A kudurru recording purchase of land from the reign of Marduk-nadin-ahhe, King of Babylon ca. 1095-1078 BCE. Following the fall of the Kassite dynasty and the waning of Elamite power, a new dynasty from Isin emerged to control Babylon. Photo © The Trustees of the British Museum.

Hattusa (modern Bogazkoy), capital of the Hittite empire, was abandoned in the 12th century BCE. Although we can see some cultural continuity in the Neo-Hittite city-states, the Hittite Empire came to an end following the late Bronze Age Collapse. Photo by Carole Raddato. CC-By-SA 2.0.

There was also almost complete collapse, like the Hittites and the Mycenaeans. I would therefore suggest, as others have previously, that the transition between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean was both a time of collapse and a time of adaptation and/or transformation, depending on where one looks in the region. It was both alpha and omega (or rather, omega followed by alpha), to put it in terms of the Adaptive Cycle.

But does any of this hold lessons for us today? Is there anything to be learned from the overall dramatic story of resurgence and revival of the globalized Mediterranean network just four centuries after the Late Bronze Age Collapse? And is there an easy answer for what to do if our own society/civilization collapses?

About a decade ago, a report issued in 2012 by the IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) concluded, “The potential for concatenated global impacts of extreme events continues to grow as the world’s economy becomes more interconnected.” It seems appropriate to quote that here, for I would submit that our societal vulnerabilities and fragilities were suddenly exposed when COVID-19 first exploded worldwide in 2020 and then again when problems involving the global supply chain subsequently developed during the latter part of 2021.

I am not exaggerating when I say that it has really felt to me on occasion as if we are on the brink of societal collapse ourselves, “coming soon to an area near you,” as they say in the movies. When will it happen? What will be our tipping point? I cannot say for certain, obviously, but I strongly suspect that it is a matter of sooner rather than later — a question of when, not if — and that we will need to utilize for ourselves the lessons learned from those who survived a societal collapse more than three thousand years ago, including how to transform rather than simply cope or adapt and to embrace new innovations and inventions as needed.

The sarcophagus of Ahiram, king of Byblos, ca. 1000 BCE. The Phoenician city-states transformed and eventually thrived in the wake of the collapse or retraction of the major Late Bronze Age Kingdoms. Photo by S.R. Martin.

There are certainly lessons to be learned, but unfortunately there is no easy answer for what to do, for this also ultimately depends on the stressors or drivers that might be involved. Regardless, logic dictates that one should have multiple contingency plans in place, so that if the primary systems of administration, trade, agricultural production, or banking fail, there is a secondary, or even a tertiary, system that could be implemented without undue delay in each case. In short, we need to have enough redundant systems to fall back on if the primary ones fail. We also need to be resilient enough to withstand whatever blows may come; self-sufficient enough to remain standing even if/when our trading partners fall; innovative enough to adapt or transform as necessary; and strong enough to withstand any enemy invasions or attacks even while we are already reeling. But all of those are common-sense recommendations that others would probably suggest even without having studied what happened in the aftermath of the Late Bronze Age Collapse.

The main takeaway from all of this is that clearly such a collapse is survivable, provided that we are resilient enough and able to cope, adapt, or transform as necessary. Societal collapse doesn’t always take everyone with it, and often cultures continue, even if at a simpler level or perhaps in a new iteration. And even for those who are hit hardest, there is often a period of regeneration after the worst of times that leads to the resumption of life, prosperity, and happiness (as the ancient Egyptians would say).

Lotus cup with relief decoration depicting a youthful king enthroned in the marshes, reborn as a child of the sun god, 3rd Intermediate Period (ca 1070 – 664 B.C.). Following the collapse of the 20th Dynasty, royal imagery evolved and appeared more widely in decorative arts. Images such as the divine infant, the rising sun, or the lotus blossom communicated the idea of rebirth and rejuvenation. Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art.