Desert winds ravage Neolithic village in Chile

Coyo (Chile), Feb 12: Deep within the wind-swept Atacama desert in northern Chile, the remnants of a forgotten civilization rise from the sand.

At first the ruins are barely visible, just small ridges that cast short shadows. But where the sand has been stripped away, circular clay structures can be clearly seen.

These are the 3,000-year-old remains of Tulor, one of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic villages in South America.

The ruins consist of low two-room houses, a cemetery and stables. They were inhabited as far back as 800 BC, more than 2,000 years before the European conquest of the continent and many centuries before the Incas and the Aztecs built their empires in Peru and Mexico.

Archeologists say Tulor's inhabitants raised cattle, grew maize by the side of a river and had trading relationships with communities as far away as present-day Ecuador and Brazil.

But a natural climate change around 300 AD caused the the river dried up and within a few hundred years, the village was abandoned.

Once deserted, the sand moved in. It covered the village in dunes, protecting it for nearly three millennia until it was discovered and partially unearthed in 1958.

But now, half a century later, the sand that once protected the village is destroying it. Harsh desert winds and occasional rain are threatening to reduce the site to nothing.

''We are losing an average of three centimeters (from the top of the walls) a year,'' says local archeologist Ana Maria Baron. ''In 100 years, we will have little more than a ledge.'' The loss would be significant, Baron says.

''I have studied many Neolithic sites from around the world,'' she told Reuters. ''I believe, at least from photographs, that the village of Tulor is the best preserved Neolithic village on this planet.'' The World Monument Fund (WMF), a nonprofit organization that surveys important archeological finds around the world, says no conservation work has taken place in Tulor in over 20 years.

The erosion is so serious that the Fund placed Tulor on its watch list of endangered sites last year.

Since 1998, the village has been managed by an indigenous community in Coyo, 2 km from the ruins, which has built a protective boardwalk around them and trained guides to lead tourists without causing further damage.

''For us, the village is like a daughter,'' says Leonel Martinez, a community member. ''We need to take care of her.'' The community says it needs more money to stop the erosion and has appealed to Chile's Council of National Monuments.

But the state-funded council, while recognizing Tulor as a heritage site, says it cannot help.

''There just isn't the money,'' spokeswoman Susana Simonetti said. ''It's as simple as that.'' Those campaigning to save the site say the local communities of Coyo and San Pedro de Atacama depend on the income generated by Tulor's visitors.

Every month, around 10,000 people visit the Atacama desert, drawn to its spectacular landscapes of dunes and soaring mountains.

The desert is one of the driest on earth, which has helped preserve its ancient ruins.

''Tourism in Atacama is not a tourism of beaches,'' Baron said. ''People come here because they are interested in seeing the cultural heritage.'' She says a wall is the best way to protect the site and is working with a local architect to get one built.

The wall would funnel the wind over the top of the ruins, reducing erosion. Tarps could be attached to the wall to cover the site during rainfall, she says.

''The important thing is that we are protecting a heritage site that is more that three thousand years old,'' Baron said.

''It's a site that represents not only the history of Atacama, not only the history of the Americas, but it represents the history of humanity.''

Reuters