Laurence Blair

In the millennium prior to 1492, you see in the archaeological record these big, long-range migrations by Amazonians and by other lowland peoples in South America. It's almost as if they're fleeing something, they're running away from something, they're displaced by something.

We mentioned the Upano Valley cities, that they're in the shadow of this big, ominous volcano, and you quite rightly mentioned Pompeii. Well, you know, I think we don't yet know, but it seems perhaps there was a big catastrophic eruption of this volcano whose name is Sangai, which in Quechua means the frightener. So it's almost as if it was waiting to happen.

We mentioned the Upano Valley cities, that they're in the shadow of this big, ominous volcano, and you quite rightly mentioned Pompeii. Well, you know, I think we don't yet know, but it seems perhaps there was a big catastrophic eruption of this volcano whose name is Sangai, which in Quechua means the frightener. So it's almost as if it was waiting to happen.

We mentioned the Upano Valley cities, that they're in the shadow of this big, ominous volcano, and you quite rightly mentioned Pompeii. Well, you know, I think we don't yet know, but it seems perhaps there was a big catastrophic eruption of this volcano whose name is Sangai, which in Quechua means the frightener. So it's almost as if it was waiting to happen.

And if suddenly your fields are covered in pyroclastic flow, it's not only going to have an impact on you, but also on your neighbours and your distant trading partners. You know, we're talking about cultures which are really in close contact with each other. And across the Amazon, production of terra preta, that magical black soil that we talked about, it really falls off sharply around AD 1000.

And if suddenly your fields are covered in pyroclastic flow, it's not only going to have an impact on you, but also on your neighbours and your distant trading partners. You know, we're talking about cultures which are really in close contact with each other. And across the Amazon, production of terra preta, that magical black soil that we talked about, it really falls off sharply around AD 1000.

And if suddenly your fields are covered in pyroclastic flow, it's not only going to have an impact on you, but also on your neighbours and your distant trading partners. You know, we're talking about cultures which are really in close contact with each other. And across the Amazon, production of terra preta, that magical black soil that we talked about, it really falls off sharply around AD 1000.

There's much less of this organic soil being produced, and you start to see walls made of earth and wood springing up. It's almost like we're seeing this breakdown in this more pacifistic, commercial archipelago of different peoples, and almost people are digging in, really, and fighting each other.

There's much less of this organic soil being produced, and you start to see walls made of earth and wood springing up. It's almost like we're seeing this breakdown in this more pacifistic, commercial archipelago of different peoples, and almost people are digging in, really, and fighting each other.

There's much less of this organic soil being produced, and you start to see walls made of earth and wood springing up. It's almost like we're seeing this breakdown in this more pacifistic, commercial archipelago of different peoples, and almost people are digging in, really, and fighting each other.

Around AD 1200, the Manasho Mounds that we talked about on the island near Belem were abandoned as the rain seemed to be drying up and their fish ponds probably went dry and turned kind of salty because you're right there on the border of the Atlantic.

Around AD 1200, the Manasho Mounds that we talked about on the island near Belem were abandoned as the rain seemed to be drying up and their fish ponds probably went dry and turned kind of salty because you're right there on the border of the Atlantic.

Around AD 1200, the Manasho Mounds that we talked about on the island near Belem were abandoned as the rain seemed to be drying up and their fish ponds probably went dry and turned kind of salty because you're right there on the border of the Atlantic.

As these societies grew more complex, I think a sudden shortage of a particular fish or a plant or a commodity could really have a domino effect and trigger this rolling collapse. You know, right now in South America, let's say we're living through this really historic drought. The Amazon River is almost at its lowest level since people can remember, since it's been recorded.

As these societies grew more complex, I think a sudden shortage of a particular fish or a plant or a commodity could really have a domino effect and trigger this rolling collapse. You know, right now in South America, let's say we're living through this really historic drought. The Amazon River is almost at its lowest level since people can remember, since it's been recorded.

As these societies grew more complex, I think a sudden shortage of a particular fish or a plant or a commodity could really have a domino effect and trigger this rolling collapse. You know, right now in South America, let's say we're living through this really historic drought. The Amazon River is almost at its lowest level since people can remember, since it's been recorded.

And that's causing problems even today. You know, people can't transport their goods, people can't get to schools and hospitals. So I think, you know, that would have had a huge impact if, you know, seasonal variations or

And that's causing problems even today. You know, people can't transport their goods, people can't get to schools and hospitals. So I think, you know, that would have had a huge impact if, you know, seasonal variations or

And that's causing problems even today. You know, people can't transport their goods, people can't get to schools and hospitals. So I think, you know, that would have had a huge impact if, you know, seasonal variations or

or you know cyclical variations in the climate had an effect and one thing that's been revealed as these and by recent droughts are these carvings in the riverbank near manouts that show these kind of ghostly faces a bit like scream you know that famous everett monk painting you know and there's also these grooves for sharpening weapons so i think that that maybe gives us a hint of what was going on and crucially i think you know as we mentioned already it's these it's the european illnesses you know these plagues which sweep through these