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Nasca (Art History)

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  1. Introduction
  2. The Nasca culture emerged on the south coast of Peru during the Early Intermediate period, dating from about 100 BCE to 650 CE. Its heartland was in the Nazca Valley and the various tributaries comprising this drainage and in the Ica Valley to the north. Although the Nasca are best known for their colorful painted and modeled pottery and fine textiles, their artistic talents were also expressed on a wide variety of other media. Unlike the contemporary Moche on the north coast, the Nasca had a minimal knowledge of metallurgy. The only metal they worked was gold, which they fashioned into ornaments for use in sacred rituals. Other objects were made of shell, particularly of the genus Spondylus, or thorny oyster, that was imported from the warmer waters of coastal Ecuador. Gourds were used as containers and often were pyro-engraved with elaborate designs. The Nasca also had wooden artifacts, mostly utilitarian, but some of which were carved or decorated with various motifs. To complete the list of portable art, some artifacts of stone, bone, and cane are known. Nasca feather work, while illustrated in some books, appears to date mostly to later cultures and must be viewed with caution. Art is also expressed in the so-called “Nasca Lines” or geoglyphs, where giant representations of birds, animals, and other creatures were etched onto the floor of the desert, often covering several acres. More recently, Nasca petroglyphs, or rock art, have been recorded displaying the same motifs found on the pottery and geoglyphs. Each of these art forms is discussed separately. The motifs portrayed in Nasca art fall into two basic categories: sacred and profane, or, in other words, religious and naturalistic. Many Nasca ceramics and textiles, for example, are replete with images of supernatural creatures, often combinations of human (anthropomorphic) and animal/bird/fish forms representing the powerful spirits or forces of the sky, earth, and sea. Research has shown that Nasca shamans used hallucinogenic drugs in religious rituals to intercede with or transform into these nature spirits. Some of the figures in the art may represent these shamans in the process of transformation; others may simply represent the nature spirits themselves. Other motifs include naturalistic representations of the world in which they lived. Birds of many species, plants, animals, reptiles, and fish, as well as objects (e.g., weapons, nets, clothing, jewelry), are common representations. Geometric designs are found on many media, such as ceramics, textiles, and feather work. (Note: Modern scholars prefer to use the spelling “Nasca” for the culture and “Nazca” for geographic references such as the Nazca Valley. However, the two spellings are interchangeable depending on the author or the age of the reference.)
  3.  
  4. General Sources
  5. There are many books and articles on varying aspects of Nasca society and its accomplishments. Although some of these do not deal directly with Nasca art, they are included to provide a broader context for the study of Nasca art by presenting information on the sociopolitical organization, architecture, and lifestyle of this early civilization. Nasca was a stratified complex society that never reached the level of a preindustrial state. That is, politically it comprised regional chiefdoms, each with local leaders rather than a central government with a capital city and a single leader. However, the Nasca people shared a common culture centered on a religious cult that included a number of nature spirits, pilgrimages to religious centers, the use of hallucinogenic drugs by shamans to interact with the spirit world, and the taking and ritual burial of human trophy heads to ensure agricultural fertility. They also shared a common art style that, despite minor regional differences, was remarkably homogenous. The only comprehensive overview of the Nasca culture, covering all aspects of their society, is Silverman and Proulx 2002, but other sources, especially Schreiber and Lancho Rojas 2003, provide good summaries of their unique irrigation system or puquios, their settlement patterns (Silverman 2002), and the famous “Nasca Lines” or geoglyphs (Aveni 2000). The Nasca culture developed directly out of the Paracas culture of the Early Horizon (ca. 800–100 BCE), distinguished by only minor changes in the manner in which the pottery was decorated. In all other respects, Nasca culture was simply a continuation of Paracas. Many of the motifs on Nasca pottery, textiles, and other artifacts had their origins in the Paracas culture. The relationship between Paracas and Nasca is best described in Proulx 2008. The largest and best-studied Nasca site is Cahuachi; Silverman 1993 provides the best description in English, arguing that the site was an empty ceremonial center. Orefici 2012, written by the archaeologist who has worked continually at the site since the early 1980s, is also an excellent source and is more up to date and comprehensive than Helaine Silverman’s works, but the text is in Spanish and is more difficult to access. Like Silverman, Orefici has found no evidence of permanent habitation at Cahuachi except for religious leaders who used the site for ceremonies and ritual activities. A new volume (Lasaponara, et al. 2016) containing twenty-six chapters on various aspects of the Nasca culture has recently been published, providing new insights and technical information not found in other sources. This article will attempt to provide the reader with an up-to-date selection of sources covering all aspects of ancient Nasca art. Silverman 1996 is a very useful reference that covers the art of all the ancient cultures of Peru. However, given that it was published in the mid-1990s, it does not include important more-recent research.
