- NEW How did ancient cities adapt to changes and overcome crises? By applying resilience theory to Northern Mesopotamian urban centres, researchers empirically analyse how settlement networks and connectivity changed over time. A resilient #AntiquityThread 🧵 1/9 🏺 #ArchaeologyJan 30, 2026 17:15
- Cities offer many benefits, such as access to resources and high connectivity, but their rigid infrastructures and built environments can render them more vulnerable to crises like natural disasters, economic shocks, social unrest or infrastructure failures 2/9
- However, a lack of a quantitative study (using measurable, numerical information) linking urbanism and resilience means our understanding of how ancient cities coped with crises is limited 3/9
- To correct this, researchers applied Holling's adaptive cycle (a four-phase, repeating system of resilience, consisting of growth, conservation, release and reorganisation) to the Bronze and Iron Age Khabur Valley of Northern Mesopotamia 4/9
- By linking hollow ways (traces of ancient route systems) to sites in the valley, they reconstructed long-distance connections between settlements, determining the density of networks during specific periods 5/9
- Whilst denser networks enable the easy exchange of goods, knowledge and labour, facilitating adaptability to crises, high centralisation makes the system more vulnerable to disruptions, which can spread faster and more easily through highly connected environments 6/9
- Applying this to the adaptive cycle shows how the settlements and networks of the Khabur Valley changed over time, reflecting developments from the first urban revolution to the rise and reorganisation of centralised empires 7/9
- Overall, this framework allows researchers to link sociopolitical and environmental changes to observable patterns in the archaeological record. By applying network science to past contexts, it contributes greatly to our understanding of the resilience of human societies 8/9
- Read the original research in Antiquity 🆓 Urban resilience in Ancient Mesopotamia: insights into the socioeconomic system of the Bronze and Iron Age Khabur Valley - Deborah Priß, Dan Lawrence, John Wainwright, Christina Prell and Laura Turnbull doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🧵 9/9
