One of Western Europe's earliest known urban societies may have sown the seeds of its own downfall, a study suggests
Mystery surrounded the fall of the Bronze Age Argaric people in south-east Spain - Europe's driest area.
Data suggests the early civilisation exhausted precious natural resources, helping bring about its own ruin.
The study provides early evidence for cultural collapse caused - at least in part - by humans meddling with the environment, say researchers.
It could also provide lessons for modern populations living in water-stressed regions.
The findings were based on pollen preserved in a peat deposit located in the mountains of eastern Andalucia, Spain.
Sediment cores were drilled from peat deposits
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By studying the abundances of different pollen types - along with other indicators - preserved in sedimentary deposits, researchers can reconstruct what kind of vegetation covered the area in ancient times.
clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk 
