Earth Sciences

Late Holocene droughts and cave ice harvesting by Ancestral Puebloans

B. P. Onac, S. M. Baumann, et al.

Explore the resilient ingenuity of the Ancestral Puebloans who ingeniously utilized fire to melt cave ice for water during severe droughts in the southwestern United States. This fascinating study by Bogdan P. Onac and colleagues sheds light on human-environment interactions amid climate challenges, revealing the impact of melting cave ice on our understanding of archaeological evidence.

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Playback language: English

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Abstract

This study investigates water availability for Ancestral Puebloans in the southwestern United States during periods of prolonged droughts. Radiocarbon-dated charcoal from an ice deposit in Cave 29, western New Mexico, reveals five drought events between 150 AD and 950 AD. The presence of charred material indicates Ancestral Puebloans used fire to melt cave ice for water, highlighting human-environment interactions during climate change. The melting of cave ice currently threatens this fragile source of paleoenvironmental and archaeological evidence.

Publisher

Scientific Reports

Published On

Nov 18, 2020

Authors

Bogdan P. Onac, Steven M. Baumann, Dylan S. Parmenter, Eric Weaver, Tiberiu B. Sava

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