Climate change had a significant impact on people living in the Amazon rainforest before the arrival of Europeans and the loss of many indigenous groups, a new study shows.
Major shifts in temperature and rainfall caused the disappearance of communities long before 1492, researchers have found. In contrast other cultures still flourished just before the Spanish colonisation of the Americas.
New analysis of what the climate was like in the Amazon from 700 to 1300 shows the changing weather led to the end of communities who farmed intensively, and had a strong class structure. Those who lived without political hierarchy, who grew a greater variety of crops, and took more care to look after the land so it remained fertile, were able to adapt and were less affected.
During this period the Amazon was home to dozens of sophisticated communities who lived in flourishing towns and villages. Conflict between these communities, and migration, also contributed to the downfall of some.
Read more at University of Exeter
Image: Raised fields in the Bolivian Llanos de Moxos region. (Credit: Umberto Lombardo)