Archaeologists have uncovered clay murals at ancient settlement Caral in Peru that depict scenes of starvation, famine, and death. These images are believed to be a record of a climate catastrophe that forced the civilization to change its way of life.
Around 4,200 years ago, the region experienced a prolonged megadrought, leading to collapsed harvests and food scarcity. The people shifted towards new settlements near the sea and rivers, building fresh towns without clear signs of war or conflict.
The murals, led by archaeologist Ruth Shady Solís, show starving adults in one register, young dancers with scarce food, and a human-shaped toad struck by lightning. These images stack together to tell a story from death and hunger towards the long-awaited return of water.
These temple walls stood in ceremonial rooms where people gathered for rituals and shared warnings about environmental stress. The community turned lived trauma into art to educate future generations on climate change and its consequences.
The discovery highlights how ancient societies adapted to climate change, such as building towns on high terraces, caring for riverbank forests, and stretching limited water sources. These approaches still hold value today, even with modern technology.
Source: https://www.earth.com/news/oldest-city-in-america-left-a-warning-in-clay-4000-years-ago-caral-city-walls