A Sourcebook of Nasca Ceramic Iconography: Reading a Culture through Its Art

1. Overview of the Nasca Culture

One»OverviewoftheNascaCulture Distribution฀and฀Chronology The Nasca culture emerged during the Early Intermediate Period (100 b.c. to a.d. 650) and was centered in the Ica and Nasca Valleys of south coastal Peru (fig. 1.1). Over time its influence was felt in a territory ranging from the Cañete Valley in the north to the valleys of Ocoña, Camaná, and Sihuas in the Department of Arequipa to the south. Nasca also interacted with the highland area, especially the region near Ayacucho to the east. We have no evidence for actual colonization or military expansion into these outlying areas; the influence occurred through prestige or trade relationships. Using a technique known as seriation, by which archaeologists analyze subtle changes in the form and decoration of the pottery, it has been possible to subdivide the Nasca period into nine phases described below. It is clear that the Nasca culture developed directly out of Paracas culture of the Early Horizon (900–200 b.c.) and in many respects represents a continuation of the same cultural tradition with only minor changes. Geographic฀Setting The Nasca people were concentrated in the Río Grande de Nasca drainage, which incorporates ten separate tributaries covering an area of about 10,750 square kilometers (Silverman 1993a: 1). These tributaries extend high into the Andes, where they collected the summer rains and water from melting glaciers to provide sustenance for the Nasca people, especially during the winter months of January to March (fig. 1.2). To the north is the Ica Valley, unusual in having no major tributaries and flowing in a general north–south direction. Although the mouths of the Ica and Nasca Rivers are only 25 kilometers apart, the two systems diverge inland, leaving a vast expanse of desert that separates their middle and upper segments. Any contact between the valleys in the past most likely occurred in their lower portions. The Nasca heartland has been described as a “sub-tropical desiccated desert” with an average rainfall of only 0.3 millimeter per annum (ONERN 1971). Agriculture is dependent on irrigation, with water coming either from the unpredictable annual flow of the rivers or from natural springs or wells, which derive their water from seepage through geological faults or from water trapped in alluvial fans. The primary agricultural lands are located in the middle valley region, some 30 to 50 miles inland from the ocean. Agriculture in the lower valleys is confined to intermittent oases. The middle valley, known as the chala, was the major settlement zone in the Nasca heartland. Starting at 500 meters above sea level and extending to 2,300 meters is a hot, dry transitional region known as the yunga. This ecological zone was also important to the Nasca people, although population density there was not nearly as great as in the chala. The littoral zone (the narrow strip along the Pacific shore) was economically very important to the Nasca for the rich maritime resources located there. Archaeological ฀ «฀ overview฀of฀nasca฀culture Fig. 1.1. Map of the Nasca realm. After Rickenbach 1999: fig. 66. AREA UNDER NASCA INFLUENCE NASCA HEARTLAND PACIFIC OCEAN Paracas Peninsula overview฀of฀nasca฀culture฀ »฀  surveys of this region, however, have failed to reveal any large settlements near the ocean, suggesting that the people who exploited this zone commuted from their habitation sites well inland (Kennedy and Carmichael 1991). Physical฀Appearance Like other Precolumbian peoples, the Nasca were physically similar to the Asiatic peoples of Siberia and Mongolia, with whom they are thought to share a common ancestry. Their well-preserved mummies and ceramic representations support this interpretation. The Nasca had high, padded cheekbones , an epicanthic fold of the eyelids, “shovel-shaped” incisor teeth (a concave depression in the back of these teeth), and straight black hair. Andean people are short. In his study of the Quechua Indians of the Cuzco area, H. B. Ferris (1916: 80) reported an average height for males of 5 feet 1 inch, with women averaging slightly smaller. The ancient Nasca also were short. Marvin Allison (1979: 77) states that the height of the people of the region has not changed appreciably since Precolumbian times and that “[m]odern rural inhabitants of mixed blood are still about the same size as their Indian ancestors.” The Nasca people practiced frontal-occipital cranial deformation , which created a skull that was unnaturally elongated and flat across the forehead (fig. 1.3). Individuals...