Geoarchaeological Evidence from Peru for a 5000 Years B.P. Onset of El Niño

Sandweiss, Daniel H.; Richardson, James B.; Reitz, Elizabeth J.; Rollins, Harold B.; Maasch, Kirk A.

doi:10.1126/science.273.5281.1531

Cited by 332 publications

(229 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

186

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Given ridge-forming processes identified elsewhere in the region, El Niño must have been active for Medio Mundo to form; that provides a similar maximum limiting date of 5,800 cal B.P. The Ϸ3,000-year-long hiatus in El Niño activity preceding this date (4,5) would have provided time for a large volume of sediment to build up in the north central coast valleys, available for transport to the coast with the resumption of El Niño events. The major beach ridge plains of northern Peru (Santa at 9°S, Piura at 5.5°S, Chira at 4.8°S, and Tumbes at 3.5°S) formed on relatively wider sectors of the continental shelf and each consists of 8-9 macroridges.…”

Section: Medio Mundomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When sea level transgression ceased in the Mid-Holocene, this geophysical configuration changed significantly. Approximately 5,800 years ago, the return of El Niño (the warm phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon, or ENSO) after a hiatus of several millennia (4,5) coincided with emplacement of the modern fishery dominated by small schooling fish (6,7) and of the contemporary coastal regime dominated by powerful north-flowing longshore currents and strong daily winds blowing inland NNE off the sea. Establishment of these conditions created the beach ridge and sand dune geomorphic regime that has characterized the north coast of Peru since the Mid-Holocene (e.g., ref.…”

Section: El Niñ O ͉ Geoarchaeology ͉ Preceramic Collapse ͉ Mid-holocenementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Environmental change and economic development in coastal Peru between 5,800 and 3,600 years ago

Sandweiss

Solís²,

Moseley

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Between Ϸ5,800 and 3,600 cal B.P. the biggest architectural monuments and largest settlements in the Western Hemisphere flourished in the Supe Valley and adjacent desert drainages of the arid Peruvian coast. Intensive net fishing, irrigated orchards, and fields of cotton with scant comestibles successfully sustained centuries of increasingly complex societies that did not use ceramics or loombased weaving. This unique socioeconomic adaptation was abruptly abandoned and gradually replaced by societies more reliant on food crops, pottery, and weaving. Here, we review evidence and arguments for a severe cycle of natural disastersearthquakes, El Niñ o flooding, beach ridge formation, and sand dune incursion-at Ϸ3,800 B.P. and hypothesize that ensuing physical changes to marine and terrestrial environments contributed to the demise of early Supe settlements.El Niñ o ͉ geoarchaeology ͉ Preceramic collapse ͉ Mid-Holocene A dapted to a coastal desert broken by verdant river valleys and fronted by a productive near-shore fishery, the north central coast of Peru was very different from other centers of ancient development. Although characterized by complex social organization and large centers dominated by stone-faced temple mounds, early coastal Peruvians did not produce pottery or loom-woven cloth. Animal protein came entirely from the sea, not from domesticated or terrestrial animals. Irrigated farming focused on cotton; among the remains of food crops are the tree fruits guayaba (Psidium guajava) and pacae (Inga feuillei), achira (Canna edulis, a root crop), beans, squash, sweet potato, avocado, and peanut. This unique evolutionary experiment thrived for Ϸ2 millennia (the Late Preceramic Period, ca. 5,800-3,800/ 3,600 cal B.P.) in the Río Supe and adjacent desert drainages (1-3) (Fig. 1). Ending abruptly, this Late Preceramic society was gradually replaced by more typical or normative economies that emphasized plant and animal domesticates while also producing pottery and woven goods.Eustatic sea level stabilization between 6,000 and 7,000 years ago set the stage for the Late Preceramic developments, both natural and cultural. Rising sea level had inhibited the establishment of sandy beaches, beach ridge formation, and consequent inland sand dune deposition while leading to the development of large, protected bays. When sea level transgression ceased in the Mid-Holocene, this geophysical configuration changed significantly. Approximately 5,800 years ago, the return of El Niño (the warm phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon, or ENSO) after a hiatus of several millennia (4, 5) coincided with emplacement of the modern fishery dominated by small schooling fish (6, 7) and of the contemporary coastal regime dominated by powerful north-flowing longshore currents and strong daily winds blowing inland NNE off the sea. Establishment of these conditions created the beach ridge and sand dune geomorphic regime that has characterized the north coast of Peru since the Mid-Holocene (e.g., ref. 8). In this tectonically ...

show abstract

Section: Medio Mundomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: El Niñ O ͉ Geoarchaeology ͉ Preceramic Collapse ͉ Mid-holocenementioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental change and economic development in coastal Peru between 5,800 and 3,600 years ago

Sandweiss

Solís²,

Moseley

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This, however, is inconsistent with indications of widespread Middle Holocene aridity in western North America. Instead, evidence for relatively stable decadal-scale climate variability in Site 893A/B appears to be more consistent with weaker ENSO activity during the Middle Holocene (Sandweiss et al, 1996(Sandweiss et al, , 1997(Sandweiss et al, , 2001Overpeck and Webb, 2000;Tudhope et al, 2001;Koutavas et al, 2006). If so, it follows that generally warmer SSTs at the millennial-scale are not necessarily accompanied by more intense or frequent ENSO activity.…”

Section: Associated Terrestrial Climate Changesmentioning

confidence: 94%

Middle Holocene climate change and human population dispersal in western North America

Kennett

Culleton

Kennett

et al. 2007

Climate Change and Cultural Dynamics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Available climate records in western North America (7000-3800 cal yr BP) indicate a severe dry interval between 6300 and 4800 cal yr BP embedded within a generally warm and dry Middle Holocene. Dry conditions in western North America between 6300 and 4800 cal yr BP correlate with cold to moderate sea-surface temperatures (SST) and relatively high-marine productivity along the Southern California Coast evident in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Core 893A/B (Santa Barbara Basin). Based on archeological, linguistic, and genetic data, we argue for a movement of Uto-Aztecan people from western desert environments to the Southern California Coast, including the southern Channel Islands, and into portions of the Central Valley by at least 5500-4500 cal yr BP. We hypothesize that population dispersal from the desert interior was primarily in response to severe and prolonged drought and that people moved selectively to coastal and aquatic habitats because of the ameliorated effects of drought and their overall productivity.

show abstract

“…These come from such disparate sources as corals living in the warm tropical oceans (13) to archeological records (14), ice caps from the high Andes (15), and tree rings (16). Some of these records indicate that El Niño has been increasing in intensity from about 7,000 years ago (17).…”

Section: El Niñ Omentioning

confidence: 99%