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The Hohokam, an irrigation-based society in the American South West, used the river valleys of the Salt and Gila Rivers between 500 and 1500 AD to grow their crops. Such irrigated crops are linking human agency, water sources and the general natural environment. In order to grow crops, water available through rain and river flows needs to be diverted to land where the plants are grown. With a focus on the Gila River, this paper uses the potential harvest of maize (a main Hohokam crop) as a proxy for evaluating the influence of natural water availability and climatic changes on irrigation options for maize. Available climate variables derived from tree-ring proxies are downscaled. These downscaled data are used as input for a crop growth model for the entire sequence of Hohokam occupation along the Gila River. The results of the crop model are used to discuss the potential influence of climatic variability on Hohokam irrigation and society. The results will show that climatic change alone cannot be used as an explanation for developments in Hohokam irrigation. Societal development resulting in growing population and extensive irrigation systems increasing pressure on water sources over time would have been a key factor to include to understand Hohokam society between 500 and 1500 AD., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

The Hohokam, an irrigation-based society in the American South West, used the river valleys of the Salt and Gila Rivers between 500 and 1500 AD to grow their crops. Such irrigated crops are linking human agency, water sources and the general natural environment. In order to grow crops, water available through rain and river flows needs to be diverted to land where the plants are grown. With a focus on the Gila River, this paper uses the potential harvest of maize (a main Hohokam crop) as a proxy for evaluating the influence of natural water availability and climatic changes on irrigation options for maize. Available climate variables derived from tree-ring proxies are downscaled. These downscaled data are used as input for a crop growth model for the entire sequence of Hohokam occupation along the Gila River. The results of the crop model are used to discuss the potential influence of climatic variability on Hohokam irrigation and society. The results will show that climatic change alone cannot be used as an explanation for developments in Hohokam irrigation. Societal development resulting in growing population and extensive irrigation systems increasing pressure on water sources over time would have been a key factor to include to understand Hohokam society between 500 and 1500 AD., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Many small-scale water development initiatives are accompanied by hydrological research to study either the shape of the intervention or its impacts. Humans influence both, and thus one needs to take human agency into account. This paper focuses on the effects of human actions in the intervention and its associated hydrological research, as these effects have not yet been discussed explicitly in a systematic way. In this paper, we propose a systematic planning, based on evaluating three hydrological research projects in small-scale water intervention projects in Vietnam, Kenya, and Indonesia. The main purpose of the three projects was to understand the functioning of interventions in their hydrological contexts. Aiming for better decision-making on hydrological research in small-scale water intervention projects, we propose two analysis steps: (1) being prepared for surprises and (2) cost-benefit analysis. By performing the two analyses continuously throughout a small-scale hydrological intervention based project, effective hydrological research can be achieved., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

The Hohokam, an irrigation-based society in the American South West, used the river valleys of the Salt and Gila Rivers between 500 and 1500 AD to grow their crops. Such irrigated crops are linking human agency, water sources and the general natural environment. In order to grow crops, water available through rain and river flows needs to be diverted to land where the plants are grown. With a focus on the Gila River, this paper uses the potential harvest of maize (a main Hohokam crop) as a proxy for evaluating the influence of natural water availability and climatic changes on irrigation options for maize. Available climate variables derived from tree-ring proxies are downscaled. These downscaled data are used as input for a crop growth model for the entire sequence of Hohokam occupation along the Gila River. The results of the crop model are used to discuss the potential influence of climatic variability on Hohokam irrigation and society. The results will show that climatic change alone cannot be used as an explanation for developments in Hohokam irrigation. Societal development resulting in growing population and extensive irrigation systems increasing pressure on water sources over time would have been a key factor to include to understand Hohokam society between 500 and 1500 AD., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

