Civilization rises due to climate change

Inca construction, war art and farming techniques make the whole world admire for thousands of years. But they will not have such achievements if the climate does not become warmer.

Inca is an Indian race living in southern America. From the 13th century to the 16th century, this tribe mastered a vast kingdom with very high levels of social organization. In the heyday, the Inca territory stretched over a large area from present-day Ecuador to Chile and Argentina. Inca civilization achieved many great achievements in social management, technology, architecture, military, medicine.

The Inca Empire abruptly declined in 1533, when the Spanish army arrived in the Americas. But until the last few years, the rapid expansion of Inca civilization is still one of humankind's greatest mysteries.

" Many scientists say that the Inca civilization flourished because their level of social organization has reached a high level, but I do not agree with that hypothesis. It seems that climate plays an important role. with the immense expansion of the Inca empire, they could not achieve so much if the temperature did not rise , "said Alex Chepstow-Lusty, a scientist at Montpellier University (France).

Chepstow Lusty and Peruvian scientists studied sediments around Lake Marcacocha near Cuzco - the capital of the ancient Inca empire and a city in Peru today. Each layer of sediment can help scientists understand a certain period in history (like circles in a tree trunk).

The stone city of Machu Picchu of the Incas is located in the Andes Mountains of Peru.Today it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage List.(Photo: Telegraph)

The research team found that the air temperature tends to increase gradually in the period from 1100 to 1533 . Meanwhile the rise of the Inca empire began in 1400 and lasted until 1532. During the previous 3,000 years in 1100, the Incas had to live with a cold and dry climate. Experts found many evidence that the tree moved up the mountain when the temperature increased. That fact allowed Inca farmers to create terraced fields on the mountainside at altitudes before food crops could not grow because of the cold.

" During the 3,000 years of the Andes, where the Incas could not cultivate. But thanks to the rise in temperature, almost all of this mountain range became a food production site, with potatoes on the top and wheat in The food production of the Incas far exceeds their needs , "said Chepstow Lusty.

With plentiful supply of wheat and potatoes, the Incas put aside worries about food and focus on other activities - such as building a large road system, forging weapons and building troops. . From 1400 onwards, expeditions helped the Inca territory expand to 4,000 kilometers south, from Colombia, Ecuador to Chile today.

The warm period, which lasted for about 400 years, also caused the ice in the Andes mountains to melt. Thanks to that, the Incas had more water to irrigate the fields.

Chepstow Lusty believes that modern civilizations need to learn a lot from the Incas, especially in the field of environment. For example, the Incas harvested forest according to plan, not indiscriminately cut. They grow food in the mountain terraces and use melting ice to irrigate. That unique farming method increases food production.