{"product_id":"9780197264768-lost-woodlands-of-ancient-nasca","title":"The Lost Woodlands of Ancient Nasca","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA Case-study in Ecological and Cultural Collapse\u003cbr\u003eThe vanished civilization of the Nasca is famous for its enigmatic giant ritual pathways through the desert pampa of Peru. But how and why did the civilization collapse? This new and detailed archaeological study argues that deforestation of river valleys, in particular the loss of the huarango tree, may have been to blame. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book presents an archaeological case of prehistoric human environmental impact: a study of ecological and cultural change from the arid south coast of Peru, beginning around 750 BC and culminating in a collapse during the Middle Horizon, around AD 900. Its focus is the lower Ica Valley - today depopulated and bereft of cultivation and yet with archaeological remains attesting to substantial prehistoric occupations - thereby presenting a \u003cem\u003eprima facie\u003c\/em\u003e case for changed environmental conditions.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrevious archaeological interpretations of cultural changes in the region rely heavily on climatic factors such as \u003cem\u003eEl Niño\u003c\/em\u003e floods and long droughts. While the archaeological, geomorphological and archaeobotanical records presented here do indeed include new evidence of huge ancient flood events, they also demonstrate the significance of more gradual, human-induced destruction of \u003cem\u003eProsopis pallida\u003c\/em\u003e (huarango) riparian dry-forest. The huarango is a remarkable leguminous hardwood that lives for over a millennium and provides forage, fuel, and food. Moreover, it is crucial to the integration of a fragile desert ecosystem, enhancing microclimate and soil fertility and moisture. Its removal exposed this landscape to the effects of \u003cem\u003eEl Niño\u003c\/em\u003e climatic perturbations long before Europeans arrived in Peru.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis case-study therefore contradicts the popular perception that native Americans inflicted barely perceptible disturbance upon a New World Eden. Yet, no less interestingly, it also records correlations between changes in society and degrees of human environmental impact. These allow inferences about the specific contexts in which significant human environmental impacts in the New World did, and did not, arise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55862366372214,"sku":"9780197264768","price":86.91,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_35454184_92791554-2059-4dc6-b205-db6fa364be59.jpg?v=1753310348","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780197264768-lost-woodlands-of-ancient-nasca","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}