Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Holocene ENSO Events on Peruvian Coast

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This project aims to better understand the long-term activity of El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events and the impacts of these events on the inhabitants of coastal Peru. To this end, Jack Johnson will examine various types of sediments in two drainage basins in the northern desert coast of Peru to identify local ENSO-caused landscape changes over the last several thousand years. He will then use luminescence methods to obtain ages for these sediments under the supervision of Dr. James K. Feathers to build an extensive picture of the timing, frequency, and magnitude of these events in each area. This picture will then be compared with a wide range of published archaeological data on prehistoric Peruvian economies to assess the potential impacts of fluctuations in ENSO activity on the economic infrastructure of the prehistoric societies that inhabited the area. Research of this nature is important for several reasons. First, it will improve scientific understanding of past variations in ENSO activity in Peru, and this will in turn provide both geographic and temporal perspective to efforts to understand both ancient and modern fluctuations in ENSO events around the world. Second, this research will help give similar perspective to the long-term economic threats these events pose to Peruvians, and it will therefore help inform local public efforts to mitigate the billions of dollars in damages that these events can cause through massive erosion of soils and infrastructure. Third, the combination of data on ENSO activity and the uniquely rich archaeological record of the area can provide a detailed illustration as to how human groups deal with climatic events over the long term. Such insight will be invaluable to researchers interested specifically in the prehistory of the Andes, as well as those more generally interested in evaluating modern global challenges posed by the impacts of acute climatic fluctuations on elaborate economic webs. In broader terms, this project will also help integrate various communities of researchers and citizens with an interest in the archaeological record and archaeological methods. Peruvian archaeologists and geologists will be engaged in fieldwork and will be trained in the field collection of samples for luminescence dating, a technique for which expertise is lacking amongst Peruvian academics. Peruvian and American students, including two full-time field assistants, will be trained in field sediment analysis and in luminescence methods. Presentations and lectures on this research will be given in multiple forums in both the United States and Peru, including professional conferences, primary schools, and community meetings. All conclusions will be published in peer-reviewed journals in both English and Spanish, and all data will be archived online in both English and Spanish for public access by any researcher with an interest in climate data, chronometric data, or archaeological data. Lastly, this project will provide training and advancement towards a doctoral degree for Jack Johnson.