The Birth of El Nino: Geoarchaeological Evidence

and Implications

Harold B. Rollins
Department of Geology and Planetary Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, P A 15260
James B. Richardson, I11
Section of Anthropology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, P A 15213
Daniel H. Sandweiss
Department of Anthropology, Cornell University, Ithaca, N Y 14853

The oceanographic phenomenon known as El Nino is the subject of intensive recent study. Any hypotheses
regarding physical causes and predictability of El Nino should consider its geological history.
New geoarchaeological evidence suggests that the El Nido phenomenon did not exist along the northern
and central coasts of Peru before about 5000 years B.P. Molluscan faunas from archaeological sites at
Pampa las Salinas and Salinas de Chao permit temporal bracketing of a major structural change in the
East Pacific water mass. The boundary between the warm Panamic Province and the cold Peruvian
Province, which today occurs at about 5 degrees south latitude, was some 500 km further south from at
least 11,000 years B.P. to about 5000 years B.P. This conclusion is corroborated by many other lines of
evidence including phosphorite distribution, timing of glacial retreat, sea level change, radiolarian,
diatom and fish scale distributions, and beach ridge patterns. The present day arid coastal climate of
north central Peru is probably a post-5000 year B.P. development. Hunter-gatherer populations of the
area would most likely have exploited more land-based seasonal resources from grasslands and forests
before 5000 years B.P., and relied less upon the diminished productivity of warm water maritime
resources.

INTRODUCTION tectonic factors operating through time must

be an integral part of any hypothesis or model
The 1982- 1983 Pacific warming trend has
focused upon the question of maritime adap-
focused the attention of the scientific world
tations and subsequent development of com-
upon the El Nino/Southern Oscillation phe-
plex societies on the Peruvian central and
nomenon (Cane, 1983; Rasmusson and Wal-
northern coasts. On the other hand, archaeo-
lace, 1983, inter alia). A long term global re-
logical sites, such as coastal shell middens,
search effort has been launched to investigate
provide geologists and oceanographers with
the variability of the Tropical Ocean and
unique and often refreshingly independent
Global Atmosphere (TOGA), with particular
evidence of tectonic events, coastal landscape
emphasis upon the El Nino/Southern Oscilla-
alteration, and paleoclimatic and paleo-
tion (ENSO). Such a massive study should
oceanographic perturbations. The benefits of
incorporate all sources of data bearing on
such cooperative research along the coastal
ENSO, including the geological history of the
desert of Peru are just beginning to be re-
phenomenon! This paper presents new
alized (Ortloff et al., 1982; Moseley, 1983;
geoarchaeological evidence of the temporal
Richardson, 1981, 1983; Sandweiss et al.,
origin of El Nino and attempts to point out the
1983; Rollins et al., 1981).
advantages of reciprocal data exchanges
among archaeologists, geologists, and
oceanographers.
On the one hand, an understanding of late THE BIRTH OF EL NI6JO:
GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
Pleistocene and Holocene changes in the ter-
restrial and marine environments brought Inhabitants of coastal Peru have not only
about by climatic, oceanographic, and been subjected to the catastrophic impact of a

Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, 3-15 (1986)

01986 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CCC 0883-6353/86/010003-13$04.00
 THE BIRTH OF EL NINO

convergent plate boundary, but have also had
to adapt to the vagaries of the much publicized
El Nifio, a sporadic southward incursion of
warm water which occasionally disrupts the
cold Peruvian current that flows northward
along coastal Peru and initiates the nutrient
rich upwelling culminating in the productive
fisheries of that region.
A growing body of evidence now suggests
that we can only extend our present day model
of the current pattern of this portion of the
East Pacific Ocean back about 5000 years.
The evidence strongly suggests that, from a t
least 11,000 B.P. to about 5000 B.P., the cen-
tral and northern coasts of Peru were bathed
by warm Panamic Province waters which to-
day are found only north of Paita, about 5
degrees south latitude (Figure 1).
Molluscan Data
In 1979, D. Sandweiss (Cornell University)
initiated a study of the molluscan faunas pre-
served in preceramic sites between the Santa
and Chao river valleys, north-central coastal
Peru (Figure 1). In 1980, H. Rollins (Univer-
sity of Pittsburgh) and J. Richardson (Carne-
gie Museum of Natural History) joined
Sandweiss to further investigate these sites.

