Helaine Silverman

The Nasca culture - which lasted from around the first century BCE to around the 6th century CE - was one of the many pre-Colombian, pre-Inca, civilizations of Peru; the most well-known traces of their culture are the Nasca “lines”- more correctly geoglyphs - etched into the desert sand of southern Peru. Like all pre-Colombian cultures of Peru, the Nasca were pre-literate, and therefore all knowledge of their culture has to be deduced from artifacts – primarily ceramics, some textiles, and of course the lines. This leaves ample room for alternative interpretations and disagreements, and the archaeologists who have worked on digging up the Nasca civilization are a very contentious lot. The two who have jointly authored this book seem to be barely on speaking terms; although they refer to themselves throughout the book in the third person, and begrudgingly acknowledge each other’s contribution to the study of the Nasca, the sounds of their often diametrically opposed views echo throughout the chapters of this book.

The Nasca culture emerged either out of, or following that of the Paracas, who used beautiful woven textiles as funerary wraps– with startlingly vivid colors and extraordinary designs – which have been miraculously preserved for 2000 years under the dry sands of Peru’s coastal plain. Archaeologist agree – more or less – on several different phases of Nasca culture; up to Nasca 3 they seem to have been a fairly egalitarian society, living in scattered settlements across the Nazca river drainage area, but unified by a common shamanistic cosmology/religion, and with a major central ritual site, Cahuachi, on the Nazca river. The main cultic evidence consists of the remains of ceramic bowls, characteristic jugs and pan pipes, all decorated with anthropomorphic designs representing either the creatures of their cosmology or of shamans wearing masks and other attire representing these gods. The collection of trophy heads seems to have been an important pastime for the Nasca.

Nasca 4 seems to have seen a breakdown in this society, which may or may not have been precipitated by droughts and other natural events of the 6th century. Nasca 5 and the phases which followed appear to have been a much more centralized society, with chiefs and elite groups – as evidenced from burials – who may have dominated a more aggressively militarized society. This progression – from egalitarian to elite-centered – is a common sequence in the development of societies, and is usually the consequence of greater specialization in occupations, the acquisition and monopolization of valuable commodities and artifacts by elites, and their accumulation and control of agricultural surpluses. However, so far little evidence of monumental buildings, which could be characterized as centers of political power, or defended residential sites have been discovered. Silverman is quite sure that Cahuachi was a purely ritualistic center – there are no houses or burials there – and it went out of business during the Nasca 4 breakdown.

With regard to the Nasca lines themselves, one of the authors quotes extensively from the books of Von Danniken (“Chariots of the Gods”), the charlatan who depicted them in the 1960’s as evidence of alien visitation(s) in the past. This rather unnecessary diversion is a preliminary to a mea culpa on behalf of the archaeological profession for having so long neglected to counter Von Danniken’s populist nonsense. There is of course no agreed explanation or interpretation for this mass of extraordinary anthropomorphic and geometric designs, which can only really be appreciated from the air. The truth is that the ritual uses for which they were made, the cosmological meanings that they had, and the sacred space that they defined all probably changed radically over the several centuries during which they were created, as Nasca society itself and its religion evolved.

Although this book is regarded as a great contribution to the Nasca literature, you can’t help feeling that there is a great deal still to be done – both in terms of archaeological exploration and its interpretation. In spite of their most spectacular artifact, compared to other pre-Incan cultures – like the Moche, Wari or Chimu - the Nasca seem to be orphan-child of Andean archaeology. For the reader interested in knowing something about Nasca culture, this book is a worthwhile read; but don’t expect to emerge from it with a clear picture.… (mehr)