SiTU BASICS

STUDY TOOLS

by Jian, tcm, SiTU

ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND

Sea- and river-levels rose and fell considerably, even during human history.
During the ice-ages much of the water was bound and sealevels were more than 100 meters lower. About 15.000 years ago, one could walk from Holland to England and Norway. The Northsea or better Northland was dominated by rivers like the Elbe, Rijn, Schelde or Weser. Enormous streams, that sought their way to the Ocean, north of Scotland. People lived there, using bridges, elevelated paths and a patchwork of waterways to get around. Of course there were cities and temples on the islands, but giant harbours and docks dominated the riversides and the shores.
We automatically associate “Ice-age”, with freezing cold and growing glaciers. Humans could not survive in these circumstances (actually they can) and were driven to the south of Europe (France) and North-America.
For others life was nice and easy. The Sahara, now an imprenetable desert, was a lush and fertile environment, with rivers, lakes, wildlife, cattle and people! The same goes for the Middle-East, which once was called “the fertile crescent”, was very populated and brought forward impressive cultures and empires like Akkad and Babylon.

So, keep in mind:

over time waterlevels change

over time environmental circumstances change

over time the population changes

over time the climate changes

These changes are global and cyclical.