THE LOST WOODLANDS OF ANCIENT NASCA by David Beresford-Jones ( 9780197264768 )

Item Details

Title:

THE LOST WOODLANDS OF ANCIENT NASCA
A CASE-STUDY IN ECOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL COLLAPSE

By:

David Beresford-Jones

Format:

Hardback

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£60.00

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£52.50

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£7.50

ISBN 10:

019726476X

ISBN 13:

9780197264768

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Publisher:

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pub. date:

8 July, 2011

Series:

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship Monographs

Pages:

208

Description:

The 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.

Synopsis:

This 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 prima facie case for changed environmental conditions. Previous archaeological interpretations of cultural changes in the region rely heavily on climatic factors such as El Nino 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 Prosopis pallida (huarango) riparian dry-forest. The huarango is a remarkable leguminous hardwood that lives for

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Oxford University Press

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