This was the accepted scientific understanding circa 1900. Interestingly enough, this was used by early activists to argue that global warming is a real phenom

This was the accepted scientific understanding circa 1900. Interestingly enough, this was used by early activists to argue that global warming is a real phenomenon. The logic went: since people indigenous to tropics cannot have advanced civilization, and Angkor Wat is clearly a product of advanced civilization, then Cambodia wasn't tropical when it was built.[0] [0] https://newleftreview.org/issues/II97/articles/mike-davis-the-coming-desert https://newleftreview.org/issues/II97/articles/mike-davis-th...