  6.  
  7. Aveni, Anthony F. Between the Lines: The Mystery of the Giant Ground Drawings of Ancient Nasca, Peru. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000.
  8.  
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  10.  
  11. An overview of the Nasca Lines (geoglyphs), by one of the pioneers of archaeoastronomy. Includes descriptions of the variety of geoglyphs and how they were constructed, and a critical analysis of the theories of their function.
  12.  
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  15. Lasaponara, Rosa, Nicola Masini, and Guiseppe Orefici, eds. The Ancient Nasca World: New Insights from Science and Archaeology. Berlin: Springer International, 2016.
  16.  
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  18.  
  19. An up-to-date compendium of the work accomplished by the Italian excavation team at the ceremonial site of Cahuachi headed by Guiseppe Orefic, and by a remote sensing team headed by Nicola Masini and Rosa Lasaponara providing new data on many aspects of the Nasca culture.
  20.  
  21. Find this resource:
  22.  
  23. Orefici, Giuseppe. Cahuachi: Capital teocrática Nasca. 2 vols. Lima, Peru: Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Fondo Editorial, 2012.
  24.  
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  26.  
  27. Major site report by the archaeologist who has been excavating at Cahuachi since the early 1980s. Excellent, up-to-date illustrations, maps, and plans of the site and artifacts. Argues that Cahuachi was the religious capital of a theocratic society.
  28.  
  29. Find this resource:
  30.  
  31. Proulx, Donald A. “Paracas and Nasca: Regional Cultures on the South Coast of Peru.” In Handbook of South American Archaeology. Edited by Helaine Silverman and William H. Isbell, 563–585. New York: Springer, 2008.
  32.  
  33. DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-74907-5Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  34.  
  35. A comparison of the Paracas and Nasca cultures, including when and how Nasca evolved out of Paracas.
  36.  
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  38.  
  39. Schreiber, Katharina, and Josue Lancho Rojas. Irrigation and Society in the Peruvian Desert: The Puquios of Nasca. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2003.
  40.  
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  42.  
  43. Description and analysis of the underground aqueduct system (puquios) built by the Nasca, which is still used today.
  44.  
  45. Find this resource:
  46.  
  47. Silverman, Helaine. Cahuachi in the Ancient Nasca World. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1993.
  48.  
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  50.  
  51. The first major description of the large Nasca site of Cahuachi, on the basis of Silverman’s excavations in the mid-1980s. She attempts to prove that Cahuachi was primarily a vacant ceremonial center occupied by a small permanent group of religious leaders but visited periodically by worshipers from the surrounding area, who made pilgrimages to the site for rituals.
  52.  
  53. Find this resource:
  54.  
  55. Silverman, Helaine. Ancient Peruvian Art: An Annotated Bibliography. Reference Publication in Art History. New York: G. K. Hall, 1996.
  56.  
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  58.  
  59. A comprehensive annotated bibliography of ancient Peruvian art sources, covering all cultures. Published in 1996, its coverage ends with that date, but it remains the best source on the topic.
  60.  
  61. Find this resource:
  62.  
  63. Silverman, Helaine. Ancient Nasca Settlement and Society. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2002.
  64.  
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  66.  
  67. A regional analysis of Nasca settlement patterns over time, on the basis of the author’s fieldwork along the Ingenio and Río Grande Rivers.
