Nasca-Palpa, Peru (español)

Archaeological Project Nasca-Palpa, Peru

New publication 2009

The cultural and palaeoenvironmental history of the Palpa region, southern Peru, are being investigated in a cooperation between archaeologists and natural scientists. For the first time, the numerous geoglyphs of the Nasca and Paracas Cultures have been documented completely in an extended area.

Location

Location of Palpa on Peru's southern coast

The investigation area is situated on the southern coast of Peru, about 400 km south of the capital Lima, and about 40 km north of the town of Nasca (Fig.: Location of Palpa on Peru's southern coast). It comprises desert regions in the adjacent areas of Palpa and the valleys of the Rio Grande, Rio Viscas and Rio Palpa.

History

The southern Peruvian coastal desert has been populated by sedentary groups at least since the Formative Period (Initial Period, 1800-800 BC; Paracas culture, 800-200 BC). In the Early Intermediate Period (200 BC-600 AD), the region flourished under the Nasca Culture. At the end of the Nasca Period the extreme desertification led to a cultural decline. It was not until the Late Intermediate Period (1000-1450 AD), in a phase of increasing pluviality, that the regional population increased again. The Spanish conquista (1532) brought Inca rule (from about 1400 AD) in Peru to an end. Subsequently, the region formed part of the Spanish colonial empire. Today, only few prehispanic traditions have survived.

Objectives

	Geoglyphs on a valley slope near Palpa

The cultural history of a region is linked closely with its climatic and environmental conditions. The Nasca-Palpa project aims at investigating the cultural and palaeoenvironmental history of the Palpa region on Peru's southern coast from its beginning (newest finds indicate a date around 3800 BC) until the end of the prehispanic era (about 1530 AD). By means of surveying, mapping, excavations and geoarchaeological research, a systematic documentation of the cultural heritage (settlements, funeral contexts, petroglyphs and geoglyphs) is being pursued to establish a basis for scientific investigation of the cultural history in the Nasca region. By means of state of the art photogrammetric methods the millennium-old geoglyphs (ground drawings) (Fig.: Geoglyphs on a valley slope near Palpa) have been registered and mapped for the first time over a wide area. Thus, the project contributes to preserve one of the most important South American cultural heritage sites.

Various survey and dating methods and technologies are being developed, enhanced, as well as tested under different conditions. Archaeologists and natural scientists cooperate closely working on an absolute chronology for the Peruvian south coast. Besides, new methods for the analysis of human and animal remains are developed and tested. Through the applications of these methods the life and environment of the past cultures will be reconstructed.

History of Research

The southern coast of Peru has been investigated archaeologically since the early 20th century. Early exploration concentrated on graves and their goods, especially the polychrome ceramic vessels and textiles of the Paracas and Nasca Cultures, the stylistic analysis of which first illuminated the prehistory of the region. In 1926, investigators described the Nasca geoglyphs for the first time. Since 1940 they have undergone closer investigation, producing a large number of sometimes fantastic hypotheses for their interpretation. Settlement studies began in 1957. Since 1980 the Nasca Culture is being investigated in a more systematic way and the geoglyphs can now be related to the settlements of the region. Despite these new interests, systematic excavations remain scarce and the number of scientific publications is extremely meager.
Research on the Paracas Culture is mainly confined to the Paracas peninsula and the Ica valley, north of the investigation area (Fig.: Locality of Palpa on Peru's southern coast). Until now, few Paracas contexts, especially settlements, have come to light in the Nasca region. Even less is known about the earliest ceramic period of the region, the Initial Period (1800-800 BC).

Previous Activities

	Video clip "Virtual flight over the digital terrain model" (3 MB; only runs with Internet Explorer)
	Chillo, excavations of ancient trash midden

After recording and characterizing the geography of the investigation area, the archaeological sites were registered by means of surveys, topographic measurements and the excavation of test trenches. The documentation of the geoglyphs includes their three-dimensional photogrammetric mapping complemented by a full documentation in the field (see the video clip "Virtual flight over the digital terrain model") and their archaeological analysis. Extensive and intensive excavations were undertaken in the following settlements, cemeteries, burial structures, and trash middens:

- Pernil Alto - a site in the middle Río Grande valley with settlement features and graves dating to the Middle Archaic Period (3800-3000 BC), the Initial Period (1500-800 BC), and the Early Paracas phase (800-600 BC).
- Jauranga - a Middle and Late Paracas (600-200 BC) site in the Palpa valley.
- Los Molinos und La Muña - two important sites of the Early respectively Middle Nasca culture (100-450 AD) in the lower Río Grande valley.
- Parasmarca - a Late Nasca (450-600 AD) site in the middle Río Grande valley; also present are traces of settlement from the Initial Period until the Middle Horizon.
- Chillo - a Late Intermediate Period (1000-1450 AD) site in the middle Río Grande valley.

