Bestselling author Eric Cline will come to the Yale Peabody Museum to talk about his new book After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations, the story of what happened after the Bronze Age collapsed—why some civilizations endured, why some gave way to new ones, and why some disappeared forever.
The lecture, called “1177 BC, the Collapse, and Survival of Civilization,” will take place on Thursday, May 9 at 6 pm in the OC Marsh Lecture Hall, located at 260 Whitney Avenue. Admission is free. Books will be available for purchase at the event.
He will be joined by author-illustrator Glynnis Fawkes, who will talk about their new book 1177 B.C.: A Graphic History of the Year Civilization Collapsed (Princeton University Press).
“Part of the Peabody’s charge is to explore the different ways scientific inquiry can be interpreted and understood. We are delighted to host Eric Cline and Glynnis Fawkes and to learn about their creative approach to this fascinating historical time,” said David Skelly, director of the Yale Peabody Museum.
Cline is professor of classics and anthropology at George Washington University. His many books include 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed and After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations (both Princeton). Fawkes is the author-illustrator of Charlotte Brontë before Jane Eyre and Persephone’s Garden, among other books, and her comics have appeared on the website of The New Yorker. She has worked as an archaeological illustrator around the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, and teaches at the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont.
“Eric Cline has an increasingly rare combination of talents, a true gift for storytelling and an expertise borne of decades of groundbreaking, cross-pollinating research. He brings the past alive like few scholars can by connecting disparate traditions of knowledge while providing a depth of expertise very few possess. His books and lectures are remarkable for their ability to simultaneously educate and entertain both specialist and student,” said Andrew Koh, an archaeochemist and museum scientist at the Peabody Museum.
At the end of Cline’s acclaimed history 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, many of the Late Bronze Age civilizations of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean lay in ruins, undone by invasion, revolt, natural disasters, famine, and the demise of international trade. An interconnected world that had boasted major empires and societies, relative peace, robust commerce, and monumental architecture was lost and the so-called First Dark Age had begun. Now, in After 1177 B.C., Cline tells the compelling story of what happened next, over four centuries, across the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean world. It is a story of resilience, transformation, and success, as well as failures, in an age of chaos and reconfiguration.
“Cline mixes archaeology, history, climate science, and social theory in this insightful work that never pushes evidence beyond its weight. . . . [A] compelling, original, and fruitful story. This title has significant meaning in an overstressed world. For more than just history buffs,” according to a review in Library Journal.
In a graphic adaptation of the landmark book, 1177 B.C.: A Graphic History of the Year Civilization Collapsed Fawkes invites us to follow two young friends living in the aftermath of the cataclysm as they unravel why it happened—and reveal important lessons for today’s interconnected and vulnerable world. An entertaining adventure story, this dazzling comic is also historically accurate and enlightening, inviting readers of all ages to think about the surprising factors and theories that explain why societies, whether ancient or modern, die or survive when struck by catastrophes.
“This funny, beautiful book is a tour de force of visual storytelling. Glynnis Fawkes’s stunning graphic rendition of 1177 B.C. amplifies Eric Cline’s landmark work without simplifying the historical questions that remain. From the mysterious Sea Peoples to garrulous hippos, the Late Bronze Age comes alive on the page,” said Josephine Quinn, author of How the World Made the West: A 4,000-Year History.
For more information about the Yale Peabody Museum, visit Peabody.yale.edu.