  68.  
  69. Find this resource:
  70.  
  71. Silverman, Helaine, and Donald A. Proulx. The Nasca. Peoples of America. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2002.
  72.  
  73. DOI: 10.1002/9780470693384Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  74.  
  75. Provides the most comprehensive description of ancient Nasca society, including sociopolitical organization, religion, architecture, settlement patterns, art (especially ceramics and iconography), headhunting and warfare, and the famous geoglyphs.
  76.  
  77. Find this resource:
  78.  
  79. Published Collections
  80. There are many fine general books on pre-Columbian art; the selections have been restricted to those covering Peru, and, if possible, to those specifically on Nasca art. The sources included here are those illustrating large collections of Nasca artifacts that the reader could use for research purposes. Eisleb 1977 illustrates almost three hundred Nasca ceramic vessels in the Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin, and is an excellent starting point. Blasco Bosqued and Ramos Gómez 1985 and Blasco Bosqued and Ramos Gómez 1991, a two-volume catalogue, also provides hundreds of photographs and drawings of Nasca pieces in the Museo de América, Madrid. The standard source on Nasca artifacts is Lavalle 1986, covering ceramics, textiles, and most other media. Its only fault is a large number of feather artifacts that are now thought to date to later cultures. The catalogue of a major Nasca exhibit in Zurich (Rickenbach 1999) is well illustrated and comprehensive, with pieces selected from major European museums. Another exhibit catalogue, Shimada, et al. 2006, was compiled with pieces from several major Peruvian museums, but the themes represent all aspects of Nasca life. Scientifically excavated Nasca artifacts with good provenience, as opposed to those in most museum collections, are described and illustrated in Kroeber and Collier 1998. A seminal book on Peruvian textiles, including Nasca, is Lavalle and Lavalle de Cárdenas 1999.
  81.  
  82. Blasco Bosqued, María Concepción, and Luis J. Ramos Gómez. Catálogo de la cerámica Nazca del Museo de América. Vol. 1, Recipientes decorados con temas relacionados con el mundo de las creencias. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura, 1985.
  83.  
  84. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  85.  
  86. An illustrated catalogue of the Nasca ceramics in the Museo de América, Madrid. Organized by iconographic motifs devised by the authors. Volume 1 concentrates on supernatural creatures.
  87.  
  88. Find this resource:
  89.  
  90. Blasco Bosqued, María Concepción, and Luis J. Ramos Gómez. Catálogo de la cerámica Nazca del Museo de América. Vol. 2, Recipientes decorados con figuras humanas de caracter ordinario o con cabezas cortadas y otras partes del cuerpo humano. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura, 1991.
  91.  
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  93.  
  94. An illustrated catalogue of the Nasca ceramics in the Museo de América, Madrid. Organized by iconographic motifs devised by the authors. Volume 2 describes naturalistic human representations and trophy heads. Neither catalogue contains naturalistic themes such as birds, fish, etc.
  95.  
  96. Find this resource:
  97.  
  98. Eisleb, Dieter. Altperuanische Kulturen II: Nazca. Veröffentlichungen des Museums für Völkerkunde Berlin, n.s. 34. Berlin: Museum für Völkerkunde, 1977.
  99.  
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  101.  
  102. A catalogue of approximately three hundred Nasca ceramics in the Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. Each specimen is described and illustrated, mostly in black and white, but includes seven color plates and numerous roll-out drawings. One of a series of catalogues published by the museum.
  103.  
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  105.  
  106. Kroeber, Alfred L., and Donald Collier. The Archaeology and Pottery of Nazca, Peru: Alfred L. Kroeber’s 1926 Expedition. Edited by Patrick H. Carmichael. Afterword by Katharina J. Schreiber. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira, 1998.
  107.  
  108. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  109.  
  110. The belated publication of Alfred L. Kroeber’s 1926 expedition to Peru, with excavations in the Nazca region. The contents of each gravelot are illustrated, along with an analysis of the pottery and other artifacts. Important for showing the context of each artifact.
  111.  
  112. Find this resource:
  113.  
