Coastal and fluvial geoarchaeology in Peru

The northern desert coast of Peru possesses a rich human prehistory and urgent present-day concerns regarding land use. Here, the geomorphic evolution of coastal alluvial valleys and the emergence of prehistoric complex societies are intertwined. Increasing fluvial discharge in combination with human-made water routing (canals) during the mid to late Holocene were key factors enabling a major growth in agricultural production. Through interdisciplinary research, this research aims to understand the co-evolution of landscape dynamics, human activities, and their feedbacks in the context of engineering sustainable landscapes. In this system, natural increases in water, suspended sediment, and floodplain development are increasingly co-opted by massive irrigation networks and hillslope deforestation, each favoring the anthropogenic expansion of arable floodplain and agricultural production. Occurring over millennia, the short-term dynamics and interplay of these natural and human agents are relevant to management of water and sediment resources and the decoding of Anthropocene landscapes worldwide. The project combines expertise in in coastal and sedimentary systems (Steve Goodbred, Vanderbilt University), geochronology and coupled human-natural landscapes (Liz Chamberlain), and anthropology (Tom Dillehay, Vanderbilt University). Chamberlain joined the project in July, 2019 and work is ongoing.

This project is funded by Wageningen Institute for Environment and Climate Research (WIMEK) Honours Research Programme Fellowship