T T T T T

-I

-I

t 420'

I_
90.
I
78.
I
70.

Figure 1. Location of study areas and present day pattern of oceanic currents along the coast of Peru.

4 VOL. 1, NO.1

Salinas de Chao
The preceramic sites in Salinas de Chao had
been previously studied by M. Cardenas
(1979).These sites were specifically sampled
for differences in preserved molluscan faunas
and the following sequence of molluscan utili-
zation was postulated (Sandweiss et al., 1981,
1983; Rollins et al., 1981).
Salinas de Chao was a t one time a deep,
arcuate bay fronted by a 5 - 10 m high sea cliff
(Figures 2, 3, and 4). Of the four main site
clusters at Salinas de Chao, the earliest is a
huge mound which may be a man made struc-
ture (Moseley, oral communication). Utilized
molluscan species a t this site are largely rock
dwellers, suggesting a proximal rocky coast,
although the presence of sand dwelling spe-
cies indicates accessibility to stretches of sand
beaches (Table 1 and Figure 5). Five uncor-
rected radiocarbon dates on both shell mate-
rial and charcoal from the large mound aver-
aged 4350 B.P. Molluscs from succeeding
Salinas de Chao sites consist largely of the
Figure 2. Salinas de Chao. View to the west, along the ancient shoreline of the arcuate uplifted bay. Photo
taken from top of large mound site (see text).
GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
THE BIRTH OF EL NINO
beach clam D o n a , a sand dweller, and date
after 3500 B.P. (Table 2). The change in har-
vested molluscan species was directly
attributed to tectonic uplift and the destruc-
tion of Chao embayment (Sandweiss et al.,
1983).Although the Salinas de Chao sites re-
cord a rather complex story of landscape alter-
ation, it is significant that all of the molluscan
species are cold water (Peruvian Province)
forms, identical to those found living in the
region today.
Pampa las Salinas
An even more dramatic example of embay-
ment uplift and subsequent cultural abandon-
ment is preserved at Pampa las Salinas, 15
km to the south of Salinas de Chao (Figure 1).
At this locality the present shoreline is 5 km
west of the earlier Holocene shoreline. The
latter curves around a large bay bounded on
the east by a 5-10 m high sea cliff. A
preceramic base camp is situated at its south-
ern edge, with extractive camps spread 10 km
5
THE BIRTH OF EL NINO

Figure 3. Salinas de Chao. View to the northwest along the ancient shoreline. Photo taken from top of large
mound site (see text).

Figure 4. Salinas de Chao. Aerial photograph of the ancient uplifted bay. Note the large mound site atop the
escarpment.

6 VOL. 1, NO. 1
 THE BIRTH OF EL NINO

Table I. Molluscan species recovered from Salinas de Chao sites.

Species Geographic Range
Argopecten purpuratus (Scallop) South of Paita, Peru
Donax obesulus (clam)f = D. peruvianus) Ecuador to Chile
Mesodesma donacium (clam) South of Paita, Peru
Barbatia (Acar)pusilla (clam) South of Paita, Peru
Trachycardium procerum (clam) Whole Coast
Choromytilus chorus (mussel) South of Paita, Peru
Concholepas concholepas (snail) South of Callao, Peru
Sinum cymba (snail) South of Paita, Peru
Thais (Stramonita) haemastoma (snail) South of Paita, Peru
Thais (Stramonita) chocolata (snail) Whole coast
Mitra (Atrimitra) orientalis (snail) South of Paita, Peru
Fissurella crassa (limpet) South of Galapagos
Scurria parasitica (snail) South of Paita, Peru
Polinices (Polinices) intermeratus (snail) Baja, Calif. to Peru (14" 14's)
Crepidula c r C . onyx (snail) S. Calif. to Chile
Tegula atra (snail) South of Paita, Peru
Prisogaster niger (snail) South of Paita, Peru
?Acanthopleura echinata (chiton) Peru to Chile

