News You Can Use: "How to spot if society is DOOMED: Researchers reveal the signs that show civilization is set to collapse"

From the Daily Mail, August 31: 

• Researchers examined archaeological records of the European Neolithic 
• This revealed there were a number of early warning signs before collapse 
• They say the framework could help predict similar fate in modern society 

It has been seen all throughout human history – a bustling community experiences a population boom and technological advancement until, seemingly overnight, it plummets into total collapse.

Now, researchers may have developed the framework to predict these events before they happen.

By analyzing archaeological records of the European Neolithic communities, which existed roughly 9,000 years ago, researchers have identified the early warning signals linked to societal downfall.

 

Researchers examined 2,378 archaeological sites from nine regions of Neolithic Europe to determine if early warning 
signs were present before the collapse of a civilization. The image above illustrates life in the Neolithic Age

In a study published to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they explain that this new framework could help to prevent future catastrophes as the modern world copes with major societal shifts.

The researchers from the University of Maryland and University College London investigated whether early warning signals are present when an ecosystem begins to show declining resilience.

This phenomenon can indicate the forthcoming of ‘major reorganization,’ or a regime shift within the ecosystem, and subsequently, a collapse.

To do this, they examined 2,378 archaeological sites from nine regions of Neolithic Europe....

The graph 'illustrates how critical slowing down can be detected in a model system that transitions from a high growth regime to low growth,' the researchers explain. The team found that such warning signs did line up with the eventual collapse of a given community

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