  114. Lavalle, José Antonio de. Culturas precolombinas: Nazca. Colección Arte y Tesoros del Perú. Lima, Peru: Banco de Crédito del Perú, 1986.
  115.  
  116. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  117.  
  118. One of a series of pre-Columbian art books on individual ancient Peruvian cultures, sponsored by the Banco del Crédito del Perú. Contains beautiful color plates of textiles, ceramics, feather work, metal, and stone, all from Peruvian museums.
  119.  
  120. Find this resource:
  121.  
  122. Lavalle, José Antonio de, and Rosario de Lavalle de Cárdenas, eds. Tejidos milenarios del Perú / Ancient Peruvian Textiles. Colección AFP. Lima, Peru: AFP Integra, 1999.
  123.  
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  125.  
  126. A lavishly illustrated volume with chapters on the textiles from all major cultures of ancient Peru. Perhaps the best source available on pre-Columbian textiles. Mary Frame’s chapters on Nasca and Nasca-Huari textiles are particularly relevant. Bilingual text.
  127.  
  128. Find this resource:
  129.  
  130. Rickenbach, Judith, ed. Nasca: Geheimnisvolle Zeichen im Alten Peru. Zurich, Switzerland: Museum Rietberg, 1999.
  131.  
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  133.  
  134. Catalogue of a Nasca exhibit in Zurich’s Museum Rietberg. Includes illustrations of some 235 Paracas and Nasca ceramics and some textiles. Twelve chapters written by specialists cover such topics as Paracas textiles, trophy heads, Nasca geoglyphs, and puquios.
  135.  
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  137.  
  138. Shimada, Izumi, Donald A. Proulx, and Hisao Baba. Sekai isan nasuka ten / Nasca, Wonder of the World: Messages Etched on the Desert Floor. Tokyo: Tokyo Broadcasting System, 2006.
  139.  
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  141.  
  142. Catalogue of a Japanese exhibit on the Nasca culture, emphasizing the Nasca Lines but offering a thorough overview of all aspects of Nasca life. Text in Japanese with English summaries. Organized thematically, with over 160 color illustrations.
  143.  
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  145.  
  146. Museum Collections
  147. There are dozens of museums around the world that contain good collections of Nasca art, particularly ceramics. In the United States the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, with the collection made by Alfred Kroeber in the 1920s, and the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, with the Uhle Collection, are among the best. In Peru, one finds the Museo Nacional de Arqueología Antropología e Historia del Perú; the Museo de la Nación; and the Museo Larco Herrera in Lima—all containing excellent Nasca collections. The Museo Regional de Ica is an excellent regional museum in the old Nasca heartland. In Europe the best collections are in Germany at the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) and the Museum für Völkerkunde, Munich (Museum Fünf Kontinente), where major Nasca collections were deposited. The Museo de América in Madrid also has a large and important Nasca collection. Most of these museums have websites where their collections can be viewed.
  148.  
  149. Field Museum of Natural History. Chicago.
  150.  
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  152.  
  153. The Field Museum contains a large number of Nasca ceramics, trophy heads, and other artifacts collected by Alfred Kroeber in 1926.
  154.  
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  156.  
  157. Museo de América. Madrid.
  158.  
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  160.  
  161. Home to over 1,200 Nasca ceramic vessels.
  162.  
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  164.  
  165. Museo de la Nación. Lima, Peru.
  166.  
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  168.  
  169. This relatively new national museum has obtained most of its best artifacts by appropriating them from other museums, such as the Museo Regional de Ica and the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia. They are striving to make this museum the new cultural center for the country.
  170.  
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  172.  
  173. Museo Larco Herrera. Lima, Peru.
  174.  
  175. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  176.  
  177. Although this museum is noted for its unparalleled collection of Moche pottery, it also has an extensive collection of Nasca pottery and other artifacts, all readily available online.
  178.  
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  180.  
  181. Museo Nacional de Arqueología Antropología e Historia del Perú. Lima, Peru.
  182.  
  183. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  184.  