The excavations allow a nearly unbroken documentation of the prehispanic cultural sequence in the area around Palpa reaching from the first settlers around 3800 BC to the time of the Incas in the 15th century AD.

Current Work

Photogrammetric mapping of the investigation area has been completed and the result is currently under analysis by means of a Geo Information System (GIS). Beside the geoglyphs of the Nasca Period, the analysis extends to their antecedents from the Formative Period as well. A complete map and archaeological analysis of a part of the geoglyphs have already been published (Reindel/Lambers/Gruen 2003; Lambers 2006). Survey and settlement excavation data are now being prepared for publication. The preliminary results concerning the cultural and environmental history of the region are in the process of being refined with the aid of other analytical methods. Therefore, the new project cooperation group Nasca/Palpa], sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, has been formed. In close cooperation archaeologists and natural scientists are developing new methods and technologies contributing to the solution of investigation problems in the Palpa region in particular, as well as archaeology and cultural history in general.

In the autumn of 2004 a field conference on "Development and Adaptation of Archaeometrical Technologies for the Investigation of the Cultural History of Palpa" was organized. During the conference, local museum was inaugurated. The museum presents the research results of the project to a broader public and illustrates the cultural history of the region.

The project's concluding conference was held on the 14th and 15th of June 2007 in the "Wissenschaftszentrum", Bonn.

Methods

The topography and the geoglyphs have been photogrammetrically mapped and analyzed by means of a Geo Information System (see Photogrammetric Reconstruction of the Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa at the IGP Zurich). The archaeological work is carried out with the well-proven methods of survey and excavation as well as by the typological and stratigraphic analysis of findings and their contexts. The application of non-destructive geophysical survey methods (magnetometric and geoelectric surveys) in the preparation of the excavations allows a systematic choice of excavation areas. For the absolute dating of artifacts and sediments, radiocarbon and thermoluminescence methods have been applied; stratified sediments can be dated with the Optical Stimulated Luminescence method (OSL). The development and enhancement of these technologies for the absolute dating of archaeological finds and features, especially the dating of the geoglyphs and their associated architectural contexts, are one of the main aims of the project cooperation group Nasca/Palpa. Additionally, the methodological spectrum includes methods for the analysis of human remains and new methods for material analysis.

Results

	Pernil Alto, Initial Period architectural remains
	Pernil Alto, complex jar
	Jauranga, adobe constructions
	Jauranga, Ocucaje 8 funeral ceramics
	The site of Los Molinos
	Los Molinos, architectural remains in the central part
	La Muña, excavation of a shaft chamber tomb
	La Muña, reconstruction of a shaft chamber tombs
	La Muña, reconstruction of the covering of a tomb
	La Muña, reconstruction of the superstructure of a tomb
	La Muña, vessel from burial superstructure (stir-up spout vessel)

In our investigation area around Palpa (Fig.: Location of Palpa on Peru's southern coast) numerous Prehispanic settlement remains can be found in the vicinity or even in direct association with geoglyphs (Fig.: Geoglyphs on a valley slope near Palpa). A detailed survey of the area, topographic measurements, the excavation of test trenches and the analysis of surface material of more than 700 sites proved that a sedentary population lived in the investigation area since at least the Early Formative Period (around 1500 BC) continuously until the end of the Prehispanic era (1532 AD). Geoglyphs first appear in the Paracas Period (800-200 BC) and grow in number during the Early and Middle Nasca Period (0-450 AD). Following the end of the Nasca Culture (600 AD) the making of geoglyphs ceases.

