Just Add Water: ENSO-Driven Ephemeral Agricultural Systems in the Arid Chapiyungas of Peru’s North Coast

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Water Management in the Andes: Past, Present, and Future" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Abrupt climatic changes caused by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) bring profound ecological transformations to the Andean pacific coast. Archaeological research has largely focused on the impacts (which have been shown to be largely negative) of ENSO-positive phases, or “El Niños,” on complex socioecological systems in coastal lowlands. This focus has recently broadened, exploring how ENSO impacts agroecological environments of the inland chaupiyunga zone, where El Niños cause significant amounts of precipitation in an arid environment. We document ephemeral irrigation-agricultural systems and ENSO-driven changes in productivity within the chaupiyunga. These systems draw surface water from channels that are not hydrologically connected to highland sources, but which derive moisture from El Niño-derived precipitation falling directly in the vicinity. We present information on labor requirements and productive potential of these systems. Associated archaeological finds suggest these systems were used as early as the Chimú and perhaps Moche periods and had intermittent use into recent times. These fields suggest ways in which some of the adverse impacts of El Niño events could be offset by strategies tailored to the hydroclimatic dynamics of ENSO. This findings are highly relevant, as anthropogenic climate change is predicted to increase the frequency and severity of ENSO dynamics.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Water Management in the Andes: Past, Present, and Future   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40022.0