The Yellow River : a natural and unnatural history / Ruth Mostern ; maps and infographics with the assistance of Ryan M. Horne.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mostern, Ruth, 1967- author.

Contributor:

Horne, Ryan M., contributor.

Series:

Yale agrarian studies

Yale agrarian studies series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Yellow River (China)--History.

Yellow River (China).

Human ecology--History.

Human ecology.

Yellow River Region (China)--History.

Yellow River Region (China).

China--Yellow River.

China--Yellow River Region.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xiii, 326 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New Haven ; London : Yale University Press, [2021]

Summary:

From Neolithic times to the present day, the Yellow River and its watershed have both shaped and been shaped by human society. Using the Yellow River to illustrate the long-term effects of environmentally significant human activity, Ruth Mostern unravels the long history of the human relationship with water and soil and the consequences, at times disastrous, of ecological transformations that resulted from human decisions. As Mostern follows the Yellow River through three millennia of history, she underlines how governments consistently ignored the dynamic interrelationships of the river's varied ecosystems-grasslands, riparian forests, wetlands, and deserts-and the ecological and cultural impacts of their policies. With an interdisciplinary approach informed by archival research and GIS (geographical information system) records, this groundbreaking volume provides unique insight into patterns, transformations, and devastating ruptures throughout ecological history and offers profound conclusions about the way we continue to affect the natural systems upon which we depend.

Contents:

Graphics style reference guide

Introduction : seeing the Yellow River as a whole

The natural and unnatural history of the Yellow River

Before it was yellow : the great river from neolithic through medieval times

Loess is more : the middle period tipping point, 750-1350

Levies and levees : the engineered river, 1351-1855

Epilogue : the Yellow River in the Anthropocene

Appendix : tracking Yu : developing a data system for Yellow River history / by Ruth Mostern and Ryan M. Horne

Glossary of Chinese characters.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-308) and index.

Other Format:

Electronic version: Mostern, Ruth, 1967- Yellow River.

ISBN:

9780300238334

0300238339

OCLC:

1243263292