Posted on 09/30/2020 10:03:54 AM PDT by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at gizmodo.com ...
Mayan civilization had pretty much disappeared long before 1492.
Hmmm... Forgot to include the "/s"... {:-)
The Mayans disappered due to food poisoning. They had invented mayanaise, which the they piled on avocados, but due to a lack of refrigeration caused a food poisoning pandemic that wiped out the Mayans. The last Mayan passed away at 12:37 PM CMT on the 27th of July, 1287 AD.
“I am only 90 miles south of Mount St. Helens.”
Did you live there back in 1980?
The combined kingdom was also known as the Mayo-Naise hegemony.
.....people really need to know their history....!
.....people really need to know their history....!
GMTA!
When the volcano blew its top, they were in a pickle...................
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