We propose and test the theory of endogenous change in societal institutions based on historical reconstructions of two ancient civilizations, the Indus and Hohokam, in two water-scarce basins, the Indus Basin in the Indian subcontinent and the lower Colorado Basin in the southwestern United States. In our reconstructions, institutions are approximated by the scale of “cooperation”, be it in the form of the extent of trade, sophisticated irrigation networks, a central state or a loosely held state with a common cultural identity. We study changes in institutions brought about by changes in factors like rainfall, population density, and land-use-induced water resource availability, in a proximate manner. These factors either change naturally or are changed by humans; in either case we contend that the changes affect the stability of cooperative structures over time. We relate the quantitative dimensions of water access by ancient populations to the co-evolution of water access and the socioeconomic and sociopolitical organizations. In doing so, we do not claim that water manipulation was the single most significant factor in stimulating social development and complexity – this would be highly reductionist. Nonetheless, we provide a discussion with the aim to enhance our understanding of the complexity of coupled human–hydrological systems. We find that scarcity triggered more complex cooperative arrangements in both Indus and Hohokam societies., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

When simulating social action in modeling efforts, as in socio-hydrology, an issue of obvious importance is how to ensure that social action by human agents is well-represented in the analysis and the model. Generally, human decision-making is either modeled on a yearly basis or lumped together as collective social structures. Both responses are problematic, as human decision-making is more complex and organizations are the result of human agency and cannot be used as explanatory forces. A way out of the dilemma of how to include human agency is to go to the largest societal and environmental clustering possible: society itself and climate, with time steps of years or decades. In the paper, another way out is developed: to face human agency squarely, and direct the modeling approach to the agency of individuals and couple this with the lowest appropriate hydrological level and time step. This approach is supported theoretically by the work of Bruno Latour, the French sociologist and philosopher. We discuss irrigation archaeology, as it is in this discipline that the issues of scale and explanatory force are well discussed. The issue is not just what scale to use: it is what scale matters. We argue that understanding the arrangements that permitted the management of irrigation over centuries requires modeling and understanding the small-scale, day-to-day operations and personal interactions upon which they were built. This effort, however, must be informed by the longer-term dynamics, as these provide the context within which human agency is acted out., Water Resources

We propose and test the theory of endogenous change in societal institutions based on historical reconstructions of two ancient civilizations, the Indus and Hohokam, in two water-scarce basins, the Indus Basin in the Indian subcontinent and the lower Colorado Basin in the southwestern United States. In our reconstructions, institutions are approximated by the scale of “cooperation”, be it in the form of the extent of trade, sophisticated irrigation networks, a central state or a loosely held state with a common cultural identity. We study changes in institutions brought about by changes in factors like rainfall, population density, and land-use-induced water resource availability, in a proximate manner. These factors either change naturally or are changed by humans; in either case we contend that the changes affect the stability of cooperative structures over time. We relate the quantitative dimensions of water access by ancient populations to the co-evolution of water access and the socioeconomic and sociopolitical organizations. In doing so, we do not claim that water manipulation was the single most significant factor in stimulating social development and complexity – this would be highly reductionist. Nonetheless, we provide a discussion with the aim to enhance our understanding of the complexity of coupled human–hydrological systems. We find that scarcity triggered more complex cooperative arrangements in both Indus and Hohokam societies., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

When simulating social action in modeling efforts, as in socio-hydrology, an issue of obvious importance is how to ensure that social action by human agents is well-represented in the analysis and the model. Generally, human decision-making is either modeled on a yearly basis or lumped together as collective social structures. Both responses are problematic, as human decision making is more complex and organizations are the result of human agency and cannot be used as explanatory forces. A way out of the dilemma how to include human agency is to go to the largest societal and environmental clustering possible: society itself and climate, with time steps of years or decades. In the paper, the other way out is developed: to face human agency squarely, and direct the modeling approach to the human agency of individuals and couple this with the lowest appropriate hydrological level and time step. This approach is supported theoretically by the work of Bruno Latour, the French sociologist and philosopher. We discuss irrigation archaeology, as it is in this discipline that the issues of scale and explanatory force are well discussed. The issue is not just what scale to use: it is what scale matters. We argue that understanding the arrangements that permitted the management of irrigation over centuries, requires modeling and understanding the small-scale, day-to-day operations and personal interactions upon which they were built. This effort, however, must be informed by the longer-term dynamics as these provide the context within which human agency, is acted out., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

