Chilean socio-cultural complexity

A paper published yesterday by PAGES' PEOPLE 3000 working group integrates archeological and paleoenvironmental records to test the hypothesis that Chilean societies progressively escalated their capacity to shape national biophysical systems, as socio-cultural complexity and pressures on natural resources increased over the last three millennia.

Authors Eugenia M. Gayo et al. demonstrate that Pre-Columbian societies intentionally transformed Chile’s northern and central regions by continuously adjusting socio-cultural practices and/or incorporating technologies that guaranteed resource access and social wealth. This research provides crucial "baselines" to delineate safe operating spaces for future socio-ecological systems.

Access the Elementa Science of the Anthropocene paper "Geohistorical records of the Anthropocene in Chile" here.

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