I would like to focus my first question on whether humans, in the aftermath of a large scale collapse of 'civilization' will be able to retain knowledge and skills necessary for their survival? (think: Europe after collapse of Rome or Easter Island, roughly 1000 years after for this scenario.)
ps. I would expect that some or a few humans would be able to adapt but that many of us would have a hard time figuring out how to make a bow or trap; light a fire without matches; make a 'home' comparable to those made by earlier indigenous populations; know how to cook using locally available food resources.
Interesting thesis you've got here.
I would say that so much is contingent upon what precipitated the collapse and to what degree of collapse were dealing with. Total electrical grid failure? If were talking radiological/biological attacks, there's really not a whole lot one can do generally before the radiological fallout catches up with them, especially near ground zero. You also have meteorological changes that could hypothetically present a global catastrophe. Lots of scenarios.
But supposing that the global economy simply failed, plunging the earth's population back in to the stone age, survival would be very, very difficult, especially for those in urban areas. There would be decaying corpses every where which promotes disease. The famine would be tragic because it's not like you can hunt or farm effectively in the middle of Times Square. The water supply would probably be more like a petri-dish which also promotes disease without access to potable water from clean, natural resources like lakes, rivers, and tributaries.
There would likely be rampant looting out of desperation and many other survivors would end up killing one another, though bands would probably stick together to maximize survival. That's the one thing people would have lots of... Modern weaponry.
In a very general sense humans would be a lot worse off than our ancestors who made a gradual transition in to technology. To be immediately thrown back several hundreds/thousands of years would be a very dangerous time to live in. That's a world I would avoid at all costs.
I have no doubt though that thousands would survive and repopulate successfully in different colonies around the world, essentially starting over. But millions and maybe billions would perish along the way where perhaps only 50,000-500,000-1.5 million would make it through. Again, this is all depending on why the civilization collapsed.
That's my take on it.
"I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death. " Thomas Paine
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