  185. This museum has the largest collection of Nasca artifacts in Peru, many collected by Julio Tello and other notable archaeologists.
  186.  
  187. Find this resource:
  188.  
  189. Museo Regional de Ica.
  190.  
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  192.  
  193. This local museum in Ica, on the south coast of Peru, has an extensive collection of Nasca art.
  194.  
  195. Find this resource:
  196.  
  197. Museum Fünf Kontinente. Munich.
  198.  
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  200.  
  201. Another large collection of Nasca artifacts from the collections of Gaffron and Ubbelehode-Doering, among others.
  202.  
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  204.  
  205. Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. University of California, Berkeley.
  206.  
  207. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  208.  
  209. Formerly known as the Lowie Museum, the Hearst Museum contains the majority of the collections excavated by Max Uhle, the largest number of provenienced artifacts from Peru. These collections played a pivotal role in establishing the chronology for the Nasca style and formed the basis for many doctoral dissertations.
  210.  
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  212.  
  213. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Berlin.
  214.  
  215. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  216.  
  217. One of the oldest anthropological museums in Europe, with hundreds of Nasca ceramics from the collections of Macedo, Gaffron, Baessler, Gretzer, Buck-Seler, and others.
  218.  
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  220.  
  221. Ceramics
  222. Nasca art is best exemplified by the polychrome painted and modeled pottery that has come to represent this ancient Peruvian society. The Nasca culture developed directly out of the Paracas culture (ca. 800–100 BCE), distinguished by only minor changes in the manner in which the pottery was decorated. The Paracas people used post-fired resin paints, whereas the Nasca developed slip painting, which was applied to the vessels before firing and became fused to the surface. In all other respects, Nasca culture was simply a continuation of Paracas. Many of the motifs on Nasca pottery had their origins in the Paracas culture.
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  224. Discovery of the Style
  225. The first-known Nasca ceramics appeared in Europe in 1842 but were unrecognized until 1898, when a descriptive report was published by Jules Hamy (Hamy 1898). Other ceramics collected by a Dr. Macedo became part of the collections of the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin. The first Nasca vessel to be illustrated is in Hamy 1882. In the 1890s, a young German scholar, Max Uhle, saw several pieces of this beautiful polychrome pottery in the Berlin museum. When he began archaeological fieldwork in South America, he hoped to find the source of this unusual pottery. In 1901 he discovered a cemetery in the Ica Valley on the south coast of Peru that contained graves with these ceramics. Over the next few years he located more of this pottery in the Nazca Valley to the south of Ica. His “new-found style of Ica” was later recognized as the hallmark of a new culture that is now called Nasca, and Uhle is considered by many as the “discoverer” of this civilization. Uhle’s own account of his discovery was published in Uhle 1914. Joyce 1913 was the first publication to use the name “Nazca” for this new style. Uhle’s Nasca collections were deposited in the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, where they were studied and illustrated by a number of scholars. Kroeber, et al. 1924 is an account of the Nasca pieces from the Ica Valley, and Gayton, et al. 1927 reports on the collection from the Nazca Valley. A description and illustration of the thirty-two Nasca gravelots excavated by Uhle in the Ica Valley is in Proulx 1970.
  226.  
  227. Gayton, Anna Hadwick, Alfred L. Kroeber, and Max Uhle. “The Uhle Pottery Collections from Nazca.” University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 24.1 (1927): 1–46.
  228.  
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  230.  
  231. Early study of 660 Nasca ceramics purchased by Uhle in 1905 and deposited in the Hearst Museum. Proposes a four-phase stylistic-chronological sequence for Nasca pottery.
  232.  
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  234.  
  235. Hamy, Jules. “Les collections péruviennes du Docteur Macedo.” Revue d’Ethnographie 1.1 (1882): 68–71.
  236.  
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  238.  
  239. The first-known illustration of a Nasca-style ceramic vessel.
  240.  
  241. Find this resource:
  242.  
  243. Hamy, Jules. “Les vases peints d’Ica (Pérou moyen).” Bulletins de la Société d’Anthropologie du Paris, 4th series 9 (1898): 595–597.
