Nasca

Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory - Anthro 490.3: Class 14

The Early Intermediate Period: Nasca geoglyphs and the empty city

ã Copyright Bruce Owen 2003

The Moche were not the only people in the Andes in the Early Intermediate Period
South of the Moche area in the coastal valleys

around 200 cal AD, the Lima culture developed
much of the evidence is now under the modern city of Lima
big mud-brick huacas, now surrounded by the city
the Lima pottery style and wall painting style were also used in other valleys

may indicate contact, alliances, etc.

population rose, agricultural area expanded as canals were lengthened
Pachacamac was founded
We won't do much more than note that this culture existed, and then continue south...

Further south, around the Paracas peninsula

during the Early Horizon, the Paracas culture developed
we neglected this culture earlier
not much is known about it yet other than large numbers of spectacular burials

not much data on where or how people lived
absolute dating and chronology not clear
given that, Paracas can be dated roughly from 400 to 50 cal BC

actually two types:

Paracas Cavernas

deep shaft tombs
ceramics had incised designs with colors added after firing, using resin-based paints

(in contrast to colored mineral or clay paints applied before firing, as is more common)

Paracas Necropolis (now also called Topará culture)

Tombs in domestic areas, including ones that were already ruins
Often rectangular, not as deep
Simpler, more elegant ceramics with thin walls, refined shapes, high polish, no colored designs or incisions
Iconography was on elaborate textiles

Often very large textiles representing a huge amount of labor

Apparently overlapped in time, but Necropolis may continue later

mummies bundled in large quantities of textiles, many highly decorated with embroidery and other techniques
clearly indicates the presence of extremely high status individuals

shamans? chiefs? or...?

tombs often contained numerous individuals

maybe they were family burial places for high-status kin groups

but Paracas is usually thought to have been a not very stratified or politically complex society
no monumental ceremonial architecture, cities, etc. known
textile technology was different from the north
as was ceramic technology
iconography was quite different from the north

apparently mostly supernatural motifs, or shamans in supernatural states

Paracas influence also extended a bit south, into the Ica and Nazca valleys

Nazca and Ica valleys

Spelling detail: Nazca vs. Nasca

Moseley just uses the modern Nazca (z) for everything
Silverman uses the two spellings distinctly

Nazca (z) = valley, geographic term
Nasca (s) = culture, style, period, archaeological term
based on the idea that Nasca (s) is the older, more correct spelling
does not really make much difference unless you encounter a zealot

Dating and chronology detail

Dates I give here differ from many you may see elsewhere
they are based mostly on a recent summary by Silverman 2002:37-39
she uses uncalibrated dates; I present the same dates here calibrated and rounded, which makes them look about 100 years more recent
I also lump some of the Nasca phases, as you will see

8 valleys that come together in a broad part of the coastal plain

the valleys are narrow, with no large farmable area at the mouth
the rivers are relatively small

some actually disappear underground for some stretches
Silverman 1988:411 "...the paltry source of water known as the Nazca river"

all the valleys together probably never supported more than 25,000 people

although the region seems an unlikely one, it has attracted interest because of

the dramatic, fine pottery and textiles found there
a monumental center called Cahuachi
the famous Nazca lines
so, what kind of society produced these things?

Paracas influence or people appeared in the Ica and Nazca area during the later part of the Paracas culture
Paracas style probably developed into Nasca style

Nasca pottery style is broken up into a series of 9 sub-periods (phases 1-9)

(Moseley only counts 8, since Nasca 9 is really a manifestation of the Wari culture from the highlands, which we will get to later)
during which the subject matter and style change over time
but the chronology is still somewhat arguable

Early Nasca (Nasca 1 and 2): around 50 cal BC to 300 cal AD

Nasca 1 pottery has the incisions of Paracas Cavernas style, but uses colored clay slip paints before firing, rather than postfiring resin paints

technically more like the north but stylistically still very different

kept some of the Paracas supernaturals/shamans, but added naturalistic motifs, too
later, the incisions were abandoned and the purely painted Nasca style developed
Early Nasca seems to have concentrated iconography more on textiles than on ceramics

very impressive, labor-intensive textiles
lots of wool
Moseley suggests that this implies a lot of exchange with highlands, where alpacas would have been more at home

Very little data on Early Nasca residential sites
starting in Nasca phase 2 and culminating in Nasca 3, four valleys shared the Nasca pottery style

the core Nazca and Ica valleys
plus Pisco valley to the north
and Acari valley to the south
there were at least at a few modest centers
Nasca iconography at this time was mostly supernatural

and appeared on ritual paraphernalia: ceramic drums, trumpets, panpipes, vessels; textiles; gourds, etc.

