Unexpected Catastrophes

Every society, from the smallest band of hunter-gatherers to the most densely populated city, must reckon with disaster. Today, our environment feels like something that happens outside of our windows, and disasters happen to others on the news, but it only takes a few minutes for our lives to be turned upside down by unexpected events. Although we have more warning than our ancestors did in most cases and our communication networks are more robust, all of the weather satellites and cellphones in the world cannot stop a hurricane. Ancient societies lived with a complex understanding of their environment and the dangers they faced, even if the origin of those risks was unclear. As we walk through the valley of the shadow of death in this chapter, we will discuss how disasters relate to societies and to what extent they can be prevented.