Lines On the Desert Plains Chapter 5: An investigation of the Nazca Lines

The Nazca culture flourished beside the dry southeast coast of Peru close to the Rio Grande de Nazca in the Ica Valley:

　

Map of Nazca Line Area

The Nazca produced an array beautiful crafts and technologies such as ceramics, textiles, and geoglyphs, the latter most commonly known as the Nazca Lines. Early Nazca society was made up of local chieftains with its regional power center in Cahuachi. 

Cahauchi

Cahuachi overlooked some of the Nazca Lines like the ones below:



Ray Center Near Cahauchi

This nearby ray center could have been a landing site for the Ancient Astronauts adjacent to Cahuachi, where it would have been easy for them to meet with the Nazca. Cahuachi contains over 40 mounds topped with adobe structures. A pyramid is at the center of a huge architectural complex covering o.6 miles . The permanent population was small and was probably the site where their biggest religious ceremonies took place.

Cahauchi Adobe Pyramid

Cahuachi became a pilgrimage center and grew greatly in population when major ceremonial-religious events took place. These events probably invoked the Nazca Lines and the Great Sand Dune of Nazca. Support for the pilgrimage theory comes from archeological evidence at Cahuachi and from the Nazca Lines which shows such creatures as the orca and monkeys. It is thought that Cahuachi was the capitol of the Nazca State, and if not that then the closest thing to one. Cahuachi lies in the lower portion of the Nazca Valley and was initially occupied during the late Paracas Period. It is entirely unique of all the Nazca sites. Excavations at Cahuachi have given archeologists insight into the Nazca culture. The remains that are found are large amounts of polychrome pottery, there is evidence of maize, squash, beans, peanuts, as well as some fish, plain and fancy textiles, trace amounts of gold in their beads and an array of ritual paraphernalia.

Nazca Polychrome Ceramic Orca

Much of Nazca art depicts powerful nature gods, such as the killer whale and the spotted cat, and serpentine creatures, which was the most prevalent of worshipped figures. Similar to the Moche culture, the shamans apparently used hallucinogenic drugs taken from the San Pedro Cactus to induce visions, which is depicted on their pottery and textiles.



The Nazca were head-hunters. There is a debate over the purpose of trophy heads which continues to this day. Whether they were trophies of war or objects of ritual. Trophy heads all had one common modification - a hole in the forehead through which a rope could be affixed permanently so that the head could be displayed or carried. The Nazca believed that the spirit was located in the head.



A Nazca Trophy Head



The Nazca, like all Pre-Columbian societies in South America, including the Inca, had no writing system so they did not write in the alphabetic sense,  this is one of the reasons that makes it so hard to study them. In the case where a culture has no writing system and no method of written communication, the method of sending a message had to be through their artwork, on their ceramics, on their architectural structures-and the Nazca Lines. Here cognitive archeology focuses on the way ancient societies thought and the symbolic structures that are perceived in past material culture. The way that these abstract ideas are manifested through the remains that these people left behind, can be investigated and debated often by drawing inferences from such fields as semiotics (the study of the sign processes-signs and symbols), psychology and wider sciences (such as engineering and mathematics). Thus the iconography or symbols painted on their ceramics served as a means of communication-motifs came in two major categories-sacred and profane, and since there is no one left alive who is a direct descendant of this culture- to pass on these traditions -we must rely on the evidence the Nazca left behind.

Small Nazca Village

The village’s name is Pueblo Veiejo it is located about 2 miles south of Cahauchi. The Nazca Lines are located a little over 31 miles east of the Pacific coast.

Lines In The Desert Plains Chapter 4: An investigation of the Nazca Lines

Lines In The Desert Plains

Chapter 4



Could the geoglyphs of Nazca and the Paracas be the images or symbols of ancient animal gods or patterns of the constellations ? Their constellations would not look the same as the ones we would know from ancient Greece-because they would be represented by different creatures. Thus they would look different from that perspective, plus they would have moved-all stars move they are not stationary objects. Are the ray centers pictures, maybe a part of a gigantic map ? If the people who made them lived 2,000 years ago with only simple technology. How did they construct such precise figures ? It seems like they were made to be seen from above. Many have proposed every imaginable explanation.

