Lately I have reading up on the Bronze Age Collapse. The evidence for a real collapse is contested by historians, who, while they have a lot of written records to peruse, lack hard archaeological data. One thing is sure though - a number of important kingdoms in the eastern Mediterranean, Asia Minor and Egypt, either rapidly declined or were severely diminished in the 13th Century BC. These states were powerful and sophisticated entities, with advanced agriculture, political structures and economies set up to trade far and wide. They could muster large standing armies, understood the importance of diplomacy and had been extant for centuries.

What afflicted these ancient kingdoms is in the realm of speculation. Likely it is a series of dominoes that, little by little, eroded the economic and political power of each state, leading to a kind of tipping point. All were very hierarchically structured, had command-style economies, potentially unsustainable farming and problematic succession procedures. They were an integral part of an early form of a global economy, which could bring great wealth but also tethered nations together in economic dependency. There is also some evidence that they were assailed by raiders from the sea.

We tend to sniff at the past and think ourselves superior beings, having advanced well beyond these rougher peoples. Yet the Bronze Age Collapse is somewhat of an analogue for the present, one in which something like a pestilence can bring down once vibrant economies and destroy confidence in systems. The close ties between states, once a strength, can rapidly become a millstone. We could do worse than pay attention to the travails of our distant ancestors, people who have been there and done that. If only we would listen.