El Niños in Peru; Looking at the Past for Future Impacts

The ancient Peruvian coastal society of the Moche flourished between approximately the first century and ninth century CE suffering both periods of societal transformations and collapse as well as major climatic disasters, specifically major El Niño events. Using the Moche as a test case this project examines the effect of climatic change on social and cultural transformations. By doing so the project aims to draw a broader connection and lessons of how societal choices and strategies affect resilience and survival vs downfall and collapse in the face of climatic downturns and changes. This study was made possible through Drew's Digital Humanities Summer Institute of 2026.