But there is this strange road or band in the Pisco Valley region that is in Paracas territory. It is about 30 feet wide and goes for about a mile through the desert highlands It is made up of small holes spread apart.





Pisco Valley and the location of the Band of Holes



These strange holes stretch along uneven terrain, and have been there so long that the local people hardly noticed it. This is a very fertile valley, with many ancient sites overlooking it on the bluffs. No one really saw the big picture until someone flew over it. Composed of man-size holes they have been carved into bare rock near the Pisco Valley on a plain called Cajamarquilla.

Photo showing the Band of Holes on the Plain above the Pisco Valley

Archeologists have speculated that they were dug to store grain. But others disagreed that there were easier ways to store grain than in these holes carved into barren rock.

Archeologists have also speculated they were tombs. But no bones or artifacts have ever been found there. The holes have no covers to seal them as one would do with a tomb.

Some of the holes in this band look as if they had been drilled there with precision. They vary from 6-7 feet in depth, yet some are very shallow as if they had not been completed although surrounded by those that have.

A Close-up of the Band of Holes





Visitors from another world come to mind when seeing that these holes had been precisely dug into solid rock for over a mile through mountainous terrain. It is as if there is evidence of a massive drilling rig moving along methodically, testing the geology for minerals or precious metals. Modern lasers can do the same thing, the band ends unnaturally in a shaded area in the mountains. If the ancient astronauts were present, I would ask why are they present ? This may be the answer, they were mining for some mineral or metal that they used on their own world, or minerals to power their spacecraft. Peru produces the following metals in large quantities: bismuth, copper, molybdenum, silver, lead, tin zinc, rhenium, gold and iron. Many of which are used in the aerospace industry today. Peru is a major producer of copper, and many of these metals can be produced as by-products of copper refinement. Peru also produces lead and some of these metals can be produced as a by- product of that process. To give you an idea of what some of these metals can be used for, rhenium is used in making jet aircraft engines, both lead and molybdenum are used as radiation shields. Silver has the highest electrical conductivity of any element. Silver also absorbs free neutrons and is used to make power rods in present day nuclear reactors. Zinc can be used in making three kinds of batteries and zinc sulfide lasers. So the ancient astronauts may have had a good reason to go looking for natural resources in this region. The Nazca Line runway (ray center) area is a little over 85 miles southwest of the Band of Holes in the plain above the Pisco Valley.

Lines On the Desert Plains: Chapter 3 An investigation of the Nazca Lines

Chapter 3



The Paracas practiced skull trepanation. Trepanation was a primitive skull surgery used either to relieve pressure on the brain or for religious purposes- to reach a higher level of consciousness. It entailed the removal of one or more sections of bone from the cranium (while the person was still alive). Evidence of trepanation has been seen in excavated sites and some of the skulls show signs of healing, which is evidence that the individual survived the procedure. How they behaved after the operation is not known.

Medical Instruments for Trepanation and Skull



.Another practice the Paracas passed on to the Nazca was skull manipulation. Elongated skulls as a result of skull manipulation were also found at Cahuachi. The effect of binding a cushion to an infant’s forehead and a board in back of the head. Archaeologists have speculated why this was done. More than likely it indicated social status. The latter would make the most sense. But the shapes of the skulls were also different from each other in many cases. So a few of them could be the result of being cross-bred with the ancient astronauts themselves, but this would not have applied to most cases had it happened.









A Collection of Manipulated skulls from Paracas territory



As you can see that the Paracas became pretty creative when if came to skull manipulation. The one in the front center looks like the skull of an alien. One source reports that high up in the Andes at altitudes over 10,000 feet lived very different races the- Aymoras to the south, and the Huancas to the north- who had remarkable elongated heads with larger hearts than the average human and had a larger lung capacity. Hundreds of bodies have been found with elongated heads. Some believe that those with elongated heads were the ones who built canals, aqueducts and wells operated and maintained them with a remarkable knowledge of water distribution.

Skull Found at Cahauchi

This person may have been a leader and a builder of the Nazca lines. Cahuachi was the cultural center for the Nazca located near the Rio Grande Nazca River.

The Paracus occupied the central valleys of southern Peru from Chincha to Nazca. Chincha was the northernmost city in Paracas.

