New Nazca geoglyphs

A few months ago a group of Japanese archaeologists from the University of Yamagata were those who discovered new and enigmatic geometric shapes on the floor, 1 ½ kilometers north from the city of Nazca. According to the analysts these geometric shapes date from the III – V century A.D. and belong to Paracas ancient civilization.

These figures are hardly recognizable and sum a total of 24 new geoglyphs, within these the figure of a Llama (a mammal that is used to load and transport) is recognized and other animals that measure up to 20 meters long formed of volcanic stones.

So far they have found 41 geometric figures since 2004, thanks to the agreement signed between the Japanese university and the Peruvian State. These geometric shapes have been recognized by the  Unesco as Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Initially they could not be discovered because of the surface of the desert and the wind, which only allowed to be recognized from the air or from a surrounding hill.

Masato Sakai, head of the research warned that the discovery could be in danger due to the expansion of urban areas, noting that the figures should be preserved and showed to the world.

For more information about Nazca visit: Paracas 

Nasca Lines Decoded premieres Sunday on Nat Geo

Stretching for thousands of kilometres across the desert terrain of southern Peru is one of mankind’s greatest mysteries: immense lines – carved as animals; humans; and geometric shapes.

While popular theories about the use of the Nasca lines have ranged from ancient race tracks to astronomical calendars and even alien landing strips, new scientific insight and the unearthing of a headless body – may be the keys to finally unlocking the mystery.

Seeking answers from above and on the ground, National Geographic Channel refutes decades of misunderstanding in Nasca Lines Decoded, premiering on Sunday, 7 March at 20:00, to reveal why these lines were made by the prehistoric Nasca people who inhabited the desert as early as 100 BC.

Using a high-tech robotic helicopter, scientists create the first-ever digital map of the Nasca Lines, which criss-cross the desert to form baffling mazes to provide a complete picture that links the enigmatic lines to the desert landscape and ancient settlements.

Data shows the latitude; longitude; length area; elevation; and distance from other objects to allow scientists to test theories of the lines in unprecedented new detail.

Living in an environment like this on the edge of survival may have created an intense relationship to the Nasca deities, and in Nasca Lines Decoded, scientists investigate the extreme measures the Nasca may have taken to ensure favour with the deities.

And, when archaeologist and National Geographic grantee Christina Conlee uncovers the skeleton of a young male, ceremonially buried, but showing gruesome evidence of decapitation, researchers identify some important clues to what role these lines may have played in Nasca life – and death.

Severed heads are a common symbol on Nasca pots, and in the grave where the male skeleton is found, a striking ceramic 'head jar' illustrates a decapitated head with a tree sprouting from its skull. But, was this an execution or an offering of human sacrifice? And what can the location of the skeleton; its burial state; and the skeleton itself tell scientists about the true purpose of the Nasca Lines?

Generations of Nasca line builders toiled in intense heat to create one of the most awe-inspiring enigmas ever developed by man. While the earliest lines were formed in shapes of deities and animals, later Nasca lines were larger and more geometric.

The construction was simple, but effective – workers marked up the lines using wooden poles and cotton strings, and then piled discarded stones along the sides. Lines would take many days to construct with workers suffering in the harsh desert conditions.
Because the Nasca people were so dependent on favourable rainfall, scientists now believe that the Nasca lines were open-air temples, used to pray for water.

Sweeping imagery captures the majestic beauty of the Nasca lines and cutting-edge digital map imagery offers crucial understanding about the Nasca lines positioning.

Dramatic recounts and expert testimony transport viewers to prehistoric times in the southern desert of Peru to give a robust look at Nasca life

Archaeologists study headless body in Peru

Published by Science Daily
SAN MARCOS, Texas, May 30 (UPI) -- U.S. archaeologists say a recently excavated headless Peruvian skeleton has expanded their understanding of ancient Andean rituals.

Images of disembodied heads are widespread in the art of Nasca, a culture based on the southern coast of Peru from about 1 A.D. to 750 A.D. Despite that evidence and the discovery of many trophy heads in the region, only eight headless bodies have been recovered with evidence of decapitation, said Christina Conlee of Texas State University.

