Tulor facts for kids
Tulor is an amazing archaeological site located in the Norte Grande region of Chile. It's found near the town of San Pedro de Atacama in the Antofagasta Region. An archaeological site is a place where scientists study old buildings and objects to learn about people who lived there long ago.
Tulor was once a busy village. It covered an area of about 5,200 square meters, which is like more than 20 tennis courts! There were also 22 smaller buildings outside the main village area. The remains of this old settlement stretch for about 2 kilometers from east to west.
Scientists have used special methods like radiocarbon dating and thermoluminescence dating to figure out how old Tulor is. These methods help them tell the age of ancient things. They found that the village started between 380 BCE and 200 CE. But most of the buildings you see today were built much later, between 800 CE and 1200 CE.
The buildings at Tulor are special because they have round walls made of mud. Some parts also have vaults, which are curved ceilings or roofs.
In 1998, an international group called the World Monuments Fund added Tulor to their list of the "100 Most Endangered Sites." This means they thought Tulor was in danger and needed protection. When not enough was done to protect it, they put it back on the list in 2006.
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Discoveries at Tulor
Scientists have found many interesting things at Tulor. They have dug up everything from special round walls called boreholes to human bones.
What are Boreholes?
Boreholes are circular walls made from clay. People dug them into the ground a long time ago. They were probably used to find and store water.
In June 1974, archaeologists carefully studied these boreholes. They used a method called stratigraphy. Stratigraphy is like looking at layers of a cake. Each layer of soil and rock tells a story about what happened there over time. By studying these layers, scientists learned why the people of Tulor might have left.
Why People Left Tulor
The stratigraphy showed that the people didn't leave because of big climate changes. Instead, it seems there was a long period of increasing drought. This means there wasn't enough rain, which made it hard to live there.
Ancient Objects Found
When digging at Tulor, archaeologists found many old objects buried in the ground. These included:
- Lithic tools: These are tools made from stone.
- Human bones: These help scientists learn about the people who lived there.
- Animal bones: These show what animals lived in the area or were used by the people.
- Ceramic pieces: These are broken pieces of pottery, like pots and bowls.
- Carbon: This is often from old fires and helps with dating.
- Seashells: Finding seashells so far from the ocean shows that people traded with others or traveled a lot.
All these amazing objects are thought to be from the Mesolithic era. The Mesolithic era was a time in history when people were still hunting and gathering food, but they were also starting to settle down in places like Tulor.
Images for kids
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Remains of the Tulor settlement near San Pedro de Atacama