When simulating social action in modeling efforts, as in socio-hydrology, an issue of obvious importance is how to ensure that social action by human agents is wellrepresented in the analysis and the model. Generally, human decision-making is either modeled on a yearly basis or lumped together as collective social structures. Both responses are problematic, as human decision making is more complex and organizations are the result of human agency and cannot be used as explanatory forces. A way out of the dilemma how to include human agency is to go to the largest societal and environmental clustering possible: society itself and climate, with time steps of years or decades. In the paper, the other way out is developed: to face human agency squarely, and direct the modeling approach to the human agency of individuals and couple this with the lowest appropriate hydrological level and time step. This approach is supported theoretically by the work of Bruno Latour, the French sociologist and philosopher. We discuss irrigation archaeology, as it is in this discipline that the issues of scale and explanatory force are well discussed. The issue is not just what scale to use: it is what scale matters. We argue that understanding the arrangements that permitted the management of irrigation over centuries, requires modeling and understanding the small-scale, day-to-day operations and personal interactions upon which they were built. This effort, however, must be informed by the longer-term dynamics as these provide the context within which human agency, is acted out., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

We propose and test the theory of endogenous change based on historical reconstructions of two ancient civilizations, Indus and Hohokam, in two water scarce basins, the Indus basin in the Indian subcontinent and the Lower Colorado basin in Southwestern United States. The endogenous institutional change sees changes in institutions as a sequence of equilibria brought about by changes in “quasi-parameters” such as rainfall, population density, soil and land use induced water resource availability. In the historical reconstructions of ancient civilizations, institutions are proximated by the scale of cooperation be it in the form of the extent of trade, sophisticated irrigation network, a centrally planned state or a loosely held state with a common cultural identity. The “quasi-parameters” either change naturally or are changed by humans and the changes affect the stability of cooperative structures over time. However, human influenced changes in the quasi-parameters itself are conditioned on the scale of existing cooperative structures. We thus provide insights into the quantitative dimensions of water access by ancient populations and its co-evolution with the socioeconomic and sociopolitical organization of the human past. We however do not suggest that water manipulation was the single most significant factor in stimulating social development and complexity – clearly this has been shown as highly reductionist, even misleading. The paper cautiously contributes to proximate prediction of hydrological change by attempting to understand the complexity of coupled human-hydrological systems., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

We propose and test the theory of endogenous change based on historical reconstructions of two ancient civilizations, Indus and Hohokam, in two water scarce basins, the Indus basin in the Indian subcontinent and the Lower Colorado basin in Southwestern United States. The endogenous institutional change sees changes in institutions as a sequence of equilibria brought about by changes in “quasi-parameters” such as rainfall, population density, soil and land use induced water resource availability. In the historical reconstructions of ancient civilizations, institutions are proximated by the scale of cooperation be it in the form of the extent of trade, sophisticated irrigation network, a centrally planned state or a loosely held state with a common cultural identity. The “quasi-parameters” either change naturally or are changed by humans and the changes affect the stability of cooperative structures over time. However, human influenced changes in the quasi-parameters itself are conditioned on the scale of existing cooperative structures. We thus provide insights into the quantitative dimensions of water access by ancient populations and its co-evolution with the socioeconomic and sociopolitical organization of the human past. We however do not suggest that water manipulation was the single most significant factor in stimulating social development and complexity – clearly this has been shown as highly reductionist, even misleading. The paper cautiously contributes to proximate prediction of hydrological change by attempting to understand the complexity of coupled human-hydrological systems., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

When simulating social action in modeling efforts, as in socio-hydrology, an issue of obvious importance is how to ensure that social action by human agents is wellrepresented in the analysis and the model. Generally, human decision-making is either modeled on a yearly basis or lumped together as collective social structures. Both responses are problematic, as human decision making is more complex and organizations are the result of human agency and cannot be used as explanatory forces. A way out of the dilemma how to include human agency is to go to the largest societal and environmental clustering possible: society itself and climate, with time steps of years or decades. In the paper, the other way out is developed: to face human agency squarely, and direct the modeling approach to the human agency of individuals and couple this with the lowest appropriate hydrological level and time step. This approach is supported theoretically by the work of Bruno Latour, the French sociologist and philosopher. We discuss irrigation archaeology, as it is in this discipline that the issues of scale and explanatory force are well discussed. The issue is not just what scale to use: it is what scale matters. We argue that understanding the arrangements that permitted the management of irrigation over centuries, requires modeling and understanding the small-scale, day-to-day operations and personal interactions upon which they were built. This effort, however, must be informed by the longer-term dynamics as these provide the context within which human agency, is acted out., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

