Learn about strategies that ancient people used to survive social collapse (ANTHARC 296, Section 201). This course will be offered in Summer 2019. Photo by J. Warren, Wikimedia Commons (http://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-39/album.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5768911).

The apocalypse isn’t nigh: it has already happened. Learn from the past to survive. This course, How to Survive the Apocalypse: The Archaeology of Collapse (ANTHARC 296, Section 201), will offer students a broad introduction to our past, from our evolutionary history to the rise of empires, to consider strategies for enduring ongoing and future apocalypses. From the disappearance of Neanderthals to the collapse of Maya civilization, the abandonment of Chaco to the fall of the Wari Empire, we will examine the strategies past peoples used to survive the worst. We will also learn basic survival skills that have ensured our species’ continued success, such as making tools, constructing a social network, small-scale gardening, and storing food. Discussions and hands-on activities will show students how we can survive the disasters of tomorrow. No prior archaeology or anthropology coursework is necessary. Class meets Monday and Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Contact the instructor, Bree Doering, for more information: doeringb@umich.edu.