Climate catastrophe etched in Peru's past

Clay figures 'demonstrate the impact of a cataclysm'

LIMA - Peru's archaeological ruins of Vichama, built by Peru's Caral culture, contain "the collective memory of climate change that occurred more than 3,800 years ago", said Peruvian archaeologist Aldemar Crispin, who is in charge of field research at the site.

Crispin said ancient clay figures depicting skeletal or dying people likely demonstrate the impact of a cataclysm that hit Peru's coastal communities a few millennia ago.