The Yellow River: A Natural and Unnatural History
A three-thousand-year history of the Yellow River and the legacy of interactions between humans and the natural landscape
From Neolithic times to the present day, the Yellow River and its watershed have both shaped and been shaped by human society. Using the Yellow River as a case study in understanding the long-term effects of environmentally significant human activity, Ruth Mostern unravels the long history of the human relationship with water and soil and the consequences, at times disastrous, of ecological transformations that resulted from human decisions.
As she follows the Yellow River through three millennia of history, Mostern underlines how governments consistently ignored dynamic interrelationships among the river's varied ecosystems-grasslands, riparian forests, wetlands, and deserts-and the ecological and cultural impact of their policies. With an interdisciplinary approach informed by archival research and GIS (geographical information system) records, this groundbreaking volume provides unique insight into patterns, transformations, and devastating ruptures throughout ecological history and offers profound conclusions about the way we continue to affect the natural systems upon which we depend.
Ruth Mostern is associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is also director of the World History Center.
Author: Ruth Mostern
Format: Hardback, 376 pages, 178mm x 229mm
Published: 2021, Yale University Press, United States
Genre: Natural History: General
A three-thousand-year history of the Yellow River and the legacy of interactions between humans and the natural landscape
From Neolithic times to the present day, the Yellow River and its watershed have both shaped and been shaped by human society. Using the Yellow River as a case study in understanding the long-term effects of environmentally significant human activity, Ruth Mostern unravels the long history of the human relationship with water and soil and the consequences, at times disastrous, of ecological transformations that resulted from human decisions.
As she follows the Yellow River through three millennia of history, Mostern underlines how governments consistently ignored dynamic interrelationships among the river's varied ecosystems-grasslands, riparian forests, wetlands, and deserts-and the ecological and cultural impact of their policies. With an interdisciplinary approach informed by archival research and GIS (geographical information system) records, this groundbreaking volume provides unique insight into patterns, transformations, and devastating ruptures throughout ecological history and offers profound conclusions about the way we continue to affect the natural systems upon which we depend.
Ruth Mostern is associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is also director of the World History Center.