In Nasca 3 (300-500 cal AD), the Nazca valley site of Cahuachi grew very large

2 km long; 150 ha
around 40 impressive platforms

made by modifying natural contours, facing with mud bricks
with plazas in front
some rooms attached and on top
some contain burials, textile offerings (?), etc.

not solid mudbrick huacas as in the north
instead, much of the volume is the natural hill form, and the remainder is retaining walls holding rubble and soil fill with garbage mixed in

Cahuachi was unique in the region, and presumably served as a focal point for all four valleys

there were other sites with mounds, but much smaller

unlike Cerro Blanco in the Moche valley, Cahuachi was not an urban center
Silverman argues that it was a nearly empty ceremonial site

numerous projects there have found only minimal residential debris, and that was Nasca 1, before the platforms were built
no areas with houses, hearths, etc.
instead, open spaces with postholes, shallow depressions, small amounts of garbage
some of the fill of the platforms contains garbage

but not just the garbage that would result from a normal village, which would be mostly pieces of plain cooking pots and food garbage like bone, shell, and dried plant scraps
there is some of this, but also a very high percentage of decorated pottery, panpipe fragments, exotic feathers, etc.
suggesting mostly non-domestic, ritual activities, along with a little food preparation

cuys with necks broken and bellies slit, as in modern divination practices
llama offerings in pits, etc.
Silverman suggests that Cahuachi was visited only periodically, maybe by large numbers of people

who brought fancy pots, panpipes, drums, feathered objects, etc. for ritual use

or maybe made them there?

and built temporary shelters, lived there for a few days, then dismantled everything until next time

leaving little more than postholes, fired patches from cooking, and a thin scatter of trash
as at a fairground

they would have come for special ceremonies of some kind
and associated networking, etc. as in the Dillehay article on the Mapuche

Silverman also describes a room with wood posts

prepared clay floor, plastered walls
either kept ritually clean or carefully cleaned out by later Nasca 8 people
long after being abandoned, it was intentionally filled with clean sand and a few carefully placed offerings by Nasca 8 people
this may suggest a ritual purpose or sanctity of the site that people still remembered centuries later
(but that is already obvious from the mound architecture, and it would not preclude people living there, too)

Moseley suggests that the mounds are variable in size and details because each kin group would build its own platform

the differences in size may simply reflect the different numbers of people that celebrated at each
Remember the Mapuche mound example?

meanwhile, people actually lived in numerous small villages, and a few medium-sized ones, but not in large towns
Ceramic style seems fairly consistent in the different valleys

and more examples are found in other valleys to the north and south

So what was going on during Nasca 3?

four drainages with one shared ritual center
some large towns, but no urban capital
some very marked elite burials, but Silverman does not think they are dramatic enough to imply really powerful elites
she also doubts that there was a marked elite class because fine Nasca ceramics are found in all sorts of sites

not just Cahuachi, or large villages, or cemeteries
so most families apparently had access to fine, decorated pots, panpipes, etc.
while these may look like items that could have indicated wealth or status, their wide distribution suggests otherwise

iconography stressed the supernatural, not militarism or human individuals

people that are shown seem generic and idealized, not identifiable individuals
suggests that the iconography was not controlled by a self-aggrandizing elite
but instead served more supernatural and ritual purposes

maybe one or more small polity in each valley, interlinked by ritual and alliance interests, with not-very-pronounced leaders largely based on ritual roles?
All using Cahuachi as their ceremonial center

probably making periodic group pilgrimages there
maybe involving walking along certain of the Nazca lines
and apparently sharing very similar ritual ideas, since they pottery was relatively uniform
possibly making a small number of ritual experts permanently associated with Cahuachi into multi-valley authorities based on their ceremonial roles

While Silverman uses the term "state" in her 1988 article, she seems to have backed off that idea since then

I think most people would agree

The Nasca lines

some time during the Early Intermediate period, people draw 30-odd figures on the pampa across the river from Cahuachi, extending to the next river
they are made by pushing aside desert-varnished rocks to expose light soil underneath

very little labor involved
can be made by few people, in little time
a figural geoglyph is probably a matter of a small group for a few days, maximum

several types of designs

lines

many radiate from centers, often on small hills

trapezoidal-triangular areas

often these are widened sections of lines that continue in one or both directions

geometric designs like spirals, zigzags, etc.
figures like birds, a monkey, etc.