The Ruins of Chincha

Each of the valleys and regions occupied by the Paracas have their own timeline, that fit into the general chronology. Julio C. Tello divides their history into two parts. The Paracas caverns were in use from ca. 800-200 B.C. and the Paracus necropolis from 200 -150 B.C. The Paracas practiced ancestor worship. It is not known how long the burial bundles were worshipped or if ever stopped. The Paracas built their cities in the neighboring Valley of Pisco. The Paracas built Chincha using the principles of architecture expressed in pyramids.

Moche Jaguar Pottery



Another culture that had an effect on the Paracas-Nazca and co-exsisted with them was the Moche culture, which was located on a strip of land on the coast north of Paracas-Nazca territory. They are thought to have had limited contact with the Nazca. The Paracas-Nazca mined quano (manure) for fertilizer and the Moche traded with them for this. Moche pottery have been found near Ica, but no Paracas-Nazca pottery has been found in Moche territory. But their influence may have went all the way into Nazca territory. There is a possibility that some of them may have joined the Nazca culture.

Lines In The Desert Plains Chapter 2 An Investigation of the Nazca Lines

Chapter 2

One of the challenges of telling the story of the ancient Nazca is the fact that they left very little behind them in the way of material culture. They had only had one city and a small village, and they left behind a vast body of ceramics and textiles. These objects carry detailed depictions of Nazca life. The Paracas culture had a great influence on the Nazca culture, was an important Andean society that existed between 800-175 B.C. They had an extensive knowledge of irrigation. Many of the Nazca customs were adopted from the Paracas so we should start there first if we want to learn more about the Nazca. The Paracas culture developed on the Paracas Peninsula of Peru in Pisco Province in the Region of Ica just north of Nazca territory.



Most of what we know about the Paracas culture comes from excavations of the large Paracas seaside necropolis. It was first discoved by the Peruvian archeologist Julio C. Tello in the 1920s. It consisted of many burial chambers with the average capacity of 40 mummies. Each chamber is believed to have been owned by a specific family or clan. Each mummy was bound in layers of the intricate and ornate finely woven textiles. The iconography of the Paracas necropolis combined human aspects with the characteristics of birds or cats, which are usually represented in flight at a high altitude

A Paracas Shark mantle



The Paracas were contemporaries with the Chavin culture in northern Peru. The Paracas made wool and cotton textiles in addition to ceramics.

A Paracas Diety Mask



The Paracas cultural center was on a hill called Cerro Colorado just outside the Paracas Peninsula located near the Valley of Pisco and the Ica River.

  The economy of the Paracas was dependent on intensive agriculture and fishing. Advances were made through construction of aqueducts in the desert, which gave them the ability to produce water and they used manure as fertilizer. Apparently up until around 200 B.C. the area in which they lived was more fertile than it is now. The pottery was polychrome and consisted of complex decorated colors, like red, yellow, black and white, all related to religious representation. Some of the pottery had handles and this was passed on to the Nazca. The textiles of Paracas were characterized by geometric designs, and were done in double cloth.

Paracas Necropolis Garments

The textile designs were influenced by the Chavin culture, with lizard beings and anthromorphic cats and beings, and looked similar to the ones found in Nazca. The Paracas Peninsula had the famous candelabra geoglyph facing north, many have speculated about its origins. It could have been a direction signal for the ancient astronauts to use as they flew over the area headed for the runways (ray centers) in Nazca territory.

Paracas Candelabra Geoglyph

The picture looks like a sand carving in the sand not a mountain side. So one would think this was temporary not real. Like someone did it as a hoax. But I was unable to find a more definitive picture of it.
But even though Paracas designs may have been similar to those of Nazca, the Paracas preferred to make their designs on mountain sides.



A Paracas Design Near Nazca territory



 

Lines On the Desert Plains: An investigation of the Nazca Lines

Chapter 1



On a rainless plain, called the pampas in Peru, the ancient inhabitants etched gigantic lines, geometric forms, and naturalistic drawings called geoglyphs on the surface of the desert by sweeping the iron oxide rocks aside on the desert floor to reveal the lighter sand beneath. The ancient inhabitants can clearly be linked to the Nazca culture, for they are nearly identical to the motifs present on the Nazca ceramics or pottery. The function of the bimorphs -the hummingbirds, spider, pelican, killer whales, lizards and monkey among others-seems to be religious; they graphically represent some of the supernatural forces of the Nazca religion.

