Timeline and Definition of the Nazca Civilization

The Nasca (sometimes spelled Nazca outside of archaeological texts) Early Intermediate Period [EIP] civilization was located in the Nazca region as defined by the Ica and Grande river drainages, on the southern coast of Peru between about AD 1-750. Chronology The following dates are from Unkel et al. (2012). All dates are calibrated radiocarbon dates: Late Nasca AD 440-640Middle Nasca AD 300-440Early Nasca AD 80-300Initial Nasca  260 BC-80 ADLate Paracas 300 BC-100 Scholars perceive the Nasca as arising out of the Paracas culture, rather than an in-migration of people from another place. The early Nasca culture arose as a loosely-affiliated group of rural villages with self-sufficient subsistence based on corn agriculture. The villages had a distinctive art style, specific rituals, and burial customs. Cahuachi, an important Nasca ceremonial center, was built and became a focus of feasting and ceremonial activities. The Middle Nasca period saw many changes, perhaps brought about by a long drought. Settlement patterns and subsistence and irrigation practices changed, and Cahuachi became less important. By this time, the Nasca was a loose confederacy of chiefdoms--not with a centralized government, but rather autonomous settlements that regularly convened for rituals. By the Late Nasca period, increasing social complexity and warfare led to the movement of people away from the rural farmsteads and into a few larger sites. Culture The Nasca are known for their elaborate textile and ceramic art, including an elaborate mortuary ritual associated with warfare and the taking of trophy heads. More than 150 trophy heads have been identified at Nazca sites, and there are examples of burials of headless bodies, and burials of grave goods without human remains. Gold metallurgy in early Nasca times is comparable to Paracas culture: consisting of low-tech cold-hammered art objects. Some slag sites from copper smelting and other evidence suggest that by the late phase (Late Intermediate Period) the Nasca increased their technological knowledge. The Nasca region is an arid one, and the Nazca developed a sophisticated irrigation system that aided in their survival for so many centuries. The Nazca Lines The Nasca are probably best known to the public for the Nazca Lines, geometric lines and animal shapes etched into the desert plain by the members of this civilization. The Nasca lines were first intensively studied by the German mathematician Maria Reiche and have been the focus of many silly theories concerning alien landing places. Recent investigations at Nasca include the Project Nasca/Palpa, a photogrammetric study from the Deutschen Archà ¤ologischen Instituts and Instituto Andino de Estudios Arqueolà ³gicos, using modern GIS methods to record the geoglyphs digitally.​ Sources Conlee, Christina A. 2007 Decapitation and Rebirth: A Headless Burial from Nasca, Peru.  Current Anthropology  48(3):438-453.Eerkens, Jelmer W., et al. 2008  Obsidian hydration dating on the South Coast of Peru.  Journal of Archaeological Science  35(8):2231-2239.Kellner, Corina M. and Margaret J. Schoeninger 2008  Waris imperial influence on local Nasca diet: The stable isotope evidence.  Journal of Anthropological Archaeology  27(2):226-243.Knudson, Kelly J., et al. In press  The geographic origins of Nasca trophy heads using strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope data.  Journal of Anthropological Archaeology  in press.Lambers, Karsten, et al. 2007  Combining photogrammetry and laser scanning for the recording and modelling of the Late Intermediate Period site of Pinchango Alto, Palpa, Peru.  Journal of Archaeological Science  34:1702-1712.Rink, W. J. and J.  Bartoll  2005  Dating the geometric Nasca lines in the Peruvian desert.  Antiquity  79( 304):390-401.Silverman, Helaine and David Browne 1991  New evidence for the date of the Nazca lines.  Antiquity  65:208-220.Van Gijseghem, Hendrik and Kevin J. Vaughn 2008  Regional integration and the built environment in middle-range societies: Paracas and early Nasca houses and communities.  Journal of Anthropological Archaeology  27(1):111-130.Vaughn, Kevin J. 2004  Households, Crafts, and Feasting in the Ancient Andes: The Village Context of Early Nasca Craft Consumption.  Latin  American Antiquity  15(1):61-88.Vaughn, Kevin J., Christina A. Conlee, Hector Neff, and Katharina Schreiber 2006  Ceramic production in ancient Nasca: provenance analysis of pottery from the Early Nasca and  Tiza  cultures through INAA.  Journal of Archaeological Science  33:681-689.Vaughn, Kevin J. and Hendrik Van Gijseghem 2007  A compositional perspective on the origins of the â€Å"Nasca cult† at Cahuachi.  Journal of Archaeological Science  34(5):814-822.