The Nazca culture formed a military and archaeological civilization in the valleys of the department of Ica, which was located in Cachuachi, in the current province of Nazca in Peru.
The German archaeologist Max Uhle was the one who discovered the Nazca civilization in 1900. In his investigations, he defines it as Proto-Nazca, and created the first chronological design, identifying the origin and typology of this culture.
Nazca figure
Max Uhle claimed a strong connection with the Paracas culture; both had the same traditions, and agricultural techniques and military knowledge.
The Nazca history is divided into four phases:
-The first is called Early Nazca, where communities began to develop ceramics with their own style.
-The second phase is called Nazca Medio. This stage is defined by the cultural development influenced by the Paracas culture, where iconographic and textile representations begin. In addition, ceremonies arise.
-The third phase, called Late Nazca is where the population leaves Cachuachi.
-The fourth and last period is the fall of the Nazca culture in 700 AD. C. due to climatic changes.
Characteristics of the Nazca culture
Religion
The god of the Nazca culture was a hybrid anthropomorphic being of feline, fish and bird, named Botto. The inhabitants worshiped everything from nature as well as the sea, the sky, the fire, the mountains, among others.
The temples were built in honor of these gods, so that they would bring good crops and not suffer from hunger.
The natives made human sacrifices in religious or war ceremonies. Religion was linked to the mystery of the Nazca lines; some theories affirm that in this location the rituals were celebrated and that their hieroglyphs were offerings for the gods.
On the other hand, they had a rite to use the heads of enemies or fallen soldiers as trophies.
Their custom was to remove the brain from the base of the skull, then sew the mouth and then make a small incision in the forehead through which they passed a rope to transfer it. It is said that this practice was carried out in order to honor the fertility of the land.
Economy
The Nazca economy was based on agriculture.
Although the inhabitants had problems with arid and dry lands, they managed to solve it through networks of aqueducts, wells and canals, which allowed water to be supplied to crops.
Thanks to these cultivation techniques they were able to establish a solid agriculture, based on corn, squash, cassava, beans, peanuts, squash, chili peppers, guava, lucuma and cotton. They used this last product to make fabrics and clothing.
Fishing was also a main source of commerce, since they lived in front of the sea. In addition to fish and shellfish, it is believed that hunting animals was part of economic activities.
Architecture
The Nazca used adobes as their main material. It can be seen in the archaeological complex of Cahuachi, which was the main center of ceremonies.
There is the pyramidal temple, which is made up of terraces, and the palace of the warrior chiefs is also located, which consists of six residences.
In this coastal city there are some old buildings that were given the name "La Estaquería", made up of artificial platforms built with stone and adobe where initially there were 240 huarango posts, deployed by 12 rows of 20 stakes each.
There are also the urban architectural sites of Nazca such as Huaca del Loro and Pampa Tinguiña, and Tambo Viejo.
Ceramics
Nazca pottery is considered by archaeologists as the best elaboration of ancient Peru, due to its great quality and variety.
The techniques used were very typical of this culture, since before firing the piece they were painted or decorated in its entirety, a technique that has been called "Horror to the vacuum" because they did not leave spaces unpainted in any piece.
Their decorations were very colorful; they used up to eleven colors in one piece, mastered 190 different shades and used brushes for decoration.
In the pieces they represented their daily life, animals, flowers, birds, fruits, insects and mythological characters. The shapes of the most outstanding pieces are those of pumpkins, bottles, glasses and pots.
Music
The Nazca population was of great musical wealth. They were the creators of the ceramic antaras instrument, surpassing four different notes with chromatic scales, making it the best musical instrument of ancient Peru.
Other musical instruments were also found in the tombs of the Nazcas, such as trumpets, quenas, bass drums and drums. All of these are artistically painted.
Many symphony orchestras have been influenced by the various musical scales of the millennial Nazca.
Science
The Nazca were great mathematicians and astronomers. They analyzed in depth the movements of the Sun, the Moon and the stars.
In addition, they created a calendar that aimed to point to the Sun and the celestial bodies, better known as the Nazca Lines.
This is composed of hundreds of designs traced on the surface, with geometric and zoomorphic figures; The funny thing is that it can only be seen from the air or from the viewpoint of the surrounding mountains.
The Nazca Lines were discovered by the archaeologist Mejia Xesspe in 1927, and have been studied by the German Maria Reiche.
The calendar is made up of more than 30 large figures. The figures include a 50-meter hummingbird, a 46-meter spider, a 90-meter long monkey, a 50-meter whale, a 135-meter gannet and the largest hieroglyph is a bird almost 300 meters long..
These drawings cover an area of 350 kilometers of the Nazca Pampas. It is estimated that there are 10,000 lines, triangles and squares.
Its production technique is a mystery, but stakes, ropes and figure sketches have been found, which served as instruments to trace the figures.
The depth of the markings does not exceed 30 cm and they are preserved because the area is extremely dry and this favors the preservation of the lines.
References
- Nazca Culture. (2017). Source: peru-explorer.com
- AJ West. The Nazca Culture. (2014). Source: alwestmeditates.blogspot.com
- Nazca Lines and Cahuachi Culture. Source: crystalinks.com
- Born. Source: britannica.com
- K. Kris Hirst. Guide to the Nasca. (2017). Source: thoughtco.com