Variation in Holocene El Niño frequencies: Climate records and cultural consequences in ancient Peru

Sandweiss, Daniel H.; Maasch, Kirk A.; Burger, Richard L.; Richardson, James B.; Rollins, Harold B.; Clement, A. C.

doi:10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0603:viheno>2.0.co;2

Cited by 306 publications

(208 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The establishment of a long-term La Niña pattern in the tropical Pacific during this period seems to be a consequence of the ENSO activity reduction (Hernández et al, 2010;Koutavas et al, 2002). Onset of the present day ENSO conditions occurred at about 7000 cal years BP (Moy et al, 2002;Sandweiss et al, 2001). …”

Section: Geology Limnology and Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeochemical processes controlling oxygen and carbon isotopes of diatom silica in Late Glacial to Holocene lacustrine rhythmites

Hernández

Bao

Giralt

et al. 2011

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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Biogeochemical cycles and sedimentary records in lakes are related to climate controls on hydrology and catchment processes. Changes in the isotopic composition of the diatom frustules (δ 18 O diatom and δ 13 C diatom ) in lacustrine sediments can be used to reconstruct palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes. The Lago Chungará (Andean Altiplano, 18°15′S, 69°10′W, 4520 masl) diatomaceous laminated sediments are made up of white and green multiannual rhythmites. White laminae were formed during short-term diatom superblooms, and are composed almost exclusively of large-sized Cyclostephanos andinus. These diatoms bloom during mixing events when recycled nutrients from the bottom waters are brought to the surface and/or when nutrients are introduced from the catchment during periods of strong runoff. Conversely, the green laminae are thought to have been deposited over several years and are composed of a mixture of diatoms (mainly smaller valves of C. andinus and Discostella stelligera) and organic matter. These green laminae reflect the lake's hydrological recovery from a status favouring the diatom super-blooms (white laminae) towards baseline conditions. δ 18 O diatom and δ 13 C diatom from 11,990 to 11,530 cal years BP allow us to reconstruct shifts in the precipitation/evaporation ratio and changes in the lake water dissolved carbon concentration, respectively. δ 18 O diatom values indicate that white laminae formation occurred mainly during low lake level stages, whereas green laminae formation generally occurred during high lake level stages. The isotope and chronostratigraphical data together suggest that white laminae deposition is caused by extraordinary environmental events. El Niño-Southern Oscillation and changes in solar activity are the most likely climate forcing mechanisms that could trigger such events, favouring hydrological changes at interannual-to-decadal scale. This study demonstrates the potential for laminated lake sediments to document extreme pluriannual events.

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Section: Geology Limnology and Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

Biogeochemical processes controlling oxygen and carbon isotopes of diatom silica in Late Glacial to Holocene lacustrine rhythmites

Hernández

Bao

Giralt

et al. 2011

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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“…based on presence of locally extinct Mesodesma donacium clams and Choromytilus chorus mussels (17). In 2 nearby Late Preceramic sites (Chupacigarro and Miraya) located, like Caral, on the south side of the valley, sand deposits underlie their final prepottery construction phases.…”

Section: Early Disasters In Supe-earthquakes Floods and Sandmentioning

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.

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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 ...

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“…Archaeological evidence of ENSO -Paleoclimatic data demonstrate climate variations in the Andean region during the Holocene period (Sandweiss et al 2001). The Laguna Lejía, near San Pedro, in the Atacama desert shows that during the late glacial period i.e., 13,500-11,500 years ago, water resources were more abundant than today (Grosjean 1994).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible influence of the ENSO phenomenon on the pathoecology of diphyllobothriasis and anisakiasis in ancient Chinchorro populations

Arriaza¹,

Reinhard²,

Araújo

et al. 2010

Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz

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Variation in Holocene El Niño frequencies: Climate records and cultural consequences in ancient Peru

Cited by 306 publications

References 24 publications

Biogeochemical processes controlling oxygen and carbon isotopes of diatom silica in Late Glacial to Holocene lacustrine rhythmites

Biogeochemical processes controlling oxygen and carbon isotopes of diatom silica in Late Glacial to Holocene lacustrine rhythmites

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

Possible influence of the ENSO phenomenon on the pathoecology of diphyllobothriasis and anisakiasis in ancient Chinchorro populations

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