along the top of the stranded sea cliff (Figure
6).
A test pit in the largest of the extractive
camps exposed ca. 70 cm of shell material.
Uncorrected radiocarbon assays on shell ma-
terial dated the bottom of the pit (70 cm) at
about 5400 2 60 B.P. and the middle (35 cm)
at about 5160 ? 60 B.P. (Sandweiss et al.,
1983).
All of the shellfish specimens found at this
site are referable to species that are today
inhabitants of the warm water Panamic Prov-
ince, north of ca. 5 degrees south latitude,
about 500 km north of the Santa and Chao
river valleys (Table 3 and Figure 7). We ini-
tially considered the possibility that this oc-
currence represented a thermally anomalous
molluscan assemblage (TAMA), similar to
those described by Zinsmeister (1974) from
the Pleistocene of California (Rollins et al.,
1981). However, the Pampa las Salinas occur-
rence includes a high diversity of Panamic
species capable of providing a food resource
base for a preceramic culture. Certainly this
is not consistent with a short lived TAMA,
such as might occur with sporadic El Niiio
events. Moreover, a n in situ beach association
with multiple year age classes of the same

Table 11. Radiocarbon Dates (uncorrected).

Site Date Material Reference
Salinas de Chao
Mound Site
- 4040 -t 75 B.P. Shell This study
4380 ? 75 B.P. Shell This study
4010 % 85 B.P. Charcoal This study
- 4560 t 60 B.P. Charcoal Martin, 1979
- 4660 t 60 B.P. Charcoal Martin, 1979
Donax site
2980 2 70 B.P. Shell This study
Pampa las Salinas
Lower level
5400 t 60 B.P Shell This study
Middle level
5160 t 60 B.P. Shell This study
Santa Beach Ridge 4235 % 115 B.P. Shell This study

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 7

THE BIRTH OF EL NINO

Figure 5. Representative species of the “cold water fauna at Salinas de Chao. All illustrated specimens
were recovered from the large mound site: A. Donax obesulus, x 1; B. Thais chocolata, x 1; C. Polinices
intermeratus, x 1; D. Mesodesma donacium, x 1; E. Scurriaparasitica, x 2; F.Sinum cymba, x 1; G .Argo-
pecten purpuratus, x 0.5; H. Mitra orientalis. x 1; I. Crepidula sp. cf. C . onyx, x 1;J. Concholepas con-
cholepas, x 0.5; K. Fissurella crassa, x 1.

Panamic species was found proximal to the
cliff top midden (Figure 8).All evidence points
to the persistence of warmer water conditions
for a relatively long span of time at this site.
The moderately diverse warm water mollus-
can association is consistent with long term
ecological stability, in contrast to the low di-
versity eurytopic associations found in condi-
tions of environmental stress.
Fronting the ancient shoreline at Pampa
las Salinas is a series of nine beach ridges
which extend 5 km to the west. These ridges
originate at the mouth of the Santa River and
consist of longshore current deposits of ma-
rine sand and river cobbles (Figures9 and 10).
We have suggested elsewhere that these
beach ridges represent lateral accretion asso-
ciated with major El Nino events, possibly
accompanied by episodic tectonic uplift and/or
sea level lowering (Sandweiss et al., 1983). A
radiocarbon assay on a gastropod specimen
(Prisogaster niger) provided a date of 4235 ?

8 VOL. 1 . NO.1
 THE BIRTH OF EL NINO

Figure 6. Pampa las Salinas. View to the southwest. Photo taken from the site of an extractive camp on top of
the ancient sea cliff (see text).

Table 111. Molluscan species recovered from Pampa las Salinas site.
Species Geographic Range
Argopecten circularis (scallop) North of Paita, Peru
Ostrea chilensis (oyster) Entire coast
Anomia sp. cf. A . peruviana (oyster) North of Paita, Peru
Trachycardium procerum (clam) Entire coast
Chione subrugosa (clam) California to northern Peru
Protothaca (Colanche) ecuadoriana (clam) North of Tumbes
Anadara bifrons (clam) North of Paita
Cerithium (Thericium) stercusmuscarum (snail) North of Peru
Cerithidea rnazatlanica (snail) North of Peru
Nassarius (Arcularia) tiarula (snail) North of Peru

