A civilization constitutes a durable social system of complementary traits. Some of the complementarities of any given civilization are between elements of “material” life and ones commonly treated as integral to “culture.” Identifying the mechanisms responsible for a civilization’s observed trajectory involves, therefore, causal relationships that cross the often-postulated “cultural–material”...

Iranian civilization is one of the oldest and most influential civilizations of history, and Iran as the origin of Persian civilization, has been ruled by numerous states throughout history. Some of them, while enjoying considerable glory and high level of economic and political power, have sometimes been declined and finally overthrown. Having these points in mind, the main questions are prese...

The death of our universe is as certain as our individual death. Some cosmologists have elaborated models which would make the cosmos immortal. In this paper, I examine them as cosmological extrapolations of immortality narratives that civilizations have developed to face death anxiety. I first show why cosmological death should be a worry, then I briefly examine scenarios involving the notion ...

This special issue of Human Biology commemorates the quincentennial of Christopher Columbus's journeys to the New World. This historical event, the collision of New and Old World cultures, forever altered the demography of the world. As a result of this contact, the native peoples of the Americas experienced innumerable hardships, disease, death, and the destruction of civilizations, tribes, an...