The excavation of small stone buildings on the plateaus illuminated the function of the geoglyphs: Inside the structures, which are associated with the geoglyphs, offerings, apparently laid down in a context of water and fertility cults, came to light. Geoglyphs, temples and sight markers of wooden posts in combination with postholes located near the geoglyphs form a kind of ritual landscape for water and fertility cults, which can be interpreted as the key sacred places of the Nasca population.

Results by time period:

Initial Period

A settlement dating to the Initial Period and the Middle Paracas period was found at the site of Pernil Alto on the right-hand side of the Río Grande. The earliest settlement strata even contained finds dating to the Archaic Period (3800-3000 BC)!
Pernil Alto lies on a slope along the Río Grande and stretches into a dry quebrada. The magnetometric survey indicated several large, rectangular structures of an ancient settlement under the current surface. The detailed topographic mapping of an area of approximately 200 m x 200 m showed that the settlement contexts identified in preceeding test excavations belonged to a settlement with terraces. The excavations in 2004 and 2005 concentrated on the exposure of an extensive room complex at the foot of the slope, mirroring the features indicated by the magnetometric survey (Fig. Pernil Alto, Initial Period architectural remains). In the adjacent quebrada further test excavations were undertaken to document the time and use of the terraces present in this area.
Pernil Alto is the first Initial Period settlement on the southern Peruvian coast which was studied by extended area excavation. The analysis of the architectural stratigraphy showed that a large room complex measuring around 40 m x 20 m constructed of adobe walls with wooden posts had been modified and extended in five construction phases. Radiocarbon samples originating from several construction phases date the use of the settlement to between 1300 and 900 BC.
In the excavation area several burials could be retrieved. Three of these burials predate the erection of the complex, as they were found in a stratum below the architecture. Recent datings assign them to the Archaic Period (3800-3000 BC) (see Recent Investigations). Further burials date to the Early Paracas (800-700 BC) and Nasca periods (around 400 AD).
For the analysis of the material finds from the Initial Period contexts so far only very few objects for comparison are available in publications (Fig. Pernil Alto, complex jar). Preliminary analysis shows that the objects bear certain analogies to the material published from the excavation in other Initial Period settlements in southern Peru (Hacha, Disco Verde).
The terraces in the quebrada next to the settlement can be attributed to the Middle Paracas period (700-500 BC) on the basis of associated pottery.

Paracas

Intensive extended area excavation at the site of Jauranga in the middle Palpa valley revealed architectural remains, burials, and pottery indicating that the site served as a settlement during the Paracas time with its simple adobe buildings (Fig. Jauranga, adobe constructions). The site was inhabited without interruption from at least 600 BC to around 200 BC, as indicated by the pottery found during the excavation. The ceramic material can be attributed to the styles of phases Ocucaje 5/6 through Ocucaje 9 (550-200 BC) (Fig. Jauranga, Ocucaje 8 funeral ceramics). During phase Ocucaje 9 the settlement was abandoned and subsequently used as a burial ground. A total of 49 Paracas burials were unearthed, amongst which a four-chambered tomb with adobe walls could also be documented. An additional 31 graves were laid down during the Nasca period.
Jauranga can be characterised as a rural settlement, no monumental architecture has been documented so far. Jauranga nevertheless was connected to a functioning trade network via which shells from the coast and obsidian from the Andes reached the settlement. Its location on the valley floor underlines the importance of the flood plains during the early settlement periods. Additionally, the excavation results disproved the prevailing opinion denying the Paracas culture the role of being direct predecessors to the Nasca.