115 B.P. for the first (i.e., oldest) ridge west of
the aforementioned shoreline. Prisogaster
niger is a cold water (Peruvian) taxon and
occurs in the beach ridges with other cold wa-
ter intertidal gastropod species. This suggests
*
that some time between 5160 60 and 4235 2
115 B.P. a major change in the East Pacific
coastal water mass occurred at this latitude.
A cold water regime replaced a warm water
regime and El Nino/Southern Oscillation
events began to leave their imprint along
coastal north-central 'Peru.
The first beach ridge to the west of the
Pampa las Salinas shoreline most likely re-
cords the earliest major El Nino event along
coastal Peru. This beach ridge has the great-
est amplitude of the nine ridge sequence, pos-
sibly indicating an extensive period of arid
weathering and formation of transportable
colluvium after the change in the coastal wa-

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 9

THE BIRTH OF EL NlNO

Figure 7. Representative species of the “warm” water fauna at Pampa las Salinas. All illustrated specimens were
collected from an extractive camp atop the ancient sea cliff. A. Anomia sp., x 1; B. Nassarius tiarula, x 2; C .
Ostrea chilensis, x 1; D. Chione subrugosa, x 1; E.Argopecten circularis, x 1; F. Cerithium stercusmuscarum,
x 1.5.

Figure 8. Pampa las Salinas. Test pit displaying in situ beach assemblage proximal to the cliff top midden of
Figure 6.

10 VOL. 1, NO. 1
 THE BIRTH OF EL NlNO

Figure 9. Santa beach ridge. Coarsening upward marine deposit, possibly

associated with major El Nino event.

ter mass prior to the first major El Nino event
(see article by Sandweiss, this issue).
The oldest date obtained from the
preceramic sites at Salinas de Chao is 4660 k
60 B.P. (Cardenas, 1979) and this suggests
that one of the most historically significant
oceanographic events of coastal South
America-the reorganization of the East Pa-
cific current system and the birth of El Nino-
may have occurred in an interval of only 500
years.
If the warm Panamic Province and South
Equatorial Current were present along the
Peruvian central coast before 5000 B.P., the
rainfall pattern would be substantially differ-
ent from that of today. The present day
coldwater Peru Current forces all moisture
across the coast to be released in the Andes. If
the pre-5000 B.P. coastal waters were warm,
seasonal rainfall would have occurred on the
now arid coast, creating a savannalike
environment.

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 11

THE BIRTH OF EL NlNO
Figure 10. Santa beach ridge. Close-up of cobble deposit shown in Figure 9. Note shell of the marine gastro-
pod Tegula atra.
CORROBORATING EVIDENCE
The presumed correlation between warm
coastal water and seasonal rainfall permits
integration of several otherwise anomalous
observations into our model.
Mangrove molluscs
Mangrove molluscan species (e.g.,Anadara
tuberculosa) occur at archaeological sites as
far south as Quebrada de Chorrillos on the
southern edge of the Llescus Peninsula, just
north of the Lambayeque Valley (about 7 de-
grees south latitude). These occurrences date
around 5500 B.P. and attest to wetter condi-
tions along Peru’s north coast (Richardson,
1978,1981,1983; Cardenas, 1979). Campbell
(1982) postulated annual monsoon rains, sa-
vannas, forests, lakes, and marshlands along
northwestern Peru at 14,000 B.P. and Rich-
ardson (1981, 1983) presented a model of sea
12
level rise beginning about 15,000 B.P. and
reaching present level about 5000 B.P. Pre-
sumably, this interval was marked by colder
and wetter environments along coastal Peru.
Significantly, the attainment of modern sea
level about 5000 B.P. coincides with the pos-
tulated reorganization of the East Pacific wa-
ter mass and the birth of El Nino. Richardson
(1981) suggested that the El Nino phenome-
non did not occur during the Pleistocene, as-
suming that the Indonesian low pressure cen-
ter would not have weakened to permit the
warm countercurrent to reach the Peruvian
coast.
Beach ridges
Comparison of the aforementioned Santa
beach ridges with those of the Chira river
(Richardson, 1983) affords some striking sim-
ilarities. The latter consist of a well docu-
mented and dated sequence of nine ridges
VOL. 1, NO. 1

