Dr. Utgaard

Early World History

Cuyamaca College

Reading and Discussion Questions for Jared Diamond’s

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Note: These reading/discussion questions are listed in order that they will be discussed in class and do not follow the chronology of the book.

See the posted video that goes over the introduction to the book!

Prologue 1-24

How does Diamond define collapse?

What is ecocide?

What are Diamond’s five key factors for explaining the collapse of a society?

Where does Diamond locate himself on the spectrum of environmentalism?

Chapter 1: Under Montana’s Big Sky, 27-75 (optional)

How is Diamond’s discussion of modern Montana relevant to his study of the collapse of past societies?

Chapter 5: The Maya Collapse, 157-177

What challenges faced the Maya when it came to water?

• What is karst?
• What is a “seasonal tropical forest”?

What difficulties did the Maya face in producing agricultural surplus? Give specific examples.

When did the Maya collapse occur and where was it most severe?

List Diamond’s causes of the Maya collapse.

Chapter 4: The Ancient Ones: The Anasazi and Their Neighbors, 136-156

What challenges for agriculture did the environment of the Anasazi present?

What is dendrochronology and what role does it play in understanding the Anasazi?

What geographical advantages did Chaco canyon offer as a place of permanent settlement?

What is midden analysis and what does it tell us about the Anasazi at Chaco?

What were the two main environmental problems for the Anasazi at Chaco?

What does the archeology of Chaco suggest about the social hierarchy of Anasazi society?

Why did the Anasazi stay at Chaco when their resources were already depleted?

Summarize the main reasons for the collapse of Chaco and other Anasazi societies?

Chapter 2: Twilight at Easter

Describe the geography of Easter Island and explain how this geography influenced civilization on the island.

When and how was Easter Island settled?

What is significant about the statues on Easter Island? What are they called? How were they erected?

What made agriculture and fishing so challenging on Easter Island?

When and how did collapse occur on Easter Island? Be specific.

In Diamond’s view, why is it hard for many to accept that collapse on Easter Island happened before European colonization?

Paper Assignment 100 points

Due on Sunday 23 January

Write a 2.5-3 page paper (double spaced/12 point font) addressing the question below. Your paper must make use of at least six specific examples with page number references from at least three chapters (the Prologue counts as a chapter).

Using Jared Diamond’s five-point framework, explain the collapse of two of the following: Maya civilization in the classic period, the Anasazi, Easter Island. Could these collapses have been prevented, or did they “just happen”?