Nasca

The site of Los Molinos could be identified as having been a regional centre of the Early Nasca period (0-250 AD) (Fig. The site of Los Molinos). Extensive excavation revealed two areas with monumental terraces, patios, columned halls and corridors (Fig. Los Molinos, architectural remains). These remained in use over a period of some 100 years and were abandoned after their destruction by heavy rains (!). Subsequently, the buildings served as burial places. Further such tombs lay in a nearby cemetery. Altogether, a total of 50 burials have been documented in Los Molinos, about half of them undisturbed.
During the Middle Nasca period (250-450 AD), the population shifted to nearby La Muña. Excavation at this site concentrated on its cemetery, the elaborate funerary architecture of which could be documented for the first time for the Nasca culture (Fig. La Muña, excavation of a shaft chamber tomb; Fig. La Muña, reconstruction of a shaft chamber tomb [Jens Tomkowitz]; Fig. La Muña, reconstruction of the covering of a tomb [Jens Tomkowitz]; Fig. La Muña, reconstruction of the superstructure of a tomb [Jens Tomkowitz]). The deep-lying chambers of the grave constructions, which had been built in a special pattern, have long since been looted. But the construction itself and numerous highly decorated ceramic vessels fractured immediately after their deposition as well as pieces of jewelry made of stone, shell, or gold could be rescued, giving an impression of the once wealthy content of the burials.
On the surface, the remains of the funerary architecture are well-preserved. The structures contained elaborately decorated vessels which depict mythical beings as well as ceremonial activities (Fig. La Muña, vessel from burial superstructure [stir-up spout vessel]). La Muña also seems to have been abandoned due to heavy rainfalls. Test excavations in destroyed buildings and in a dry ravine showed that heavy rains led to a deposition covering parts of the cemetery and the associated settlement buildings with alluvium.
The geomorphological investigation has shown that the regional climate gradually became dryer since Paracas times. Then again, due to climate irregularities, local rainfalls at wide temporal intervals resulted in substantial destruction of adobe constructions in the Nasca settlements. But the longer lasting impact on the cultural development surely was exerted by the increasing drought, depriving the agriculturally oriented Nasca of their means of existence. Therefore, it can be supposed that climatic irregularities and sudden rainfalls in a period of extreme aridity at the end of the Nasca period led to a destabilisation of the Nasca culture and finally to its decline. The current geomorphological investigations complement the picture of the palaeoenvironmental history of the Nasca region.

Based on present results, it is possible to delineate a detailed picture of the cultural development in the Palpa valley. Ceremonies associated with water evidently played a central role in the creation of the ground drawings (geoglyphs). It becomes clear that the bearers of the Nasca Culture lived in a complex society with well defined social standards and control mechanisms. This high standard of development explains how the Nasca achieved such a highly qualitative craftwork and put across the apparently planned creation of geoglyphs as a part of the common religious cult.

One of the aims of the Nasca project is the documentation of the continuous cultural development in the area of Palpa. On the archaeological side this means providing a continuous sequence of stratigraphic features from settlements. So far it had not been possible to document the Late Nasca period (450-650 AD). For this reason in 2006 the site of Parasmarca in the middle Río Grande valley was chosen for further investigation (see recent excavations).

Late Intermediate Period

Around 4 km from Jauranga the site of Chillo is situated along a slope on the right-hand side of the Río Grande. The remains of the settlement dating to the Late Intermediate Period (1000-1450 AD) lie 100 m above the present valley floor and stretch across the slope. Small dry quebradas cutting into the slope were apparently used as trash middens but also as habitation areas as indicated by several walls. One of the quebradas was filled to a height of 6 m. The fill was later eroded in parts leaving a profile which was documented and excavated. The clearly stratified layers with their rich contents of refuse offered the opportunity to analyse a large amount of material from the relatively unknown Late Intermediate Period (Fig. Chillo, excavation of ancient trash midden Chillo).
The excavation showed a long lasting use of this area with terraces and living surfaces alternating with alluvial layers. The pottery, especially the large amount of decorated fragments, will for the first time allow the thorough description and analysis of the ceramic inventory for this time period in the Nasca region. Radiocarbon dates show that the quebrada was used for a time span of at least 200 years.

Cooperation

Johny Isla Cuadrado, Andean Institute of Archaeological Research (INDEA), Lima
Prof Dr. Guenther Wagner, Archaeometry Research Group of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences, Max-Planck-Institute, Heidelberg
Dr. Bernd Kromer, Radiometry Research Group, Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Eitel, Institute of Geography, University of Heidelberg
Dr. Joerg Fassbinder, Bavarian State Department of Historical Monuments, Munich
Prof. Dr. Armin Gruen, Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry (IGP), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich
Prof. Dr. Bernd Herrmann, Institute of Historical Anthropology and Human Ecology, University of Goettingen
Prof. Dr. Peter Horn, Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology, Munich
Prof. Dr. Stefan Hoelzl, Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology, Munich
Prof. Dr. Robert Sablatnig, Institute of Computer Aided Automation, Vienna University of Technology
Prof. Dr. Ernst Pernicka, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
PD Dr. Michael Tellenbach, Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen Mannheim

