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Six»NewInsightsonNascaSociety Archaeologists seek to reconstruct the history and lifeways of ancient peoples, using field data as well as comparative approaches that may lead to a better understanding of the causal mechanisms that lie behind the development of human societies. As we have seen in the previous chapters , the iconography present on Nasca pottery can serve as a powerful adjunct to archaeology to gain a better understanding of the nature of this society, especially in the absence of documentary evidence. Scholars reconstructing the more complex civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient China, and even Mesoamerica have the distinct advantage of having not only the artifacts and elaborate art of these groups to use for interpretation but also a wide range of written records that can provide the names of their rulers, a history of important events, names of major settlements , and literary and scientific achievements. These documents provide direct clues for interpreting the material culture. In the Andes no formal system of writing was present until introduced by the Spanish in the sixteenth century . Iconography provides a viable substitute for writing, however, if we recognize it as a symbolic system reflecting the ideas and beliefs of the people who produced it. Yet, as Panofsky (1955) has pointed out, it is much easier to interpret the descriptive themes present in an art style than to understand the mindset and world view of the people who produced the images. Fortunately an extensive corpus of data on Andean societies is available to anthropologists and ethnohistorians. We are in a much better position today in attempting a synthesis of Nasca society than ever before. My goal in this final chapter is to reexamine the main components of Nasca society briefly outlined in the introductory chapter, pointing out how the study of ceramic iconography by myself and others has aided the interpretation and understanding of this early culture. This discussion includes some unavoidable repetition and review of earlier materials, but a more detailed examination of the main components of Nasca society results from the addition of new iconographic documentation. Physical฀Appearance฀and฀Occupations Chapter 1 describes the physical characteristics of the ancient Nasca people based on mummies and skeletal remains found in their graves, including data on racial affiliation, pathology, longevity, cranial deformation, and trephination . In addition, the ceramic art provides a wealth of information on clothing, ritual attire, jewelry, hairstyles, facial painting, tattooing, and occupations that is much more detailed than the archaeological evidence. Although humans do not appear as frequently in Nasca ceramic art as in contemporary Moche art, a wide corpus of human representations can be used, along with archaeology, to reconstruct many aspects of Nasca society. Let us begin by examining gender differences as seen on the pottery. Males are represented throughout the nine-phase sequence, while females are virtually absent from the ceramic art until Phase 5, when they become a major theme. The reason for 1฀ «฀ new฀insights this distribution is still a mystery. Most males are depicted with minimal clothing, a breechcloth constituting the primary article of attire (fig. 5.122). When seen from the front, the breechcloth is represented as a semicircular element between the legs; in profile, it can be seen that the breechcloth is knotted in the rear and has long, flowing ties. The legs of males are always depicted bare; Nasca men are never shown wearing kilts or any other form of leg covering. The upper body is often shown naked, in which case inverted V-shaped ribs are sometimes used to amplify this condition. In other cases the upper torso is covered with a tunic or shirt with short sleeves (much like a modern T-shirt), usually either orange or yellow (figs. 5.123, 5.124). Another variety of shirt has a V-shaped neckline, indicated by a painted Y-shaped band representing the collar of the garment. In this variety, most often represented on effigy vessels, the actual shirt is seldom delineated: the surface color of the vessel serves as a symbol of the garment (fig. 5.125). Assorted headdresses, which change over time and with occupation, were worn. In the earlier phases men are often depictedwearingturbans,heldinplacewithheadbandsand/ or slings (fig. 5.256). Farmers wore a distinctive conical hat (fig. 5.67), while warriors displayed a variety of head coverings , including a fez-shaped cap in the later phases (pl. 16). Tassels, feathers, and other appendages are often attached to these headpieces (pl. 17). In the earliest phases, men are seen wearing animal...

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