Archaeologists explore how oldest American civilization survived severe drought

ISTANBUL

Archaeologists in Peru have uncovered new evidence showing how the oldest known civilization in the Americas, the Caral culture, adapted to a severe climate crisis more than 4,000 years ago without resorting to conflict, The Guardian reported Wednesday.

A team led by anthropologist/archaeologist Ruth Shady found that a devastating drought forced the inhabitants of Caral, located in the Supe Valley north of the capital Lima, to abandon their city around 4,200 years ago. The population resettled in nearby coastal and inland areas, including Vichama and Penico, where they rebuilt their society.

According to Shady, murals and friezes discovered at these sites depict famine, death, and later renewal – visual messages meant to warn future generations about the dangers of climate change.

“They left behind all this evidence so that people would not forget that the climate change was very severe, causing a crisis in Caral’s society and its civilization, and they did not want people to forget what caused it,” she said.

In Vichama, archaeologists uncovered three-dimensional reliefs showing emaciated human figures, pregnant women, ritual dancers, and a toad struck by lightning, believed to symbolize the long-awaited return of rain. The artistic scenes reveal both suffering and hope during the ancient drought.

Trade, fishing, and farming, not warfare

Nearby Penico yielded 18 structures resembling Caral’s monumental pyramids and plazas.

Chief archaeologist Mauro Ordonez said the findings suggest a highly organized society that relied on trade, fishing, and farming rather than warfare. “For the era, it tells us that the organization was based on a political-ideological structure and there is an absence of objects that leave evidence of violence,” he said.

Artefacts from Penico indicate wide-ranging trade networks that stretched from the Amazon to Ecuador’s Pacific coast, as well as evidence of gender equality in social roles.

Experts believe the drought that struck Caral may have been part of the global 4.2-kiloyear climate event, which also disrupted ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.

Shady, who first discovered Caral in the 1990s, said the civilization’s resilience offers lessons for today.

She said she believes modern Peruvians have much to learn from their ancestors’ example of maintaining balance and harmony with the environment.