Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. When it comes to the success of ancient civilizations, the first ...

Thirteen miles off the coast of Peru lies a trio of islands with mountainous piles of guano, nicknamed “white gold.” This seabird poop mixed with other waste is such a powerful nitrogen deposit that ...

The India Open Super 750 continued to court controversy on Saturday, January 17 as play was halted once again, this time during the women's doubles semifinal between China's Liu Shengshu–Tan Ning and ...

New archaeological evidence reveals that seabird guano—nutrient-rich bird droppings—was not only essential to boosting corn yields and supercharging agriculture in ancient Peru, but it may have been a ...

The pre-Inca Chincha Kingdom (circa 1000-1400 CE), along Peru’s southern coast, was one of the most wealthy and influential of its time before falling to the Inca and Spanish empires. Scientists have ...

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Between 1250 and 1400 CE, a kingdom in coastal Peru grew powerful enough that when the Inca Empire came calling, they didn’t conquer it through open warfare, they negotiated. The Chincha Kingdom ...

Seabird poop, along with food waste, feathers and carcasses, accumulates as guano, which is prized as a nutrient-rich fertilizer. Richard McManus via Getty Images Before the Inca civilization rose to ...

Powerful fertiliser based on seabird droppings may have fuelled the rise of a Peruvian agricultural kingdom 900 years ago and helped drive its eventual takeover by the Incas. Chemical analyses of ...