In the early 19th century, the Dutch colonial power started to build irrigation works. A main problem for Dutch irrigation engineers on Java was how to ensure that the structures they built remained intact. The peak discharge regime of a river was an issue closely related to dam safety. Modifying the approach of Swiss engineer Lauterburg (1877), Dutch irrigation engineer Melchior developed a methodology to determine design peak flows of Javanese rivers. The Melchior methodology has been the standard method throughout the colonial period, despite sometimes severe criticisms on its appropriateness. In independent Indonesia, the approach developed by Melchior continues to be applied. This paper discusses and explains the endurance of the method developed by Melchior. The focus is on the scientific interaction between different participants. The paper shows how participants from these circles debated and which arguments they exchanged., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Human activity is key in understanding ancient irrigation systems. Results of short term actions build up over time, affecting civilizations on larger temporal and spatial scales. Irrigation systems, with their many entities, social and physical, their many interactions within a changing environment and emergent properties, are typical examples of systems for which agent-based modelling could yield fruitful analysis. Because of the highly detailed and complex relations between human actions and the social and material context in irrigation, however, it is difficult to develop a full-scale agent-based model for irrigation. This paper will discuss first attempts to build understanding on human agency through agent-based modelling., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

In the early 19th century, the Dutch colonial power started to build irrigation works. A main problem for Dutch irrigation engineers on Java was how to ensure that the structures they built remained intact. The peak discharge regime of a river was an issue closely related to dam safety. Modifying the approach of Swiss engineer Lauterburg (1877), Dutch irrigation engineer Melchior developed a methodology to determine design peak flows of Javanese rivers. The Melchior methodology has been the standard method throughout the colonial period, despite sometimes severe criticisms on its appropriateness. In independent Indonesia, the approach developed by Melchior continues to be applied. This paper discusses and explains the endurance of the method developed by Melchior. The focus is on the scientific interaction between different participants. The paper shows how participants from these circles debated and which arguments they exchanged., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Human activity is key in understanding ancient irrigation systems. Results of short term actions build up over time, affecting civilizations on larger temporal and spatial scales. Irrigation systems, with their many entities, social and physical, their many interactions within a changing environment and emergent properties, are typical examples of systems for which agent-based modelling could yield fruitful analysis. Because of the highly detailed and complex relations between human actions and the social and material context in irrigation, however, it is difficult to develop a full-scale agent-based model for irrigation. This paper will discuss first attempts to build understanding on human agency through agent-based modelling., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Irrigation systems were clearly important in ancient times in supplying crops with water. This requires physical distribution facilities and socio-political arrangements to coordinate between actors. Resulting systems are highly diverse, and are being studied extensively within archeology and history. Whether initiated by a central authority or emerging from small-scale initiatives, irrigation systems are shaped through activities of individuals, households, and small groups into patterns and landscapes. This article discusses how hydraulic modeling techniques are powerful methodologies to study such irrigation development. Modeling daily interactions by agents and water fluxes will build better understanding of irrigation systems as anthropogenic landscapes. Three case studies will be used to illustrate this argument. A current irrigation system in Arequipa, Peru, shows that one can relate irrigation infrastructure and social action. A second case from Peru on a pre-Colombian irrigation system suggests that one can link irrigation system, water flows, and settlement. In the third case in the Jordan Valley, this possible link between irrigation and settlement is further studied., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Resources

Irrigation systems were clearly important in ancient times in supplying crops with water. This requires physical distribution facilities and socio-political arrangements to coordinate between actors. Resulting systems are highly diverse, and are being studied extensively within archeology and history. Whether initiated by a central authority or emerging from small-scale initiatives, irrigation systems are shaped through activities of individuals, households, and small groups into patterns and landscapes. This article discusses how hydraulic modeling techniques are powerful methodologies to study such irrigation development. Modeling daily interactions by agents and water fluxes will build better understanding of irrigation systems as anthropogenic landscapes. Three case studies will be used to illustrate this argument. A current irrigation system in Arequipa, Peru, shows that one can relate irrigation infrastructure and social action. A second case from Peru on a pre-Colombian irrigation system suggests that one can link irrigation system, water flows, and settlement. In the third case in the Jordan Valley, this possible link between irrigation and settlement is further studied., Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

