Lessons of nomad civilizations and where to find them.
Consider the following scenario. A spaceship travels thousands of kilometers looking for a new place to settle. Eventually, the spaceship arrives at a suitable location. The occupants of the ship start to colonize and exploit the available natural resources. Taking small steps the new colonizers expand to the different regions of the planet.
Different settlements grow, morphing into small states and nations. Growth and exploitation of natural resources take the new civilization into a path of environmental disaster. At this point, there are two available options. The first one is to develop friendly technologies to lower the odds of environmental disasters. Or to try again and travel through space and try to find a more suitable location. Still, trying both solutions will maximize the chances of survival.
Both strategies take to different stands towards the environment: cooperative and antagonistic. Cooperation will aim to maintain the balance in the ecosystem. Trying to use the natural resources at the same rate at which they are replenished. While the antagonistic stand will aim to maximize the scape of the ecosystem. Taking as much as possible while it can be taken and then leaving everything behind to die out.
The time needed for the rise and fall of the nomadic civilization will depend on the environmental easiness that they found on each planet. If the resources of the planet are like the ones the civilization had worked before. Then its technology will be able to adapt and the exploitation of the resources will be fast. Otherwise, the civilization will struggle and will try to maintain its number to ensure its survival.
Nevertheless, by exposure to harsh environments, the civilization will strengthen its ability to survive. Making the next generations more capable to deal with difficult situations. Eventually, the civilization will find a location where they can thrive and reach the long-forgotten glories of the past. And the cycle could start all over again.
However, at each new start of the cycle, there’s always the option to take a different stand, to try to prevent the failures of the past. But the ability to stir things will depend on at least two factors. The access to historical records, and the willingness of the civilization as a whole. Yet maximizing escape will perpetuate the nomadic character of the civilization. Leading to a point where there are no more places to go, ending the civilization.
But previous scenarios only take into account the actions of the civilization. But the environment can influence the ability of the civilization to adapt to it. A slowly changing environment will give enough time for the civilization to adapt. This will help the civilization to develop new and faster methods to exploit natural resources. Yet a reactive environment could behave erratically. Preventing the civilization to make long-term plans in the new location.
Changes in the survival strategy of the civilization will impact the environment. This in turn will modify the environment offering new opportunities for the civilization. This simple dynamic interplay between only two players as a whole can take place over generations. Making it hard to understand by looking at a single moment.
The ability to detect and understand the dynamics will depend on the scale of the civilization itself. Even the detection and documentation of the rise and fall of ancient human civilizations is a challenging task. Language barriers and incomplete historical records make it hard to understand why some civilizations collapsed.
However, microorganisms offer a suitable tool to understand the dynamics of this phenomenon. In size, pathogenic organisms and parasites range from micrometers to millimeters. And the distances that they travel to find a new environment to establish are roughly a million times their size. A small number of pathogens are enough to start to colonize the host. The disease will take a couple of days or weeks to be resolved by the immune system. Or full colonization will take place, a result often fatal for the host or with long-term sequelae.
Microorganisms living inside of us at some parts of our lifespan can show us different strategies. Both cooperative and antagonistic strategies can provide us with some insights into both scenarios. What could be the consequence of relying on specific environmental conditions? Specific environmental cues to know when things will move in the opposite direction. This continuous struggle between the host and the microorganisms can give us some understanding of our current path. See you in the next one.
