Scientists Reveal More About Volcanic Eruption That Rocked the Ancient Maya

Gizmodo ^ | 09/29/2020 | George Dvorsky

[BenLurkin]

Using a combination of archaeological and geological evidence, scientists have finally pinpointed the date of the infamous Tierra Blanca Joven eruption, which likely devastated Maya communities in what is now El Salvador.

Ilopango volcano blew its stack 1,589 years ago—give or take a year or two—according to new research published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That this volcano erupted well over 1,000 years ago was well established, but the new research finally firms up the date, in a paper that will be of interest to archaeologists, historians, geologists, and climate scientists.

The Ilopango caldera is situated within the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA), which stretches from Guatemala to Panama along the Pacific coast. So powerful was the Tierra Blanca Joven eruption that areas to within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the vent were rendered uninhabitable for years and possibly decades following the explosion.

“Nonetheless, the more widespread environmental and climatic impacts of this large eruption are not well known because the eruption magnitude and date are not well constrained,” wrote the researchers in the study.

The researchers used three different lines of geological evidence to pinpoint the eruption date of 431 CE, including volcanic shards found in ice cores sourced from Greenland (the shards were subsequently linked to the Ilopango volcano), sulphur spikes found in Antarctic ice cores, and radiocarbon dating of a charred tree found in volcanic ash deposits. Archaeological evidence also jibes with this date, as ceramic production in El Salvador suddenly ceased around this time, a pause that lasted about 100 to 150 years.

[Sacajaweau]

Oh thank goodeness. I was just starting to worry that we would never know.

[dainbramaged]

A nearby volcanic eruption can flat out ruin your day.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BenLurkin.

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[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BenLurkin.

[Red Badger]

So THAT’S what happened to the Mayans!...................

[jimtorr]

A nearby volcanic eruption can flat out ruin your day.

Yes. There is an active volcano field about 50 miles east of my home in Oregon. The Three Sisters volcano complex. I am only 90 miles south of Mount St. Helens.

I do keep an eye on the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory.

[Berosus]

Too early. They are saying the eruption happened in 431 A.D. The Maya got over that, and enjoyed their peak years in the seventh century, before their decline set in.

[Red Badger]

Then maybe the Olmecs?......................

[fishtank]

I thought the Mayas were later conquered by the Naises.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***A nearby volcanic eruption can flat out ruin your day.***

Which reminds me, I pulled out my copy of FAIR WIND TO JAVA and watched Krakatoa blow it’s top again.

Didn’t see Krakatoa Katie anywhere doing her hooche-cooche dance. When I saw it way back in the 1950s it was the first time I was ever turned on by a mouse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVMQcPAKfGk

[SES1066]

I like to locate time & place VISUALLY;

More and more the evidence is proving that the concept of 'Catastrophism' is very real and deserves to rock the old-line Geologist's 'Uniformitarianism' boat. Yes, the majority of geologic time is shaped by a mass of near imperceptible Earth changes with little change to local ecology (Uniformitarianism) but, nonetheless, there are specific events that make a massive change in an instant (Catastrophism).

[Red Badger]

?..................

[SunkenCiv]

Of course, the mystery of their predecessors, the Yourans, persists.

[SunkenCiv]

And they had other climax-and-collapse events, persisting into the Spanish conquest, and today their descendants help loot the ruins and keep in touch on smart phones. :^)

The earlier view was that the Mayan decline took place about 540 AD (something serious happened worldwide in 536 AD) and involved the El Chichon volcano. :^)

More on the current:

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/09/22/2003008117

https://www.arch.ox.ac.uk/article/ice-core-dating-places-eruption-iiopango-431-ce-devastating-el-salvadors-maya-civilization

Regarding the 540/536 AD:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/volcanic-eruption-may-have-plunged-the-maya-into-a-ldquo-dark-age-rdquo/

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/536ad/index

[JohnnyP]

Thanks for that. I used to watch Mighty Mouse, don’t remember that one.

[Red Badger]

Let’s not overlook the Ourans, either.............

[SunkenCiv]

The poor Ourans got a bad name because of Hitler.

[minnesota_bound]

I would have looked for a Mayan calendar that had the year and date circled.

[SuperLuminal]

I’ve heard that government schools teach that 1492 was the year of the Mayan decimation...