Yale professor to discuss connection of volcanic eruptions, social unrest in Ancient Egypt

How did volcanic eruptions impact the flow of the Nile River and affect social unrest in Ancient Egypt?

Joseph Manning, the Simpson Professor of Classics and History at Yale University, will explain in a free, public lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30 in Room 100 of the D.P. Corbett Business Building at the University of Maine.

Manning observed that explosive volcanic eruptions resulted in a reduction in precipitation in Ptolemaic Egypt (305–30 BCE). This was particularly dramatic in the case of the monsoon that drove the annual flood of the Nile River. Manning and colleagues demonstrated the connection between the resulting Nile River flood suppression and subsequent social unrest.

The Hudson Museum, Anthropology Department, Climate Change Institute, and Graduate School are sponsoring Manning’s lecture. For additional information and to request a reasonable accommodation, call 207-581-1904.