"Archaeologists in Peru have found new evidence showing how the oldest known civilization in the Americas adapted and survived a climate catastrophe without resorting to violence. In the new settlements, they left intriguing friezes depicting victims of a famine with messages for future generations. 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."
"One of the sites where the people of Caral made a new home was Vichama, to its west, on the arid Pacific coast, where the inhabitants survived by fishing in the sea and farming in the Huaura River valley. The other settlement, dating from the same period between 1800 and 1500BC was Penico, 10 miles east of Caral, nestled in the same valley of the Supe River."
"One such set of images was discovered at Vichama on the walls of a temple on top of a raised platform in the desert. It is formed of three-dimensional mural reliefs that depict emaciated corpses with sunken bellies and protruding ribs; on a second wall above and set back there are pregnant women, ritual dancers and a pair of large fish."
Around 4,200 years ago severe drought forced the population of Caral to abandon the ancient city and resettle in nearby sites. New settlements included Vichama on the arid Pacific coast and Penico in the Supe valley, dating roughly 1800–1500 BC. Inhabitants survived by fishing and farming in river valleys while carrying forward sophisticated decorative techniques such as temple pyramids and sunken circular plazas. They produced three-dimensional mural reliefs and friezes depicting emaciated famine victims, pregnant women, dancers and fish, leaving visual messages intended to record the severity of the climate crisis for future generations.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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