Ecologies in Past Cultures

Ancient and premodern societies of Europe and the Mediterranean existed within complex ecological contexts that shaped their settlement patterns, economic systems, health conditions and cultural practices. Our research field investigates how past societies interacted with their natural environments and how these relationships influenced social organisation, technological developments and cultural strategies for responding to environmental change.

At the centre of the inquiry is the question of human societies as actors within ecological systems. How did communities use, shape and transform natural resources? In what ways did environmental factors such as climatic fluctuations, volcanic events or epidemics affect demographic developments, mobility and modes of production? And through which cultural practices, institutions and technical strategies did societies organise their relationships with the environment?

This focus also addresses the question of how literary texts, inscriptions or archaeological finds depict the relationship between humans and the environment, for example in relation to the use of resources, natural hazards or sacred sites and landscapes. And how can we draw conclusions from these depictions as to whether pre-modern societies viewed their environment more as a space to be dominated or as an entity to be respected?

The significance of this research field lies in making the dynamics of historical human–environment interactions visible and in systematically situating past societies within their ecological contexts. The historical depth of this analysis also opens a perspective on contemporary debates about sustainability, biodiversity and the Anthropocene, highlighting the conditions under which societies responded to environmental change.