Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4572189 | CATENA | 2009 | 16 Pages |
Abstract
The lower Ica Valley on the hyperarid south coast of Peru is today largely depopulated and bereft of cultivation. Yet its extensive archaeological remains attest to substantial pre-Hispanic populations. We provide a case-study of Pre-Hispanic culturally induced environmental change through combining field archaeological and geomorphological survey with archaeobotanical, sedimentary and soil micromorphology approaches. Our investigations reveal that, although major El Niño climatic perturbations occurring around the end of the Early Intermediate Period are part of the explanation, more gradual, human-induced reduction in riparian dry-forest vegetation also lie behind major landscape change, which culminated during the Middle Horizon.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
Authors
David Beresford-Jones, Helen Lewis, Steve Boreham,