State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Ancestors

These lithic artifacts were discovered at almost 4,500 meters elevation in the Peruvian Andes, at the highest-altitude Pleistocene archaeological site yet identified in the world. Figure by E. Cooper, in Rademaker et al. (2014) Science.
These lithic artifacts were discovered at almost 4,500 meters elevation in the Peruvian Andes, at the highest-altitude Pleistocene archaeological site yet identified in the world. Figure by E. Cooper, in Rademaker et al. (2014) Science.

 

We are high mountain people, hunters and artists,

Our view from this base camp is brilliant and clear.

Cold, thin air sweeps the rocky plateau;

You need a strong heart to live here.

 

Vicuña, guanaco, taruka our prey,

With razor-sharp points, upon them we close,

Then blaze up a fire, take rest, and prepare:

These creatures we skin to the toes.

 

Out of the ice age and up from the valley,

Testing the limits of body and spirit.

Descendants: a challenge before you stands tall;

Will you adapt, surmount it, or fear it?

 

Our tale has been weathered; you’re straining to see us

In smudges of smoke, in scattered remains,

Discarded tools, a wide, ancient landscape,

And one piece yet living: our blood in your veins.

 

__________________________________________________________

Further reading:

Oldest High-Altitude Human Settlement Discovered in Andes, LiveScience

Paleoindian settlement of the high-altitude Peruvian Andes, Rademaker et al. (2014) Science

This is one in a series of poems written by Katherine Allen, a researcher in geochemistry and paleoclimate at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University.

 

 

Science for the Planet: In these short video explainers, discover how scientists and scholars across the Columbia Climate School are working to understand the effects of climate change and help solve the crisis.
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