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Volume 8, Number 4—April 2002
Historical Review

Megadrought and Megadeath in 16th Century Mexico

Rodolfo Acuna-Soto*, David W. Stahle†Comments to Author , Malcolm K. Cleaveland†, and Matthew D. Therrell†
Author affiliations: *Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico; †University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA;

Main Article

Figure 3

The winter-spring precipitation totals estimated for each year in Durango, 1540–1548 (top), 1571–1579 (middle). Compared with the Palmer drought index, southwestern USA 1988–1995 (bottom). A tenfold increase in deer mice was witnessed in the southwestern USA during the 1993 outbreak, a year of abundant precipitation following a prolonged drought. The similar dry-wet pattern reconstructed for the 1545 epidemic of cocoliztli may have impacted the population dynamics of the suspected rodent host to aggravate the epidemic.

Figure 3. The winter-spring precipitation totals estimated for each year in Durango, 1540–1548 (top), 1571–1579 (middle). Compared with the Palmer drought index, southwestern USA 1988–1995 (bottom). A tenfold increase in deer mice was witnessed in the southwestern USA during the 1993 outbreak, a year of abundant precipitation following a prolonged drought. The similar dry-wet pattern reconstructed for the 1545 epidemic of cocoliztli may have impacted the population dynamics of the suspected rodent host to aggravate the epidemic.

Main Article

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Page updated: July 15, 2010
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