places, and events often go missing because they are deleted. <P> In much the same way archaeologists suddenly discover evidence of an ancient civilization that was unknown in the past - after the area in question had been excavated many times. <P> These are inserts in the simulation that are added or subtracted based on the algorithm of reality. <P> <BR> <P> <BR> <center><script type="text/javascript" src="//platform-api.sharethis.com/js/sharethis.js#property=58e3cc81b190100012ded912&product=inline-share-buttons"></script></center> <div class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons"></div></center> <P> <BR> <center> <A HREF="ancient.html">ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS INDEX</A> <P> <BR> <A HREF="directory.html">ALPHABETICAL INDEX</A> <P> <BR> <A HREF="index.html">CRYSTALINKS HOME PAGE</A> <P> <BR> <A HREF="reading.html">PSYCHIC READING WITH ELLIE</a> <P> <BR> <A HREF="sabook.html">BOOK: THE ALCHEMY OF TIME</A> <P> <BR> <A HREF="donation.html">DONATION TO CRYSTALINKS</a> <P> <BR> <A HREF="advertise_crystalinks.html">ADVERTISE ON CRYSTALINKS</A> <P> <BR> <P> <BR> <center><form action="https://www.google.com/cse" id="cse-search-box" target="_blank"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-0405918776181157:nyci3t5s84j" /> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="text" name="q" size="50" /> <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search Crystalinks" /> </div> </form><script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.google.com/coop/cse/brand?form=cse-search-box&lang=en"></script></center> <P> <BR> <P> <BR> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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