Terminal Pleistocene through Mid-Holocene archaeological sites as paleoclimatic archives for the Peruvian coast

Along the Peruvian coast, standard paleoclimatic archives such as pollen cores or corals are absent or undeveloped. However, anthropogenic deposits offer paleoclimatic information for the last 13 000 years at temporal scales ranging from centennial for long-term records to seasonal for short-term records. This paper summarizes archaeologically based paleoclimatic data for the Peruvian coast from the Terminal Pleistocene through the Middle Holocene. South of 12°S, coastal waters have been cool–temperate and terrestrial conditions have been hyperarid for the entire period. Between 8000 and 3600 cal BP, the highland precipitation supplying runoff to the south coast may have diminished sufficiently to restrict human occupation of ephemeral streams. North of ∼10°S, sea surface temperatures were warmer and seasonal precipitation may have been greater from prior to 13 000 to 5800 cal BP. From 9000 to 5800 cal BP, El Niño was absent or very infrequent. After 5800 cal BP, the northern coastal waters cooled and El Niño was present but with a lower frequency than seen in the historical and instrumental record. El Niño frequencies in the modern and historical range were established ∼3000 cal BP. Cultural changes correlate temporally with these major climatic transitions.