Hmm.

Wonder what the current huarango tree is/was.

I don't think they wiped out the tree altogether, just theirs.

I wonder if they were convinced to cut down these trees as a form of "modernization". "You don't want to have all these old fashioned trees here! Cut them down and grow MORE crops, despite whatever myths there are about the trees!"

He/she meant what is the current equivalent of hurango tree, and the answer is the atmosphere.

The Nasca may or may not have had as their excuse the possible explanation that they couldn't have known the unintended consequences of their actions. Modern man can not claim such ignorance, as there is ample evidence that there is global warming, that it is man-made, and that it is already starting to alter our environment in negative ways.

hemp.

eevn until now, cutting trees to make way for crops is a threat to our environment.