the lines and other markings cross each other seemingly randomly, like a blackboard that was not erased between drawings
some are visible from nearby hillslopes and hilltops, but many are not
geoglyphs are not unique to the Nasca drainage

although most numerous, dense, and elaborated there
also found from northern Chile to northern Peru
many different styles of figures, llamas, geometric, long lines, rectangles and trapezoids, etc.
not even limited to the Andes: cultures around the world have made various kinds of geoglyphs

hard to date, but appear to have been made throughout the duration of the Nasca culture

and continuing up to late prehistoric times
mostly dated by style of potsherds found along the lines

often "pot drops" where an entire pot was broken
these presumably date to the time of construction of the line they are found on or later,

since before that, the area was just empty desert, with no reason to be there, with or without a pot
and the pieces would have been swept up when the line was made if they had already been there

the figural drawings can be roughly dated by noting that some match designs on Nasca pottery
some lines have wooden sighting posts (possibly used to lay them out) that have been radiocarbon dated to the Late Intermediate Period (well after the Nasca culture)
it should be possible to tell the order of lines that cross each other - except that in the last 50 years or so various people have "cleaned" many of them, possibly changing which overlay which, not to mention possibly changing other small details
conclusions on dating

sherds associated with the figural drawings are mostly Nasca phases 3 and 4

contemporary with Cahuachi's main period of growth and the following period

although some figures seem to go back to Early Nasca
the lines, trapezoids, etc. may span a longer period, starting in Early Nasca and continuing on after people stopped making the figural drawings

why was decorated pottery brought out there?

(as opposed to plain pottery simply for carrying water)
intentionally left as offerings?
accidentally broken during use in rituals, maybe being used in processions?
accidentally broken while being carried from one place to another along the lines, implying that the trip was to or from a place of ritual activity where fancy pots were used?

purpose/use/meaning of figures and lines

they are are clearly not astronomically (or calendrically) aligned

even fewer have astronomical alignments than would be expected by chance...

they cross each other indiscriminately, suggesting that making new ones was more important than using and maintaining existing ones
most of the figural drawings are a single line that does not split or cross itself

possibly meant to be walked on, as a ritual path
there are three exceptions

it is possible that they were originally single lines, but have been inadvertently changed by later prehistoric users or recent "cleaning"

lines and trapezoids also intended for walking?

trapezoids have a hint of this

paired rockpiles forming gateways at the ends where narrow lines enter and exit
and usually with a faint path running down the center

lengthy description of analogous lines, rituals, and beliefs in Reinhard article

many examples of their use as ritual walkways
associations with water, mountains, and fertility

some connect Cahuachi to other sites: possibly indicate walking routes

one line runs straight between Cahuachi and Ventanilla, a large village on the other side of the pampa

Moseley suggests that, like the many mounds at Cahuachi, the figures reflect many separate little groups doing their own rituals in similar ways in similar spots

but not a single, coordinated, corporate action

Nasca 4 (500-600 cal AD): Apparently some kind of collapse or major change

People stopped building at Cahuachi or visiting it for ceremonies as they had in Nasca 3
instead, Cahuachi became a place for high-status burials
many large villages were abandoned
overall population may have declined
pottery styles became more variable from valley to valley

this could suggest less contact between groups

due to no longer getting together at Cahuachi to celebrate shared rituals?

or it could suggest a greater desire to emphasize group identity as opposed to other groups

increased social group "boundary marking"

either of which might be related to increasing competition or conflict between groups

Nasca iconography shifted to more militaristic themes, and some vessels seem to depict individual high-status people

less supernatural content
suggests a shift from egalitarian ritual emphasis to stratified political emphasis?
further supporting the impression of rising competition within and between social groups
but no known urban capital...

some connect these changes to a dramatic flood event (El Nino) that damaged Cahuachi and presumably had other harmful effects

the jury is still out on this
some excavations at Cahuachi have found evidence of flooding, others have not
and no evidence for flooding at this time has been reported from other sites or valleys
but it is a reasonable possibility, and there is not enough data yet to rule it out

some connect it to a long generally dry period of "desertification"

or one or two severe, several-decade droughts
again, the evidence is equivocal

Late Nasca (5, 6, 7) (600-800 cal AD): settlement shifted to middle valleys and secular elites may have emerged

