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Science 5 October 2001:
Vol. 294. no. 5540, pp. 148 - 151
DOI: 10.1126/science.1062771
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Reports
Late Holocene Climate and Cultural Changes in the Southwestern United States
Victor J. Polyak,*
Yemane Asmerom
Columnar stalagmites in caves of the Guadalupe Mountains
during the late Holocene record a 4000-year annually resolved climate history for the southwestern United States. Annual banding, hiatuses, and high-precision uranium-series dating show a present day-like climate from 4000 to 3000 years ago, following a drier middle Holocene.
A distinctly wetter and cooler period from 3000 to 800 years ago was
followed by a period of present day-like conditions, with the
exception of a slightly wetter interval from 440 to 290 years before
the present. The stalagmite record correlates well with the
archaeological record of changes in cultural activities of indigenous
people. Such climate change may help to explain evidence of dwelling
abandonment and population redistribution.
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New
Mexico, 200 Yale Boulevard, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
polyak{at}unm.edu
Read the Full Text
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