CiNii Books - Fire and civilization

According to mythology, people became truly "human" by learning to domesticate fire and cook food. Other great transformation - the birth of agriculture and the industrial revolution - represent huge leaps forward in our relations with fire. This book examines Homer and the Hebrew Bible, the Vestal Virgins and pioneering Roman fire brigades, the role of Hell-fire in Christianity's "civilizing campaign" and developments from the age of steam to "fire-powered" cars and nuclear fusion. Even today, bush and forest fires caused by short-sighted farming policies or sheer high spirits contribute to the disastrous international wood shortage. This work of wide-ranging scholarship both illuminates such current concerns, and makes readers look again at the whole course of human history. Johan Goudsblom is the author of "Dutch Society", "Sociology in the Balance", "Nihilism and Culture" and "Human History and Social Process".

Table of Contents

THE CIVILIZING PROCESS AND THE CONTROL OF FIRE: Fire
Civilisation
The domestication of fire as a civilising process
Plan and scope of the book. THE ORIGINAL DOMESTICATION OF FIRE: The stage of predominantly passive use of fire
The transition to active use of fire
The formation of the species monopoly. THE EFFECTS OF THE USE OF FIRE IN PRE-AGRARIAN SOCIETIES: The widening gap between humans and other animals
Clearing land
Cooking
Warmth, light and other functions. FIRE AND AGRARIANIZATION: The second transition
Fire use and agrarianization
Slash and burn - the European case
After slash and burn - increased or decreased productivity? FIRE IN SETTLED AGRARIAN SOCIETIES: Dominant trends
Fire specialists: potters, smiths and warriors
Fire use and fire hazards in cities
Fire in the country. FIRE IN ANCIENT ISRAEL: Setting and sources
Fire and sacrifice
Fire as a sign of divine power
Fire as a sign of divine anger
Fire in war
Fire in everyday life. FIRE IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME: Setting and sources
Fire in the world of Odysseus: the military regime
Fire in the world of Hesiod: the agrarian regime
The age of the great Greek wars
Fire use and social stratification
Fires and fire-fighting in the Roman world
Fire in religion
Fuel and deforestation. FIRE IN PRE-INDUSTRIAL EUROPE: The four estates
Fire and religion
Fire in war
Fire in cities
Fire in the country
Fire in technology and science. FIRE IN THE INDUSTRIAL AGE: Industrialization as a dominant trend
The age of the steam engine and the safety match
New sources of energy - more discrete and diffuse use of fire
Large city fires
Beyond the fire-protected zones - war
Beyond the fire-protected zones - forest fires. THE CONTROL OF FIRE AT DIFFERENT LEVELS: The individual acquisition of control over fire
Variations in fire use among and within societies
Increased control over fire for humanity as a whole.

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Fire and civilization

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