  244.  
  245. DOI: 10.3406/bmsap.1898.5809Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  246.  
  247. Description of a collection of ceramics acquired in Ica in 1842 by a Frenchman, including five Nasca vessels.
  248.  
  249. Find this resource:
  250.  
  251. Joyce, Thomas A. “On an Early Type of Pottery from the Nazca Valley.” Burlington Magazine 22.119 (1913): 249–255.
  252.  
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  254.  
  255. An early discussion of Nasca pottery, with a comparison to Moche ceramics of the north coast. First use of the term “Nazca” to describe this new style.
  256.  
  257. Find this resource:
  258.  
  259. Kroeber, Alfred L., William Duncan Strong, and Max Uhle. “The Uhle Pottery Collections from Ica.” University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 21.7 (1924): 95–133.
  260.  
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  262.  
  263. First scientific study of the ceramics excavated by Uhle in the Ica Valley. First illustrations of many of the pieces, especially those of the Nasca culture. Includes three appendixes by Uhle.
  264.  
  265. Find this resource:
  266.  
  267. Proulx, Donald A. Nasca Gravelots in the Uhle Collection from the Ica Valley, Peru. Department of Anthropology Research Reports 5. Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 1970.
  268.  
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  270.  
  271. Using Uhle’s letters to his benefactor, Phoebe Hearst, and other sources, Proulx reconstructs the day-to-day search for and discovery of the source of Nasca pottery in Peru. Each Nasca gravelot is described and illustrated.
  272.  
  273. Find this resource:
  274.  
  275. Uhle, Max. “The Nazca Pottery of Ancient Peru.” In Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of Sciences. Vol. 13. By Max Uhle and Edward K. Putnam, 1–16. Davenport, IA: Davenport Academy of Sciences, 1914.
  276.  
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  278.  
  279. Uhle’s own account of his discovery of Nasca pottery in the Ica Valley, with a discussion of their chronology and cultural influences.
  280.  
  281. Find this resource:
  282.  
  283. Classification and Chronology
  284. The Nasca pottery collections excavated or purchased by Uhle between 1901 and 1905 and deposited in the Hearst Museum at the University of California, Berkeley, became the foundation for the chronological classification that is still used today. Uhle 1913 is one of the first attempts at developing a chronological sequence for the south coast. Kroeber, et al. 1924 and Gayton, et al. 1927 are the first systematic studies of the Uhle collection, developing the first classification and chronological sequence of the ceramic style. Kroeber 1956 is a later refinement of the author’s classification, before his colleague John Howland Rowe continued his work. Rowe’s student, Lawrence Dawson, using Uhle’s gravelots as units of contemporaneity, developed a nine-phase sequence based on similiary seriation (published in Rowe 1960) that was much more sophisticated than the sequence of Early, Middle, and Late Nasca in Sawyer 1961 (cited under Historical Sources). Rowe’s students further refined this chronology, with Donald Proulx (Proulx 1968) subdividing phases 3 and 4, Richard Roark (Roark 1965) investigating the beginning of the proliferous elements in phase 5, Steven Wegner subdividing phase 6, and Dorothy Menzel researching phases 7 to 9. Blagg 1975 convincingly demonstrates that there were several contemporaneous substyles in phase 5. Although much of this sequence has withstood the test of time, some modifications have occurred. Phases 8 and 9 are now believed to date to the Middle Horizon when Wari influences affected the south coast. More importantly, it now seems that many of the phases overlap, especially phases 1 and 2. Carmichael 2015 has demonstrated that characteristic traits used by Dawson to differentiate phases 1 and 2 actually overlap. It also appears that regional differences must be considered when examining the chronology, since each tributary has differences in their sequences. Obtaining absolute dates for the Nasca culture and its associated art style was not possible until radiocarbon dating was developed in the late 1940s. Prior to that, archaeologists and art historians had to depend on relative dating. In the early 21st century, we have access to a large number of samples that have been tested by increasingly more accurate radiocarbon dating techniques. In general, these have supported the earlier seriational sequence but have also provided highly accurate absolute dates. Rowe 1965 is one of the earliest critiques of the methodology, while Unkel and Kromer 2009 is one of the most recent.
