‘The end is nigh’? Social and environmental responses to volcanic gas pollution

This chapter revisits themes that occur several times in this volume: that catastrophic events may be invisible in the archaeological record; major environmental trauma need not have a permanent impact on the cultures affected; and we can only understand the nature of events and cultural response by adopting the widest possible research framework. It is clear from earlier chapters that these concerns operate at the level of specific sites; here we explore these issues on a continental scale.