A high altittude view of the Nazca Lines



It is not surprising that there is no mention of these geoglyphs in the Spanish colonial reports. This would not have been important to them. It was not until 1926 that the American archeologist Alfred Kroeber drew what may be the earliest plans of Nazca’s geoglyphs and noted how they were made by removing the surface rock.

Drawings of Nazca Geoglyphs

He described the “ray roads” radiating out from the island-like rocky knolls, what are called today “ray centers.” In 1927 Torbio Mejia Xessepe observed the long lines, trapezoids, and general zigzags on the hillsides of the valleys of the Rio Grande de Nazca drainage on the plain. He interpreted them as “seques” or “religious roads.” Due to the environment much of the Nazca beliefs centered around agriculture and fertility. The Nazca religion depicted powerful nature-gods, such as the mythical killer whale, the harvesters, the mythical spotted cat, the serpentine creature the most prevalent figures, the anthropomorphic mythical beings ( that of human form or human attributes as opposed to that of animals or divine beings). ` The total prehistoric sequence in Peru spans 15,000 years, starting about 13,000 B.C. when the first hunter-gather societies left their traces in the Ayocucho and Ancash areas. The Lauricocho culture began in the preceramic period ca. 8000 B.C

Lauricocha Remains

The Lauricocho culture had three periods:

Period I. 8000-6000 B.C.

Period II. 6000-4200 B.C.

Period III. 4200-2500 B.C

The Lauricocho culture was part of the prehistoric people that settled in the rock caves in Lauricocho, Pacaicasa, and Guitarrero.

Lauricocha Rock Caves

The oldest human complex society in Peru and the Americas, the Norte Chico civilization flourished along the Pacific coast between 3000-1500 B.C This civilization had a complex Pre-Columbian society that included 30 population centers, they also built pyramids, some of which are thought too be 5,000 years old, built into the Peruvian Descent.

Norte Chico Pyramids in northern Peru

Then came the Chavin culture (900-200 B.C.) to the north. They also influenced their southern neighbors including the Paracas culture.

 The Chavin diety Lanzon

The culture directly affecting the Nazca was the Paracas culture, which existed from about 800-175 B.C. and then merged with the Nazca. Both the Paracas and the Nazca cultures were located in the Ica Region of Peru. The language spoken was probably some early form of Quechua by the Nazca. The Nazca culture had long disappeared by the time of the Incas ca. 1200 A.D.(by at least 450 years).

Lines On the Desert Plains: An investigation of the Nazca Lines

Introduction

 The Nazca Desert Plains



If one wanted to find the most obvious place on Earth to find evidence of ancient astronauts to my way of thinking-it would be the Nazca Lines in Peru. So this is an investigation and examination of the area, to see what kind of sense can be made out of it. It has all the makings of being an Ancient astronaut space base with runways, a astrological religious center;

 and since it is on a dry desert plain that receives very little rain, there is reason to have irrigation projects. I have heard stories of the mineral richness of the area. Even a story about mountain peaks in the area that appeared to be shaved off for a flat level surface that may have been useful to the ancient astronauts.

This is the first impression I thought of when going over the information that I have.  Every aspect of evidence even the Nazca people themselves must be considered in this investigation. The Nazca lines were constructed probably over a long period of time. This latter theory  I think it is a good evaluation of and how the Nazca Lines could have been made, and since this desert is hot during the day and cold at night it is hard to determine what time of day the work was done. But the Nazca were acclimated to the weather there so it could have been built at any time they thought it was best for the work.

This document is a historical archeology type of work. Since I mainly use information from these sources, plus speculation by others and some of my own thoughts. Google Earth and Wikipedia have been two of my sources and other sources have been derived from them in making this story into a short archeological history,

The scholars and writers say very little has changed in that desert environment. The truth is -that everything moves, you may not see it moving but it is moving and that movement accumulates over time. So that desert is not pristine. About 2000 years worth of time is what we are talking about. The area where these people lived is right next to a fault line and has a history or tremors and earthquakes-and that is a lot of movement-even today ! There are lines all over the place in this area, and some of what they left behind has been destroyed by the movement that has occurred. You will learn more when you read this story.

Sincerely, Alaudun