The Nazca flourished from 1-750 A.D. on the arid southern coast of Peru river valley of the Rio Grande. The Nazca were a polytheistic people whose religion centered on agriculture and fertility. Nazca art depicts powerful nature gods such as the mythical killer whale, harvesters, the spotted cat, and the serpentine creature. Nazca society was made up of local chiefdoms, a little like the city states of Greece. An important ceremony that the Nazca people would take part in was a ceremony called cahuachi. The cahuachi are burial mounds, many scholars have developed theories drawn from the various excavations suggest that the site was used for various rituals, and feasting. The Nazca also had an impressive aqueduct system known as puquios, that still function to this day. Being heavily influenced by the Paracas style of textiles, the Nazca would follow in their footsteps, and produced a variety of beautiful polychrome pottery, with 15 colors. The Nazca culture is well know for it's geoglyphs that depicted various animals, and it is rumored that the Nazca line builders may have known Pheonician writting spelled out in stone heaps found on the Palpa mountian.Much is to be learned from the mysterious Nazca people.
I think there is a lot of great information, but I have a couple questions. What was the population size like? And how did this civilization show there art that depicted the gods, what techniques did they use?
ReplyDeleteI think there is a lot of great information, but I have a couple questions. What was the population size like? And how did this civilization show there art that depicted the gods, what techniques did they use?
ReplyDeleteI'm very curious as to how the killer whale, and spotted cat became to be known as "Gods". Care to elaborate?
ReplyDelete-Araya.
Has the language discussed in the description been deciphered by experts or does it remain a mystery? maybe this could account for this civilization's unknown information?
ReplyDeleteWhy was the Nazca civilization important in history>
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ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to note that the Aksumite Empire existed at around the same time as the Nazca. Were there any interactions or relations between the Nazca and the Aksumites? I know they're seperated by the Atlantic Ocean, but I feel this is a possibility that would be important for both of us to consider.
ReplyDeleteSo was cahuachi a ritual or does that word refer to the mounds themselves...? And if it is only the mounds, what was the ritual like? Do historians know?
ReplyDeleteReally awesome information. How did the Nazca people interact with their neighbors and challenging civilizations? Was it another civilization that contributed to the fall of the Nazca people or did it relate to economic/social/religious/governmental issues?
ReplyDeleteThis was enjoyable to read. Their culture sounds fascinating. Can you describe their economy at all?
ReplyDeleteNice writing ~ I'd love to see pictures of their pottery and geoglyphs if they exist!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about their everyday life. Were there class divides? Was there a hierarchy? Was it a patriarchy? How much did religion effect or influence their lives?