  285.  
  286. Blagg, Mary Margaret. “The Bizarre Innovation in Nasca Pottery.” MA thesis, Department of Art, University of Texas, 1975.
  287.  
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  289.  
  290. Seminal thesis that identifies three contemporaneous ceramic styles within Nasca phase 5: Conservative, Progressive, and Bizarre; an attempt to identify the causes of the radical changes occurring in Nasca society and its art in this transitional phase.
  291.  
  292. Find this resource:
  293.  
  294. Carmichael, Patrick. “Proto-Nasca Art and Antaras.” Nawpa Pacha 35.2 (2015): 117–172.
  295.  
  296. DOI: 10.1080/00776297.2015.1108122Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  297.  
  298. A revision of the Dawson ceramic seriation using the iconography found on a series of early antaras (pan pipes). Carmichael convincingly demonstrates that certain markers, used by Dawson to define Nasca phases 1 and 2, are not valid and overlap with one another. Regional differences and stylistic drift are thought to account for the variability. The Nasca style is shown to have originated in the Nasca drainage rather than in the Ica Valley or the Paracas Peninsula.
  299.  
  300. Find this resource:
  301.  
  302. Gayton, Anna Hadwick, Alfred L. Kroeber, and Max Uhle. “The Uhle Pottery Collections from Nazca.” University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 24.1 (1927): 1–46.
  303.  
  304. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  305.  
  306. Early study of 660 Nasca ceramics purchased by Uhle in 1905 and deposited in the Hearst Museum. Proposes a four-phase stylistic-chronological sequence for Nasca pottery, lettered A, X, B, and Y.
  307.  
  308. Find this resource:
  309.  
  310. Kroeber, Alfred L. “Toward Definition of the Nazca Style.” University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 43.1 (1956): 327–432.
  311.  
  312. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  313.  
  314. A reevaluation and updating of the classification and chronology published in Gayton, et al. 1927.
  315.  
  316. Find this resource:
  317.  
  318. Kroeber, Alfred L., Anna Hadwick Gayton, William Duncan Strong, and Max Uhle. “The Uhle Pottery Collections from Ica.” University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 21.7 (1924): 95–133.
  319.  
  320. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  321.  
  322. Description and classification of seven sequential styles of ceramics excavated by Uhle in the Ica Valley. First illustrations of many of the pieces. Includes three appendices by Uhle.
  323.  
  324. Find this resource:
  325.  
  326. Proulx, Donald. Local Differences and Time Differences in Nasca Pottery. University of California Publications in Anthropology 5. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968.
  327.  
  328. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  329.  
  330. A comparative study of Nasca phases 3 and 4 pottery from the Ica and Nazca Valleys, by using Lawrence E. Dawson’s concept of similiary seriation. Subdivision of phase 3 into four subphases. Attempt to link local differences to political changes at Cahuachi.
  331.  
  332. Find this resource:
  333.  
  334. Roark, Richard Paul. “From Monumental to Proliferous in Nasca Pottery.” Nawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology 3 (1965): 1–92, 135.
  335.  
  336. DOI: 10.1179/naw.1965.3.1.001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  337.  
  338. Stylistic analysis of Nasca pottery from phases 5 and 6, emphasizing experimentation in artistic representations leading to the introduction of proliferous elements and a shift to militaristic and secular themes.
  339.  
  340. Find this resource:
  341.  
  342. Rowe, John Howland. “Nuevos datos relativos a la cronología del estilo Nazca.” In Antiguo Perú, espacio y tiempo: Trabajos presentados a la Seman de Arqueología Peruana, 9–14 de noviembre de 1959. Edited by Ramiro Matos Mendieta, 29–46. Lima, Peru: Librería Editorial Juan Mejía Baca, 1960.
  343.  
  344. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  345.  
  346. A description of the nine-phase sequence of the Nasca ceramic style developed by Dawson by using similiary seriation of the Uhle gravelots, replacing the older Gayton and Kroeber scheme of phases A, X, B, and Y.