Conlee's analysis of the recently excavated headless body from the site of the ancient community of La Tiza provides important new data on decapitation and its relationship to ancient ideas of death and regeneration.

"Human sacrifice and decapitation were part of powerful rituals that would have allayed fears by invoking the ancestors to ensure fertility and the continuation of Nasca society," Conlee said. "The decapitation of the La Tiza individual appears to have been part of a ritual associated with ensuring agricultural fertility and the continuation of life and rebirth of the community."

She details her findings in the June issue of the journal Current Anthropology.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.

New Archaeological Findings On Political Power In Peru

Science Daily — A team from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the University of Almería has completed its second part of the "Proyecto La Puntilla", an archaeological expedition to the Peruvian province of Nazca, where last year it discovered a new type of construction. The latest findings show that a new political power based on the exercise of violence emerged on the south coast of Peru two thousand years ago. There was a State in which an aristocracy, based in Cahuachi, exercised its dominion on other, poorer communities in the Nazca Valley. The team has also observed practices such as cranial deformation.

The excavations at the necropolis of El Trigal have uncovered new information on the repercussions of the emergence of the State in southern Peru. The archaeologists have found that El Trigal graves are very simple, in contrast with the extravagant tombs of the aristocracy around Nazca.

The situation shows the poverty that existed among the community in El Tribal. The dominant group in the State of Cahuachi imposed the transfer of wealth through taxes and other means. This explains the poverty of those living in the area of La Puntilla.

A settlement was established in El Trigal about 3000 years ago. Several centuries later, this had become an economically strong community with a vast network of relations with other territories. This hypothesis is backed up by the presence of valuable Spondylus shells (probably from the distant coasts of what today we know as Ecuador), obsidian (from the mountains), and craft tools, such as the boat decorated with the style known as Ocucaje 8 (possibly manual workers in the north).

However, the necropolis excavated in El Trigal, dated as being from the first century AD, represents a later period of decline and pauperisation in the community, coinciding with the emergence of Cahuachi.

This data confirms that 1900 years ago a State existed in the Nazca Valley based in the monumental settlements of Cahuachi, where pyramids were built. Those governing Cahuachi belonged to one of the groups who shared control over the south coast of Peru, such as the aristocratic group described in the Paracas necropolis (near Pisco), in the same area.

The dominant class in Cahuachi controlled the communities in the Nazca Valley using violence, forcing the communities to economically sustain the group in power. Between those communities were those that occupied the area known as La Puntilla, to the east of Nazca, where the research team has been excavating for the past two years.

Cranial deformation

One of the key findings at the necropolis was that some of the bodies found in the tombs have undergone certain manipulations. One such manipulation was cranial deformation in order to obtain an "elongated skull", and this has been observed in one of the corpses.

This practice took place during childhood by using wooden objects to put pressure on the skull. "Elongated skulls" are characteristic of the aristocracy buried in the tombs in Paracas, and a number of studies suggest that this treatment was a way of distinguishing dominant groups. This is why it is so significant that this characteristic has been found in an individual buried at the necropolis of a poor community in the Nazca Valley.

This discovery opens up a series of other questions: Is this the member of a family belonging to the dominant group? Or is the practice unrelated to a person's affiliation with a group? Was it a way of identifying individuals who took part in specific activities (for example, shamanism)?

In another tomb, another interesting case has been found. Alongside the corpse of a woman, they have found the legs and feet of another individual. We know that decapitation and dismemberment were frequent among the first states of the region, so we cannot discard the possibility that this was an intentional act.

The fieldwork in this second part of the "Proyecto La Puntilla" ended in December, and the material and human remains uncovered are now being studied. The research will be amplified through a programme to analyse the DNA in order to find evidence on the affiliation of those individuals buried at the necropolis.

The "Proyecto La Puntilla" is funded by the General Directorate for Fine Arts and Cultural Assets of the Spanish Ministry of Culture and by the Catalan Department of Education and Universities. The project is also recognised by the National Institute for Culture of Peru. The research team consists of archaeologists and students from Spain, Peru, Chile, Argentina, France and Italy.