Breckenridge Destinations supports independent journalism. Click for great deals on vacation lodging in Breckenridge.
A 1,100-year old Montezuma tree from Barranca de Amealco, Mexico, used in the rainfall chronology. This tree species is called "ahuehuete" in the indigenous language Nahuatl, meaning 'old man of the water'.
Dry spells may be linked to decline of pre-Hispanic civilizations in Mexico and Central America
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — A new tree ring study spanning more than 1,200 years is helping archaeologists pinpoint the exact dates of ancient mega-droughts that may have been key factors in the decline of major pre-Hispanic cultures in Mexico and Central America.
The new data supports other evidence that droughts played a big role in the rise and fall of the Toltecs and Maya, but the record had many gaps, leaving researchers guessing as to the exact dates geographic extent of the dry spells.
The new, 1,238-year-long tree-ring chronology is the longest and most accurate of its kind for Mesoamerica, and the first to reconstruct the climate of pre-colonial Mexico on an annual basis for more than a millennium, pinning down four ancient mega-droughts to their exact years. (more…)
Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado | Tagged: Central America, dendrochronology. climate change, drought, Environment, Maya civilization, mesoamerica, Mexico, paleoclimatology, pre-Hispanic, Summit County News, Taxodium mucronatum, United States, University of Arkansas | Leave a Comment »
Arapahoe Basin supports independent journalism. Click to visit The Legend online.
Powder's falling at Monarch!! Have you reserved your spot yet?
Innovative energy underwrites coverage of energy stories.