  347.  
  348. Find this resource:
  349.  
  350. Rowe, John Howland. “An Interpretation of Radiocarbon Measurements on Archaeological Samples from Peru.” In Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference, Radiocarbon and Tritium Dating: Held at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, June 7–11, 1965. Edited by Roy M. Chatters and Edwin A. Olson, 187–198. Pullman, WA: US Atomic Energy Commission, 1965.
  351.  
  352. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  353.  
  354. A preliminary attempt to understand the inconsistencies in radiocarbon dates for Peruvian artifacts run by different laboratories and during different time periods.
  355.  
  356. Find this resource:
  357.  
  358. Uhle, Max. “Zur Chronologie der alten Culturen von Ica.” Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris, n.s. 10.2 (1913): 341–367.
  359.  
  360. DOI: 10.3406/jsa.1913.2864Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  361.  
  362. Uhle’s premier attempt to establish a ceramic chronology for the south coast of Peru.
  363.  
  364. Find this resource:
  365.  
  366. Unkel, Ingmar, and Bernd Kromer. “The Clock in the Corn Cob: On the Development of a Chronology of the Paracas and Nasca Period Based on Radiocarbon Dating.” In New Technologies for Archaeology: Multidisciplinary Investigations in Palpa and Nasca, Peru. Edited by Markus Reindel and Günther A. Wagner, 231–244. Natural Science in Archaeology. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 2009.
  367.  
  368. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-87438-6Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  369.  
  370. The first absolute chronology of the Paracas and Nasca cultures, on the basis of C-14 dating of 120 organic samples from settlement and tomb contexts as well as geoglyph sites.
  371.  
  372. Find this resource:
  373.  
  374. Technology
  375. The Nasca produced a wide variety of ceramic forms. A discussion of these and a chart can be found in Kroeber and Collier 1998 (figure 90) and Proulx 2006 (figure 2.2). Construction techniques used by Nasca potters are best described in Carmichael 1986 and Carmichael 1998. Nasca pottery displayed up to fifteen colors on a single vessel; the identification of the mineral sources is best outlined in Vaughn, et al. 2005, and the source of the clay in the making of the pottery is described in Vaughn and Neff 2004. Dawson 1964 is a seminal article on the technique of slip casting for the construction of the tubes for pan pipes (also see the section on Musical Instruments) although the validity of the slip casting technique has recently been disputed by Gruszczynska-Ziolkowska 2016.
  376.  
  377. Carmichael, Patrick H. “Nasca Pottery Construction.” Nawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology 24 (1986): 31–48.
  378.  
  379. DOI: 10.1179/naw.1986.24.1.002Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  380.  
  381. Technical study of Nasca pottery by using X-ray analysis. Concentration on coiling.
  382.  
  383. Find this resource:
  384.  
  385. Carmichael, Patrick. “Nasca Ceramics: Production and Social Context.” In Andean Ceramics: Technology, Organization, and Approaches. Edited by Izumi Shimada, 213–231. MASCA Research Papers in Science and Archaeology 15. Supplement. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 1998.
  386.  
  387. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  388.  
  389. Techniques of pottery manufacture are discussed, and the systemic influences of domestic, funerary, and ritual needs on the ceramic complex and its producers are considered.
  390.  
  391. Find this resource:
  392.  
  393. Dawson, Lawrence E. “Slip Casting: A Ceramic Technique Invented in Ancient Peru.” Nawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology 2 (1964): 107–111.
  394.  
  395. DOI: 10.1179/naw.1964.2.1.002Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  396.  
  397. A study of the method for producing the tubes forming Nasca ceramic pan pipes (antaras).
  398.  
  399. Find this resource:
  400.  
  401. Gruszczynska-Ziolkowska. “Nasca Antaras and Whistles: A Musicological Study.” In The Ancient Nasca World: New Insights from Science and Archaeology. Edited by Lasaponara, et al., 375–396. Berlin: Springer International, 2016.
  402.  
  403. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-47052-8_17
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