3 of the valleys have dry segments, where the river disappears

then reappears in springs 20 km further down the valley

earlier settlement avoided these areas
in Nasca 5, they were suddenly settled
Kathy Schreiber argues that this must coincide with the construction of the famous Nazca filtration galleries ("puquios")

These are specialized water systems that allow the middle valleys to be farmed
at the lower end of the dry segments, they are trenches deep enough to reach the water table

they fill up
and the water flows down them into reservoirs for irrigating fields

further up the dry segments, where the water table is deeper

the trenches become tunnels
with periodic vertical shafts to allow for cleaning
or to facilitate construction

this system is very rare outside the Nazca region
the fact that people moved into these areas in Nasca 5 strongly suggests that the filtration galleries were built then
but they are difficult to date directly
Monica Barnes argues that they were actually built under the direction of early Spanish colonists

they are very similar to filtration galleries used in Iran called qanats
which had been adopted in Spain before the conquest
she has some impressive historical documentation
but if she is right, how could Nasca 5 people have lived in these sections of the valleys?

Moseley points out that Nasca 5 people clearly developed some way of using the middle valleys, but that it need not have been filtration galleries

He suggests "sunken gardens" as an alternative if the filtration galleries prove to be post-conquest
There is no evidence of these, but maybe they have been obliterated by river meanders and later agriculture

Overall population increased
Ceramics started to depict naturalistic fat, nude women decorated with supernatural iconography (maybe tattoos?)

Maybe indicated more interest in fertility (human and agricultural)?
Maybe associated with dependence on water projects for agricultural fertility?

Silverman argues that the practice of drawing figures on hillsides near sites, and lines on the pampa increased in Late Nasca

if they were part of rituals concerning water, that might fit with the pottery changes and filtration galleries

Starting in Nasca 5, at the site of La Muña, a few dramatically large, rich burials suggest the appearance of a more powerful elite class
Pottery began to show a lot more humans, and more distinctly individualized human males

with more naturalistic, elaborate clothing, jewelry, etc.
Maybe part of the legitimization of an emerging elite

From Nasca 5 on, trophy heads on pottery seem to be associated less with supernatural themes on pottery and more with individual males

and at one site, there is a cache of 48 trophy heads
this may be another way in which an emerging elite expressed its power

Settlement in the middle valleys had required some form of infrastructure projects, whether filtration galleries or sunken gardens

these would represent big labor investments (or maybe not?)
maybe organizing the construction, maintenance, and distribution of water projects fostered the rise of more powerful, secular elites
since people would have been absolutely dependent on the projects and the water they produced

in Nasca 5, the pottery style diverged into three distinct variants

including a "conservative monumental" style that may have continued earlier religious ideas
a "progressive monumental" style that may reflect some divergent faction or creed
and a "bizarre innovation" style that dramatically recombined and changed supernatural themes
if these represent different factions within the religious community, that might reflect jockeying for power, followers, allies, etc.

these ceramic style variants seemed to coalesce into a more uniform style again in Nasca 6
Nasca 6 and 7, people shifted from living in many small villages to fewer, larger towns

perhaps due to increasing tensions between groups?
but still nothing large enough to call a city

warfare was always a theme in Nasca pottery, but it may have increased in Late Nasca

some Nasca pots seem to pick up themes from the contemporary Moche ceramics
especially warfare and sacrifice themes

In Nasca 7, Nasca pottery was most widely distributed in other valleys to the north and south

suggesting more long-distance contacts
possibly exchange for exotic goods that elites could have used to impress less well-connected people

overall, looks like Late Nasca probably saw the development of multiple chiefdoms with genuinely powerful, secular chiefs

using pottery, textiles, trophy heads, etc. to legitimize their positions
as well as real or threatened warfare

albeit not on a scale large enough to cause people to live in defensible sites or build fortresses

but without a single center for a multi-valley polity

Nasca 8 (800-1100 cal AD): Wari influence from the highlands, loss of "Nasca-ness" according to Silverman

As we see next time, Wari was an urban state located in the highlands directly inland from Nasca

much larger scale and presumably more socially, politically, economically complex
picking up around 500 cal AD, that is, around the peak and especially the decline of Cahuachi
and contemporary with the later, more secular Nasca chiefdoms

Wari pottery, though different, shares a lot with Nasca style
so the relationship of the two cultures, is probably important to understanding both of them
in Nasca 8, possibly a shift in the ritual and political nature of Nasca chiefs, apparently related to an influx or adoption of Wari ideas
but the story is not at all clear yet, so we will leave the Nasca here and shift our focus to Wari next time...