Climate And The Altiplano Through Time

The demographic transitions documented in the 2025 study did not occur in an environmental vacuum.

The climate of the Bogotá Altiplano changed substantially between 6,000 years before present and the present day, and those environmental changes are relevant context for understanding the demographic shifts.

Six thousand years before present falls within a global climatic phase sometimes called the Mid-Holocene Warm Period — a period when temperatures in many parts of the world were somewhat warmer than today, driven by changes in Earth’s orbital geometry that increased summer solar radiation in the Northern Hemisphere.

The ecological effects on the Bogotá Altiplano would have included shifts in vegetation zones, changes in lake and wetland hydrology, and alterations in the seasonal patterns of temperature and precipitation that governed the agricultural and hunting opportunities available to resident populations.