LIMA (Reuters) -A small sculpture of two toads, and other water-linked symbols found near the Peruvian city of Caral – once the oldest city on the continent – have helped archaeologists confirm that an ancient civilization disappeared due to devastating climate change.

Climate change, a long-term and large-scale shift in weather patterns, can have natural causes such as changes in solar activity or volcanic eruptions. Since the early 1800s, human activities have been its main drivers.

Archaeologists said they found the small sculpture of the two amphibians, dating back 3,800 years, as well as anthropomorphic figures on mud walls earlier this year in the Vichama archeological site, about 160 kilometers north of the capital Lima.

The site flourished between 1800 and 1500 B.C. and was an u

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