Attheheightoftheirpowerinthelateeleventhcentury,theChacoAnasazidominatedaterritoryintheAmericanSouthwestlargerthananyEuropeanprincipalityofthetime.Developedoverthecourseofcenturiesandthrivingforovertwohundredyears,theChacoans’societycollapseddramaticallyinthetwelfthcenturyinamerefortyyears.DavidE.StuartincorporatesextensivenewresearchfindingsthroughgroundbreakingarchaeologytoexploretheriseandfalloftheChacoAnasaziandhowitparallelspatternsthroughoutmodernsocietiesinthisnewedition.AddingnewresearchfindingsoncaloricflowsinprehistorictimesandinvestigatingtheevolutionarydynamicsinducedbytheseforcesaswellasexploringtheconsequencesofanincreasinglydetachedcentralChacoandecision-makingstructure,StuartarguesthatChaco’sfailurewasafailuretoadapttotheconsequencesofrapidgrowth--includingproblemswiththemisuseoffarmland,malnutrition,lossofcommunity,andinabilitytodealwithclimaticcatastrophe.HavemodernsocietieslearnedfromtheexperienceandfateoftheChacoAnasazi,orareweriskingasimilarculturalcollapse?
