Impact of Climate Change on Human Occupation in the Ecuadorian Amazon 4,500 Years BP
Synopsis
This study examines the impact of El Niño events on human occupation and abandonment in the Ecuadorian Amazon over the last 4,500 years BP, focusing on the Pashimbi site. Seventeen calibrated radiocarbon dates and probability density functions were used to define settlement periods. Climatic influence was evaluated through principal component analysis (PCA) applied to X-ray fluorescence (XRF) data from a core taken from Lake Llaviucu, where the first component explained 98.42 % of the variance. Wavelet analysis revealed periodicities of 2-8 years, consistent with ENSO. Results indicate that the earliest Pashimbi settlements (ca. 4089 BP) were associated with El Niño phases, whereas those after 3000 BP showed no correlation. Although two patterns were observed, Bartlett’s test (p = 0.9026) demonstrates that there are no significant differences between ENSO impacts during occupation and abandonment periods.
Published
April 3, 2026
Categories
Copyright (c) 2026 Zulay Marina Niño Ruiz, Laura Inés Salazar Cotugno (Coordinador de obra); Patricia Yissel Dávalos Cerrón, Azucena Chanatasig, Felipe Cerrera, Andrea Carolina Palacios Rosado, Mateo Patricio Sánchez Sanaguano, Liliana Paulina Lalaleo Córdova, William Calero Cáceres, Santiago Casado, Joshua Pazmiño, Jaime Martí-Herrero, Rocio Cecibel Jiménez Paute, Kevin Campaña, Elena Coyago-Cruz, Andrea Hidalgo-Dávila, Lizbeth Alpusig-Guanoluisa, Belén Apolo, Felipe Rivera-Rueda, Yerovi Sánchez-Arias, Karen Marcella García, Rubianith Suárez, Harol Smith Daza, Geovanna Tafurt, Duverney de Jesús Chaverra, Edita Valle, Evelyn Oña, Mishel Calero, Jonathan Liria, Andrés Sebastian Calderón Velasco, Roque Rivas-Párraga, Inti Llumiquinga, Ana Bravo, Julio Rea, Máximo Moreira, Oscar Vivanco, Nicole Jara, Lilibeth Carrión, Stefanía Cevallos, Paulo Herrera, Esteban Patricio Romero Valladares, Ana Paula Rosero-Jácome, Eliza Jara-Negrete, Gabriel Picón Nava, Nelly Paredes, Wilfredo Ramiro Franco, Wilmer Shiguango, Willin Álvarez, Juan Ponce, Jessica Sánchez, Christian Israel Andrade Romero, Alexandra Vargas, David Sanchez, Negover Briñez, Byron García, Dennis Tomalá, Mery Ramirez, Jenny Rodríguez, Paúl Tufiño Mateus, Enrique Laaz, Willan Revelo, Cecilia Puertas, Juan Andrés Guadamud, Karina Olalla-Tacuri , Darwin Omar Yánez Avalos, Diana Callejas, Sara Álvarez, John Mauricio Castillo Torres, Edith Pamela Tapia Pruna, Daniela Endara, Carolina Castro, Silvia Alejandra Llerena Gordillo, Kevin Stwart Tulcanaza Ruiz, Noroska G.S. Mogollón, Melany Ochoa, María Cristina Peñuela, Jimmy Yumbo, Enith Yánez, Carolina Ñacato, Samira Lluno, Henry Conteron, Pedro Cadena, Corina Campos, Oswaldo Guzman, Micaela Campos, Cindy Vera, Dayana Vera, Christian Coral, Bruce Tumbaco, María Soledad Solorzano, Bryan Valencia, José Sebastián Araujo Soria, Sandra Torres, Enzo Loor, Oscar Ayala, Darwin Rosero, Amparo Condor, Luis Cáceres, Miguel Flores, Elena Ulcuango, Nicole Pilco, David Galarza, Mishell Cabrera, Julieth Chancay, Paola Soto, David Portillo, Diana Cisneros, José Aguirre-Déleg, Pablo Maita-Zambrano, Aimee Delgado-Cruz, Myrian Larco, María Soledad Salazar, María Susana Grijalva, Viviana Stefanía Cárdenas Loor, Mónica Dazzini Langdon, Sheila Tobar Vallejo, Vinicio Velásquez Zambrano, Juan Carlos Soria Aguas (Autor de capítulo)
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
Impact of Climate Change on Human Occupation in the Ecuadorian Amazon 4,500 Years BP. (2026). In III International Congress of Biotechnology and Neotropical Ecosystems. Editorial Unión Científica. https://doi.org/10.63804/CIBEN.25.cter.e4