Contact

Dr. phil. Markus Reindel

Amerika
Telefon: +49-(0)228-997712-21
Telefax: +49-(0)228-997712-49
Email: reindel@kaak.dainst.de

Sponsors

German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), Sponsoring Program "New Scientific Methods and Technologies in Humanities"
Swiss-Liechtenstein Foundation for Archaeological Research Abroad (SLSA), Zurich/Vaduz
AVINA-Foundation, Hurden
Japan Maria Reiche Fund  

Bibliography

Isla Cuadrado, Johny: "Grabsitten an der Südküste Perus: Neue Befunde von der Paracas-, Nasca- und Wari-Kultur". Archäologischer Anzeiger, Jubiläumsband 2004, 2 (2005). S. 96-98.
Isla Cuadrado, Johny; Markus Reindel: "New studies on the settlements and geoglyphs in Palpa, Peru". Andean Past, 7 (2005). S. 57-92.
Isla Cuadrado, Johny; Markus Reindel: "Burial patterns and sociopolitical organization in Nasca 5 society". Andean Archaeology III. North and South. W. H. Isbell; H. Silverman (eds.). New York, 2006. S. 374-400.
Reindel, Markus: "Landschafts- und Siedlungsgeschichte im Gebiet der Nasca-Kultur/Peru". Geographische Rundschau, 56/3 (2004). S. 22-29.
Reindel, Markus: "Wüstenzeichnungen und Wasserkulte: Geoglyphen und Siedlungsgeschichte in Palpa". Expeditionen in vergessene Welten: 25 Jahre archäologische Forschungen in Amerika, Afrika und Asien (AVA-Forschungen 10). Bonn, 2004. S. 17-46.
Reindel, Markus; Armin Grün: "The Nasca-Palpa Project: a cooperative approach of photogrammetry, archaeometry and archaeology". Recording, modeling and visualization of cultural heritage. E. Baltsavias et al. (eds.). London, 2006. S. 21-32. PDF (1,53 MB).
Reindel, Markus; Johny Isla: "Los Molinos und La Muña. Zwei Siedlungszentren der Nasca-Kultur in Palpa, Südperu / Los Molinos y La Muña. Dos centros administrativos de la cultura Nasca en Palpa, costa sur del Perú". Beiträge zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archäologie, 21 (2001). Mainz. 2001. S. 241-319. PDF (4,6 MB).
Reindel, Markus; Johny Isla Cuadrado: "Archäologisches Projekt 'Paracas in Palpa', Peru: Ausgrabungen und Forschungen im Jahr 2005". Jahresbericht der Schweizerisch-Liechtensteinischen Stiftung für Archäologische Forschungen im Ausland (2005). Zürich und Vaduz, 2006. S. 30-59.
Reindel, Markus; Johny Isla Cuadrado; Karsten Lambers: "Altares en el desierto: Las estructuras de piedra sobre los geoglifos Nasca en Palpa". Arqueología y Sociedad 17 (2006). S. 179-222.
Reindel, Markus; Johny Isla Cuadrado; Karsten Lambers: "Archäologisches Projekt 'Paracas in Palpa': Ausgrabungen und Forschungen 2004". Jahresbericht der Schweizerisch-Liechtensteinischen Stiftung für Archäologische Forschungen im Ausland (2004). Zürich und Vaduz, 2005. S. 25-44. PDF (0,5 MB).
Reindel, Markus; Karsten Lambers; Armin Grün: "Photogrammetrische Dokumentation und archäologische Analyse der vorspanischen Bodenzeichnungen von Palpa, Süd-Peru". Beiträge zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archäologie, 23 (2003). Mainz. 2003. S. 183-226. PDF (1,8 MB). Karte der Bodenzeichnungen PDF (2,4 MB).
Reindel, Markus; Günther Wagner (eds.): "Neue naturwissenschaftliche Methoden und Technologien für die archaeologische Forschung in Palpa, Peru". Publikation zur Feldkonferenz des Projektverbundes "Nasca: Entwicklung und Adaption archaeometrischer Techniken zur Erforschung der Kulturgeschichte". Lima, 2004.
Reindel, Markus; Günther Wagner (eds.): "New Technologies for Archaeology: Multidisciplinary Investigations in Palpa and Nasca, Peru". Heidelberg, Berlin, New York, 2009.


Complete bibliography