A new study revealed that the current American The city of St. Louis was once the largest in the world Ancient cities One of them used to be Cahokia, which, contrary to earlier information, did not suddenly disappear due to climate change in the late 13th century.
This study, published in the scientific journal The Holocene, shows that This ancient pre-Columbian city It had a population of more than 50,000 people with an intricate road system, public centers and even an astronomical observatory, but people gradually left the city as they sought better opportunities elsewhere. went
Until now, experts believed that Cahokia’s residents had abandoned the city due to prolonged droughts and widespread crop destruction due to climate change.
But a new study by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found that the people of Cahokia had the resilience and skills to adapt to climate change, but there were other reasons for leaving the city.
In the new study, scientists inferred from the carbon atoms left on fossils of plants that grew when the ancient city was depopulated and droughts were common in the American Midwest region.
Drought-resistant plants such as prairie grass and corn supported the Cahokia people’s diet of squash, goosefoot, and swampweed. incorporated carbon at such a higher rate than the crops grown for it that it left its mark on them.
By analyzing the traces of carbon atoms at the archaeological site of Cahokia, scientists found that the types of plants that grew in the area did not change significantly during the period of drought.
“We didn’t see any evidence that prairie grass was replaced by anything else in what we would imagine to be a scenario when crops are being destroyed on a large scale,” said study co-author Natalie Mueller. I am.’
“It’s possible they’re not really feeling the effects of the drought,” said Caitlin Rankin, another author of the study.
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Researchers now suspect that this modern society almost certainly had a system for storing grain and other foodstuffs that could have sustained them during this period of drought.
He says that pre-Columbian societies began to consume a diverse diet including fish, birds, deer, wild fruits and nuts, which would have met their nutritional needs even when some food sources were missing. stayed
Scientists say that the abandonment of the ancient city was a gradual process.
As Dr. Müller believes, ‘I don’t envision a scenario where thousands of people are suddenly leaving the city. People may migrate to build closer relationships or to seek different opportunities.’
The archaeologist added that ‘reality is likely to be complex.’
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2024-08-10 00:28:54
