Analyses of clam shells used in ancient funeral ceremonies
offer additional evidence as to how climate change may have contributed to the
gradual collapse of an early South-American civilization, according to
University of Alabama scientists.
The research, publishing online earlier this month in the
scientific journal Geology, indicates El Niño, a temporary, cyclical change in
the Pacific’s circulation, and an intertwined ocean phenomenon, known as
upwelling, likely contributed to the 6th century downfall of an advanced
civilization called the Moche, said Dr. Fred Andrus, a UA associate professor
of geological sciences and co-author of the research article.