The calls for change are all around us. Modern society would need to dramatically shift to other production methods, other approaches to nature and environment, and new, improved regulations for economic activities. This paper does not challenge this need for more elegant production methods nor does it aim to criticize the importance of sustainability. What I will do, however, is question the concept of changing itself. More often than not, a need for change is accompanied with a claim of a paradigm shift actually already happening. I will argue that it is theoretically impossible to know whether one experiences a shift or not, as one would need to see in the future to actually proof the shift. With several examples from historical analysis, on management of river systems in the Netherlands and irrigation development in the Netherlands East Indies, this argument is sustained. It will become clear that pointing to actual shifts is not that straightforward, even when we know the outcome of the shift. There are clear changes to be detected in history, but when was the shift? Analysis of shifts will prove to be at least partly a function of the perceptions of the observer, the amount of time between the shift under study and the observer, and the length of the time frame applied in the analysis. Now being able to locate actual shifts may hamper, or at least leads to questions, about management of shifts in modern times., Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Resources

Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Management, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

The apparent persistency of colonial irrigation elements in Dutch irrigation practice and education is the main source of inspiration for this book; the Netherlands East Indian irrigation regime, consisting of explicit and implicit rules for irrigation design is its subject. The book explains how the Netherlands East Indian irrigation regime developed and how (dis)continuities in irrigation education and practice after Indonesian independence can be understood. The idea of persistency in engineering is not new; engineering has been analyzed as being influenced by design schools, in which certain preferences for solutions and/or methods are maintained. The question of continuity is studied applying the concept of technological regime, which is defined in chapter 1 as a set of rules that structure activities of actors (engineers) involved in development and use of a certain technology (irrigation). Five categories of rules are distinguished: (1) founding premises or guiding principles; (2) promises and expectations about a future technology; (3) design requirements, functions to be fulfilled; (4) design tools, knowledge, design heuristics, methods and approaches; and (5) artefacts and operation, results of any design activity. The second chapter discusses guiding principles and promises and expectations for some selected colonial irrigation development processes in India and Africa. The chapter shows how the juggling act of colonial rule between available labour (both from colonisers and colonised), available financial resources and political goals influenced irrigation development. Irrigation development in the British and French colonies did not only have to serve the colonial powers, but also the colony itself; it would not serve mere exploitation, but also become an element of a policy of productive imperialism. The main argument developed in this chapter is that although similar ideologies explaining or defending European domination and consequent colonial irriga, Civil Engineering and Geosciences

The apparent persistency of colonial irrigation elements in Dutch irrigation practice and education is the main source of inspiration for this book; the Netherlands East Indian irrigation regime, consisting of explicit and implicit rules for irrigation design is its subject. The book explains how the Netherlands East Indian irrigation regime developed and how (dis)continuities in irrigation education and practice after Indonesian independence can be understood. The idea of persistency in engineering is not new; engineering has been analyzed as being influenced by design schools, in which certain preferences for solutions and/or methods are maintained. The question of continuity is studied applying the concept of technological regime, which is defined in chapter 1 as a set of rules that structure activities of actors (engineers) involved in development and use of a certain technology (irrigation). Five categories of rules are distinguished: (1) founding premises or guiding principles; (2) promises and expectations about a future technology; (3) design requirements, functions to be fulfilled; (4) design tools, knowledge, design heuristics, methods and approaches; and (5) artefacts and operation, results of any design activity. The second chapter discusses guiding principles and promises and expectations for some selected colonial irrigation development processes in India and Africa. The chapter shows how the juggling act of colonial rule between available labour (both from colonisers and colonised), available financial resources and political goals influenced irrigation development. Irrigation development in the British and French colonies did not only have to serve the colonial powers, but also the colony itself; it would not serve mere exploitation, but also become an element of a policy of productive imperialism. The main argument developed in this chapter is that although similar ideologies explaining or defending European domination and consequent colonial irriga, Civil Engineering and Geosciences