To FOREST list subscribers:
John Perlin's book, _A Forest Journey: the Role of Wood in the
Development of Civilization_ (New York: W. W. Norton, 1989) is a history
of deforestation. Prior to industrialization, civilizations relied on
wood the way industrial societies rely on fossil fuels. They used wood
not only to construct buildings, but also in shipbuilding and to provide
the energy needed in the production of metal.
Perlin describes how many civilizations were plagued by
wood shortages. One could say that forests were not exploited in a
sustainable manner. One response was to conserve wood. For ancient Rome,
see chapter 8. I remember Perlin showing a slide depicting columns of a
building made to look like tree trunks, because originally, the structure
used wood, but shortages required other materials to be substituted. (By
the way, I knew Perlin when he was working on the book; I would see him in
the library, carrying an armload of books.)
I would like to add a couple of points that are beyond the scope
of the book. First, in the past, civilizations (in the sense of "the rise
of civilization in Egypt") did not extend to as much of the world as
today. For instance, before 1492, in what is today the United States and
Canada, there we no states (i.e. no governments as one normally thinks of
the term), except possibly in the contemporary U.S. Southwest. Secondly,
one might also ask what materials peasants were using in the construction
of their homes. My guess is that though many used wood, others probably
used earth, thatch, and stone, for this is still true in the 20th Century.
In the U.S. today, people are minimizing their use of wood, metal, and
concrete though using straw bales or earth in constructing otherwise
"modern" homes. Yurts are another possibility.
Milton Takei
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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