Anasazi indians were an ancient native american culture located in the present- day american southwest who built and inhabited pueblo structures. between the twelfth to thirteenth centuries, most of the pueblo buildings were abandoned. archeologists have scavenged the area looking for clues as to why these structures were abandoned and what happened to a formerly prosperous population. while many theories exist as to what happened to the anasazi people, serious and prolonged drought seems to be the best explanation as to their disappearance.
Scientists have found many clues from looking at tree rings in the area which can provide insight into past climate data including temperature and rainfall. in the period between the twelfth and thirteenth century, this area experienced three extended periods of drought as a result of global warming. when the cycle of droughts began anasazi agriculture production was unable to keep up with consumption demand. without sufficient rainfall it was impossible to harvest enough food to support the population.
Excavations have revealed the construction of large dams and reservoirs along the irrigation system in the anasazi region. the presence of these large construction projects indicates that the anasazi people were trying to manipulate the region’s water supply to support their growing water needs. however, evidence indicates reservoir capacity was not adequate enough to deal with extended droughts. facing three long-term, back-to-back droughts rendered the reservoirs useless.
Finally, with the growth of population as the anasazi civilization reached its peak, people continually had to compete with each other for resources. the presence of sustained periods of drought made it harder and harder for people to compete for limited resources. thus, faced with the possibility of starvation and death, they chose to migrate to lands to the north and east where climate conditions were more favorable.
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Doctor Achebe
In 1930, a famous economist predicted that at theend of the twentieth century, an average workerwould work only 15 hours a week, thanks toadvances in technology. This did not happen, aswe all know. Nonetheless, the balance betweenwork time and free time remains an interestingquestion. So, let me ask you today: Twenty yearsin the future, will people have more leisure time(free time) and less work than they have today?Why, or why not?
Claire
I think it is likely that people will work shorter hours in twentyyears than they do today. Our societies are becomingwealthier all the time. lt does not seem necessary for people tcontinue working as hard as they do today. At some point,having more free time should be more important than creatingmore wealth.
Paul
I am not sure people will work less in the future. As DoctorAchebe wrote, a shortening of the workweek was predictedbefore. There are many factors that determine how longpeople work.Our economic system is very competitive.Workers are pushed to work longer and longer hours so thatcompanies have a competitive advantage,
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