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.