'Natural causes have affected civilisation'

Renowned archaeologist, Padma Shri MK Dhavalikar, highlighted the fact that it was environmental changes above all which has steered the course of human civilisation since time immemorial.

Dhavalikar, who was delivering the Shri Shivaji Thakkar Memorial lecture at the Nivara Old Age Home on Friday in Pune, said, "Every change in human civilisation has been caused by environmental changes." The lecture was organised by the ecological society.

Dhavalikar said that the importance of environmental changes on human civilisation has not been analysed by historians for long.

"The French and German archaeologists had done noticeable work regarding this issue, but their efforts were not recognised much by the English-speaking world," he said.

Tracing the similarities drawn by early English historians with regard to the annual flooding of the Nile and the floods in the Indian subcontinent, Dhavalikar said, "While analysing the trend, the English historians understood that both the countries came under the influence of the southwest monsoon."

The ace archaeologist also mentioned the rise and fall of the Indus valley civilisation as a classic example of the effect of environment on human civilisation.

"The cities of the Indus valley civilisation thrived on the course of the perennial rivers besides which they grew. However, due to climatic upheaval, these rivers changed course and thus the once prosperous cities also died a slow death," he said.

Dhavalikar urged experts to come forward to undertake a sustained study about this aspect of archaeology.