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CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Burials at Cahuachi
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN Burials at Cahuachi In chapters 5 and 7 I emphasized the fact that Cahuachi is a massively looted site. When Strong arrived at Cahuachi in 1952, the site appeared to him to have been almost exhausted by looters, although he did find intact Nasca 5 and 6 burials (Strong 1957: 32, figs. 13, 14B-J). More than thirty years later, to our great surprise, excavations on the small Unit 19 mound revealed the existence of a series of intact Nasca burials. Six new burials were found as well as two looted ones and a false lead. The Unit 19 burials were excavated by Miguel Pazos. They constitute a significant portion of the scientifically recorded graves from Cahuachi and contribute to the understanding of the site and Nasca society. They are referred to as "Silverman's Burials" in this book to distinguish them from the burials excavated by other archaeologists . In addition, three isolated and unassociated burials (Burials 1,2, and 12) were discovered during the project (see chaps. 9, 10, 11). None of these is necessarily contemporary with the main occupation of the site; they are also discussed below. Silverman's Burials in the Open Areas Buriall Location: North of the Unit 15C mound in Stratum 5 of grid square N132-134/W310-312 in Excavation 4. Grave: It is uncertain if there was a cist. Age/Sex/Condition: This is a male individual more than fifty-five years old. The bones are incomplete. Some bones, such as the pelvis, are very eroded. Other bones are fractured. The cranium is culturally deforrned , especially in the zone of the lamda, and there also is evidence of frontal-occipital pressure as the result of using boards in early childhood. The superciliary arches are very dense and prominent, and the nose is high and projecting. The temporal zone and left maxilla are fractured by the effect of postmortem pressure. The dessicated remains of the brain are preserved . The individual's dental health was quite poor, with possibly sixteen teeth or roots of the teeth in place. The other teeth had been lost well before death, and the mandible was quite healed. In the area of the second right incisor there is a great abscess with destruction of the surrounding bone. The jaw is broken in three parts in the zones immediately adjacent to the ascending branches. This breakage was possibly produced by cutting instruments soon after the death occurred . Both auditory conduits present Huchke's syndrome , by which the inner walls are genetically absent. The long bones imply a height of 1.50 to 1.55 meters. The vertebrae indicate a process of arthritis with osteophitosis and thinning of the body. This arthritic process is related to the age of the individual. There is no further evidence of pathology. The left leg presents postmortem fractures of the tibia and fibula with a cutting instrument (something similar in time and characteristics to what occurred with the mandible ). Burial 1 had been buried in a simple loincloth, now very carbonized. Position: The burial was extended, lightly flexed, with the pelvis lying on its left side (fig. 14.1). The legs were slightly higher than the head and were tied together with fiber rope. Orientation: The head is facing south. 195 14.1. Close-up of Burial!. The head faces south. The body is on its left side. Furniture: There were no offerings around the individual , but it is possible that Feature 16, a grouping of rocks below the burial, is associated (see chap. 9). Feature 17, a cross-shaped object with a relic piece of Paracas embroidery (chaps. 9, 18; figs. 18.1, 18.2), may also be associated. Remarks: This burial was studied by physical anthropologist Sonia Guillen. Dating: No older than the late Early Horizon. No younger than Nasca 3. Buria12 Location: Isolated in Test Pit 5 (see chap. 11). Grave: There is the slightest suggestion of a cist into which the burial had been placed. The evidence for a cist is the fact that a finer-grained sand surrounds the body. In this sand were found a very few organic remains : squash seeds, a few pacae leaves, and gourd 196 BURIALS AT CAHUACHI fragments. This cist would have had a maximum north-south diameter of 28 centimeters and a maximum east-west diameter of 21 centimeters. The impression that there is a cist, on the other hand, may be caused by the differential soil created by the decaying flesh. The...