capped by natural and cultural accumula-
tions of shell material. Richardson (1983)
noted that these beach ridges have been in
continual use as shellfish collecting sites for
about 5000 years, or ever since the attain-
ment of modern sea level. The Chira, like the
Santa, is one of the major rivers reaching the
west coast of Peru. The same types and inten-
sities of longshore currents distribute sedi-
ments northward from the mouth of the
Chira, and, as is the case with the Santa, the
ridges reflect a combination of episodic major
El Nino activity and tectonic uplift and/or sea
level lowering. Careful study and dating of
the beach ridges in the Santa and Chira re-
gions might lead to temporal correlation of
major tectonic episodes and/or El Nino events
along the central and northwestern coasts of
Peru over the last 5000 years.
Glacial deposits
Some of the geological evidence for a wet-
ter climate in western South America just
prior to 5000 B.P. was summarized by Rich-
ardson (1978) and Malpass (unpublished
manuscript). The occurrence of moraines in
the Cordillera Blanca (9-10 degrees south
latitude),which date a t 7000-5000 B.P., indi-
cate greater glacial extent and, therefore,
higher precipitation rates for that time span
(Clapperton, 1972; Caviedes, 1975). Malpass
(ms) postulated a decreased sea temperature
along the Peruvian and Chilean coasts for the
interval between 5000 and 4500 B.P., due to
the northward installation of the upwelling
Peru Current. He suggested that this upwell-
ing would initiate an intensification of the
south Pacific anticyclone, which would, in
turn, cause decreased precipitation off north-
ern Chile and Peru, and increased precipita-
tion in southern Chile. This scenario is sup-
ported by the documentaion of maximum ad-
vance of the Llanquihue Glacier in south-
central Chile at 4600-4200 B.P. (Mercer,
1976).The documented retreat of Peru’s gla-
ciers at about 5000 B.P. is predicted by the
sudden onset of dry conditions due to the initi-
ation of upwelling. The model developed by
Malpass is strongly supported by the geoarch-
GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
THE BIRTH OF EL NlNO
aeological evidence presented in this paper.
His postulated episode of decreased precipi-
tation and glacial retreat falls exactly within
the hiatus between the dates of the Pampa las
Salinas site and the oldest beach ridge.
Phosphorite deposits
A recent study of phosphorite deposits
along the coast of Peru and Chile is also sup-
portive of a major late Pleistocene displace-
ment of the Peru Current (Burnett, 1980).
Burnett noted a long term north-south vacil-
lation of these deposits, suggesting coincident
movement of the intersection of the oxygen
minimum layer with the continental margin.
Thus, it follows that the site of maximum up-
welling would similarly move. Burnett also
remarked on the southward displacement of
Quaternary land based guano-derived phos-
phate deposits. As guano birds are dependent
upon the anchovy-rich upwelling areas, such
deposits should track the movement of the
cold water current.
Diatom and Fish Scale Distribution
DeVries (1979) and DeVries and Schrader
(1981) present the results of an investigation
of diatoms and fish scales from cores taken on
the upper continental slope of central Peru.
The cores, ranging from about 11 to 13 de-
grees south latitude, exhibited marked strati-
graphic variation in proportions of tropical
(warm water) and subtropical (cooler water,
upwelling) diatom species. Late Pleistocene
sediments contained a mixture of tropical and
subtropical species, whereas late Holocene
sediments contained mainly tropical species
(north of 12 degrees south latitude). Diatom
data were consistent with a southward shift-
ing of climatic belts during the last ice age,
with increased precipitation along coastal
Peru. They suggested that tropical waters
would then have spread farther south for long
periods of time until tropical water assem-
blages would eventually replace subtropical
assemblages. The diatom and fish scale data
are consistent with the molluscan evidence.
13
THE BIRTH OF EL NINO

