Archeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past “have understood the phenomena in the sky,” how they used the phenomena in the sky, and what role did the sky play in their culture. Archeoastronomy uses a variety of methods to uncover evidence of past practices including, archeology, anthropology, astronomy, statistics, probability, and history. Because methods as these are diverse and use data from different sources the problem of integrating them into a coherent argument has been a long-term issue for archeoastronomers. Material evidence and its connection to the sky can reveal how a wider landscape can be integrated into beliefs and about the cycles of nature. Other examples which have brought together ideas of cognitions and landscape include studies of the cosmic order in roads, settlements, pottery, textiles and art.
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| The Trapezoid |
Take for instance the Trapezoid. It appears to be a cosmic runway that funnels into a single line. Does this line have a significance ? This line points to the southwest. One wonders whether they are at the beginning or end of this cosmic runway from this view. There is a group of them about 3.42-4.67 miles northeast of Cahuachi. Could this be the reason for their location. They appear to be set up in a way where one spacecraft could be landed on each one. The ancient astronauts would have told the Nazca where to construct their landing areas.
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| Nazca Pottery depicting an Eclipse of the Sun |
Some of the symbols the Nazca used could have been associated with the Planet Venus, similar to that in Caral in northern Peru. They built a building with a circular tower and doors facing the 4 cardinal directions, the base faced the most northerly setting of Venus. Additionally the high pillars on the buildings upper platform were painted black and red, colors associated with Venus as evening and morning star. Maria Reiche theorized that the builders of the lines used the lines as a sun calendar and an observatory for astronomical cycles. She worked alone in her home nearby in the modern city of Nasca. She published her theories in a book entitled “The Mystery of the Desert,’ which received mixed reviews by scholars.
It is my belief that clans or families constructed some of the geoglyphs to their own gods. Since there are 300 designs on the desert floor it is my belief that clans and families made many of them for that purpose. The Nazca worshiped a mountain god which was supposed to give them water. The name of the mountain god was Apu. In the mythology of Peru, Apus or spirits of the mountains protected the local people.
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| Shrine to Apu |
The name Apu has five definitions: (1) A god or supreme being. (2) A sacred mountain as a house for their ancestors (3) A chief, a figure of authority (4) A light being that existed within a special mountain that could intercede for the people. In order not to offend this god the ancient Peruvian people would draw designs on the mountain about a project they were doing concerning the materials they were taking from that mountain (see above on rock). So some of the designs on the desert plains may include this also-especially if they were digging to find an aquifer in nearby mountains and adding an aqueduct to bring it down. All of the Nazca aqueducts were built underground and only came to the surface in a special pool area. They are the underground channels that I referred to earlier called paquios
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| A Nazca Aqueduct pool (paquios) |
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