Climate Change Intensifies Violence in the South Central Andean Highlands, 1.5–0.5 ka

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The archaeology of the pre-Columbian Andes provides an ideal study of the range of human responses to climate change given the region’s extreme climatic variability, excellent archaeological preservation, and robust paleoclimate records. We evaluate the effects of climate change on the frequency of interpersonal violence in the south central Andes from 470 – 1540 CE. To do this, we compile published bioarchaeological literature from 2753 human crania in order to identify incidents of inter-personal violence. A series of generalized linear mixed models reveal that for each meter of decrease in ice accumulation at the Quelccaya glacier—our proxy for regional precipitation—the log-odds of a highlander experiencing an archaeologically detectable instance of interpersonal violence increased by 8.91. In contrast, regional precipitation had no detectable impact on interpersonal violence among low and mid-elevation populations. We suggest that this disparity resulted from variable economic conditions and sociopolitical strategies at different elevations. The dissolution of organizing polities in the Andes and reliance on rain-fed agriculture may have predisposed highland populations to violent competition over resources during climatic downturns. Conversely, lowland and midland populations may have relied on a greater diversity of resources that were less vulnerable to drought.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36169.0