Print Email Facebook Twitter Endogenous change: On cooperation and water availability in two ancient societies Title Endogenous change: On cooperation and water availability in two ancient societies Author Pande, S. Ertsen, M.W. Faculty Civil Engineering and Geosciences Department Water Management Date 2014-05-14 Abstract We propose and test the theory of endogenous change in societal institutions based on historical reconstructions of two ancient civilizations, the Indus and Hohokam, in two water-scarce basins, the Indus Basin in the Indian subcontinent and the lower Colorado Basin in the southwestern United States. In our reconstructions, institutions are approximated by the scale of “cooperation”, be it in the form of the extent of trade, sophisticated irrigation networks, a central state or a loosely held state with a common cultural identity. We study changes in institutions brought about by changes in factors like rainfall, population density, and land-use-induced water resource availability, in a proximate manner. These factors either change naturally or are changed by humans; in either case we contend that the changes affect the stability of cooperative structures over time. We relate the quantitative dimensions of water access by ancient populations to the co-evolution of water access and the socioeconomic and sociopolitical organizations. In doing so, we do not claim that water manipulation was the single most significant factor in stimulating social development and complexity – this would be highly reductionist. Nonetheless, we provide a discussion with the aim to enhance our understanding of the complexity of coupled human–hydrological systems. We find that scarcity triggered more complex cooperative arrangements in both Indus and Hohokam societies. To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:603124a9-20b6-4828-a16c-923b65e75d49 DOI https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-1745-2014 Publisher European Geosciences Union ISSN 1027-5606 Source http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/18/1745/2014/ Source Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 18 (5), 2014 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2014 The Author(s)CC Attribution 3.0 License Files PDF 306119.pdf 4.21 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:603124a9-20b6-4828-a16c-923b65e75d49/datastream/OBJ/view