Earlier Quaternary and Tertiary Patterns (1983) on the preceramic sites of the Santa
and Nepena-Casma Valleys.
Romine (in press) has recently completed a
It is also clear that archaeologists must be
study of temporal variation in the distribu-
appreciative of paleooceanographic phenom-
tion of radiolarian assemblages during the
ena. The hunter-gatherers and maritime re-
last 127,000 years in the eastern equatorial
source users of coastal Peru would have en-
Pacific. She concluded that there have been
joyed a greater abundance of land-based re-
wholesale changes in the oceanic circulation
sources in grass lands and forests across the
pattern throughout this time interval. Spe-
wide expanse of the continental shelf prior
cific water mass elements of the region (e.g.,
to 5000 B.P. The warm water maritime re-
Peru Current, Equatorial Undercurrent,
sources would have been considerably less
North Equatorial Countercurrent, etc.) have
than those enjoyed by post-5000 B.P. popula-
discrete radiolarian assemblages and permit
tions subsisting on cold water faunas. The
detailed tracking of the relative positions of
dramatic change from a warm water to a cold
the water mass structure through time. Al-
water oceanic regime at 5000 B.P. decreased
though the scenario developed by Romine in-
rainfall on the coast to the point of turning the
volves a different scale of resolution than we
landscape into its present desert environ-
are addressing in this paper, it places the pos- ment. The increase in cold water resources,
tulated 5000 B.P. current reorganization into not previously available, were intensively ex-
a broader temporal perspective and suggests
ploited and formed the base for the succeeding
that it was but one (albeit the latest)of several
rise of complex maritime adapted societies on
similar events in the Quaternary of the East
the central to northern coast of Peru.
Pacific.
Caviedes (1972) presents diverse evidence
for major changes in the coastal environment CONCLUSIONS
of Chile duringthe late Tertiary and Quater-
1. Molluscan faunas from two preceramic
nary. Late Tertiary duricrusts, indicative of
sites in the Santa River Valley area of north-
tropical conditions, along with Tertiary fossil
central Peru provide direct evidence of a ma-
palms and molluscan species similar to those
jor reorganization of the East Pacific water
of the modern Panamic Province attest to an
mass structure ca. 5000 B.P. Prior to this date
approximate 30" southward displacement of
the boundary between the warm Panamic
warm coastal waters in the Pliocene.
Province and the cold Peruvian Province was
Caviedes concludes that the western coast of
displaced southward at least 500 km.
South America to 37" S lat. was, in the late
2.5000 B.P. is a significant date for under-
Tertiary, warm and humid, much like the
standing both oceanographic and cultural his-
present day western coast of South America
tory of coastal Peru. It marks the approximate
north of the equator.
attainment of modern sea level in the region,
the birth of the phenomenon known as El
ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
Nino, and, probably, the initiation of mari-
time adapted societies along coastal north-
The recent research by Moseley and his as- central Peru.
sociates on Moche and Chimu irrigation sys- 3. A variety of evidence, geological, archae-
tems, and the work by Richardson on beach ological, and oceanographic, supports the
ridge preceramic sites, have pointed out the aforementioned scenario. Future efforts
absurdity of attempting to explain cultural should be directed toward finding other
processes without reference to the geomorphic geoarchaeological evidence of the 5000 B.P.
impact of tectonism and sea level change oceanographic change. The study and radio-
(Moseley et al., 1981; Ortloff et al., 1982; carbon dating of post-5000 B.P. beach ridges
Richardson, 1983).A similar conclusion must will most likely be an important tool in the
be drawn from the research of Sandweiss et al. more precise temporal resolution of the event.

14 VOL. 1 , NO. 1

By the same token, other preceramic sites
should be carefully scrutinized for the evi-
dence of anomalous warm water faunas.
Pozorski and Pozorski (unpublished
manuscript) have recently described a second
occurrence of an anomalous warm water mol-
luscan fauna from an undated preceramic site
at Huaynuna, south of the Santa region.
Several of the ideas presented in this paper were en-
hanced by discussion with other investigators of
Peruvian geoarchaeology, especially Jack Donahue and
Michael E. Moseley. We are grateful to Robert L.
Stuckenrath of the Radiation Biology Laboratory of the
Smithsonian Institution for radiocarbon age determina-
tions. We gratefully acknowledge field support from
Fulbright and National Science Foundation fellowships
to D.H. Sandweiss and from the Programa Riego Anti-
quo, the university of Pittsburgh Provosts Fund, and
the M. Graham Netting Research Fund ofcarnegie Mu-
seum of Natural History. We, however, accept responsi-
bility for all conclusions and interpretations reached in
this article.
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