How ancient Peruvians responded to climate disasters

Scientists studied over 1,500 ancient Peruvians across 3,000 years to understand how societies respond to climate disasters; despite human sacrifices following El Niño flooding, everyday violence was rare.When drought, flooding or famine arrives, it is often expected to trigger chaos, as food becomes scarce and communities struggle to survive. History offers plenty of examples of societies that were pushed to the brink by environmental disasters. But have climate disasters led to violence?

A new study of the Lambayeque Valley on Peru’s northern coast provides a surprising answer. Researchers from New York University and George Mason University examined the skeletons of ancient Peruvians from 30 sites spanning more than 3,000 years. They found that violence was rare, even during El Niño floods that devastated fishing and farming.

The findings are published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.Ancient societies were generally peacefulThe researchers wanted to understand how societies might react to climate disasters.