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Two»NascaPotteryandItsArtisticCanons The฀Origin฀and฀Nature฀of฀Nasca฀Pottery Of all the materials available for artistic and symbolic expression , the Nasca people chose pottery to communicate their ideas to other members of their society. The shift from textiles to ceramics took place over many generations; pottery became the dominant medium for expression beginning in the early Nasca phases, while textiles remained secondary in importance. The reasons for this transfer from textiles to ceramics are not completely known, but the invention of slip painting is thought to be an important factor. Pottery first made its appearance on the south coast of Peru in the Initial Period (1800–900 b.c.). Crude pottery was first found at the sites of Erizo in the Ica Valley and at the Hacha site in Acarí. In many respects it was quite experimental ; the surfaces of the vessels often exhibit uneven firing and have minimal decoration—incision, punctation, or raised bands with teethlike projections. The most common vessel shape is the neckless olla, although several prototypes of the characteristic double spout bottle form are known. The Early Horizon witnessed the appearance of the Paracas style as well as a number of regional styles such as Tajo in the Nasca drainage and Jahuay in Pisco and Chincha (Silverman 1991, 1994a). The defining characteristic of Paracas pottery was the use of postfired resin paints for decoration. Resin paints are derived from the gummy sap of certain plants such as the acacia bush (Cercidium praecox) or pepper tree (Schinus molle); into this matrix was mixed finely ground mineral pigments such as hematite or cinnabar (for red colors), limonite and goethite (for yellow and brown colors), malachite (for green), or azurite (for blue) (Donnan 1992: 21–22). These were applied after firing to zones on the surface of the pottery that had been outlined with incisions by the Paracas potters. As a result, the designs were painted in brightly colored pigments, but with paints that were highly fugitive (subject to flaking off), because they were not fused to the surface during the firing process. “Paracas potters skillfully combined modeling, coiling and paddle and anvil techniques. They made ceramics with thin even walls, and carefully modeled spouts and handles. Surfaces were well smoothed and burnished. Most Paracas ceramics, including those that were to be painted with resin paint, were fired in a smudging atmosphere, creating a dark grayto -black surface” (Donnan 1992: 35). The beginning of the Nasca style is marked by the introduction of slip paints, which were applied before firing, unlike the resin paints of the Paracas tradition. Slip paints were made from some of the same minerals that were used with resins, but in this case the finely ground mineral pigments were suspended in a thin solution of clay rather than mixed with resins. Because they were applied before the firing process, these minerals were chemically fused to the surface of the vessel, actually becoming part of the pot, unlike the postfired resin paints, which so easily flaked off with washing and abrasion. Through trial and error, Nasca potters also had to learn how the mineral pigments changed 1฀ «฀ nasca฀pottery฀and฀its฀artistic฀canons color during firing and to make the proper selection for the final tints that they desired. We do not know where slip paints were first invented in the Andes or how and why they began to be used on the south coast. Other cultures, such as the contemporary Moche, also used slip paints, but not to the extent seen among the Nasca. We can say that at the beginning of the Early Intermediate Period (ca. first century a.d.) the Paracas people began to use slip paints, and archaeologists use this innovation arbitrarily to mark the start of the Nasca cultural tradition. In most other aspects of their lives, Nasca culture is a continuation of the earlier Paracas culture—the same religion, artistic iconography, and lifestyle. The Nasca constructed their pottery from local clays, some of which included mica as a natural additive that appears as shiny glasslike inclusions in the finished product. The mica can cause surface pitting and spalling as a result of differential thermal expansion (Proulx 1968: 23). Cooking and storage vessels were tempered with sand and crushed quartz,butfinerclaysusedforthefancypolychromepottery required little or no temper (Carmichael 1998: 217). Vessels were manufactured by using a combination of techniques. Potters often used a shallow plate or bowl as a support. Although the true potter’s wheel was absent, these platforms served as...

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