Ancient Southwest marked by repeated periods of boom and bust
Sunday, April 3, 2016 - 21:50
in Paleontology & Archaeology
The heavily studied yet largely unexplained disappearance of ancestral Pueblo people from southwest Colorado is not all that unique, say scientists. They say the region saw three other cultural transitions over the preceding five centuries. The researchers also document recurring narratives in which the Pueblo people agreed on canons of ritual, behavior and belief that quickly dissolved as climate change hurt crops and precipitated social turmoil and violence.