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Unbalanced social-ecological acceleration led to state formation failure in early medieval Poland.

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Title: Unbalanced social-ecological acceleration led to state formation failure in early medieval Poland.
Authors: Izdebski, Adam1,2,3 izdebski@gea.mpg.de, Czerwiński, Sambor4, Jankowiak, Marek2,3, Danielewski, Marcin5, Fiołna, Sabina6, Gromig, Raphael1,7,8, Guzowski, Piotr9, Haghipour, Negar10,11, Hajdas, Irka10, Kołaczek, Piotr12, Lamentowicz, Mariusz12, Marcisz, Katarzyna12, Niebieszczański, Jakub5, Sankiewicz, Paweł13, Wagner, Bernd8
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 5/6/2025, Vol. 122 Issue 18, p1-12. 38p.
Subjects: Environmental history, Political ecology, Medieval archaeology, Human ecology, Social network analysis
Abstract: Rapid social-ecological intensification is a recurrent feature of human history. It occurred in different forms and contexts; its outcomes may have been sustainable or transient. Until recently, such intensifications usually accompanied state formation: Consolidation of political power was often coupled with exponential increase in human exploitation of the environment of a given area. Here, we study one such case, uniquely well-documented through our rich paleoecological, archaeological, numismatic, and literary data. Triggered by the Eurasian slave trade, the first "Polish" polity was founded in Central Europe c. 900 common era. It undertook unprecedented ecological intensification in its core territory, connected with large construction projects, and engaged in rapid territorial expansion. We provide new crucial evidence on this process by publishing here a high-resolution pollen profile from a location close to the polity's capital and by an application of social network analysis to numismatic data. This state collapsed within a few generations after its foundation. The collapse of the political elites, however, did not produce a complete social and ecological disintegration of the polity's former core region. We thus show how collapse and continuity can remain closely intertwined. Last but not least, the rich evidence on the mechanism of the collapse reveals that successful maintenance of social-ecological intensification requires reliance on a number of cultural, economic, religious, and social networks underlying the political expansion. The polity's elite lacked access to or failed to mobilize such networks, which led to its demise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Unbalanced social-ecological acceleration led to state formation failure in early medieval Poland.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Izdebski%2C+Adam%22">Izdebski, Adam</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo><i> izdebski@gea.mpg.de</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Czerwiński%2C+Sambor%22">Czerwiński, Sambor</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jankowiak%2C+Marek%22">Jankowiak, Marek</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Danielewski%2C+Marcin%22">Danielewski, Marcin</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fiołna%2C+Sabina%22">Fiołna, Sabina</searchLink><relatesTo>6</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gromig%2C+Raphael%22">Gromig, Raphael</searchLink><relatesTo>1,7,8</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Guzowski%2C+Piotr%22">Guzowski, Piotr</searchLink><relatesTo>9</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Haghipour%2C+Negar%22">Haghipour, Negar</searchLink><relatesTo>10,11</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hajdas%2C+Irka%22">Hajdas, Irka</searchLink><relatesTo>10</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kołaczek%2C+Piotr%22">Kołaczek, Piotr</searchLink><relatesTo>12</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lamentowicz%2C+Mariusz%22">Lamentowicz, Mariusz</searchLink><relatesTo>12</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marcisz%2C+Katarzyna%22">Marcisz, Katarzyna</searchLink><relatesTo>12</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Niebieszczański%2C+Jakub%22">Niebieszczański, Jakub</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sankiewicz%2C+Paweł%22">Sankiewicz, Paweł</searchLink><relatesTo>13</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wagner%2C+Bernd%22">Wagner, Bernd</searchLink><relatesTo>8</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+of+the+United+States+of+America%22">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</searchLink>. 5/6/2025, Vol. 122 Issue 18, p1-12. 38p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+history%22">Environmental history</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Political+ecology%22">Political ecology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medieval+archaeology%22">Medieval archaeology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Human+ecology%22">Human ecology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+network+analysis%22">Social network analysis</searchLink>
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  Data: Rapid social-ecological intensification is a recurrent feature of human history. It occurred in different forms and contexts; its outcomes may have been sustainable or transient. Until recently, such intensifications usually accompanied state formation: Consolidation of political power was often coupled with exponential increase in human exploitation of the environment of a given area. Here, we study one such case, uniquely well-documented through our rich paleoecological, archaeological, numismatic, and literary data. Triggered by the Eurasian slave trade, the first "Polish" polity was founded in Central Europe c. 900 common era. It undertook unprecedented ecological intensification in its core territory, connected with large construction projects, and engaged in rapid territorial expansion. We provide new crucial evidence on this process by publishing here a high-resolution pollen profile from a location close to the polity's capital and by an application of social network analysis to numismatic data. This state collapsed within a few generations after its foundation. The collapse of the political elites, however, did not produce a complete social and ecological disintegration of the polity's former core region. We thus show how collapse and continuity can remain closely intertwined. Last but not least, the rich evidence on the mechanism of the collapse reveals that successful maintenance of social-ecological intensification requires reliance on a number of cultural, economic, religious, and social networks underlying the political expansion. The polity's elite lacked access to or failed to mobilize such networks, which led to its demise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1073/pnas.2409056122
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Medieval archaeology
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