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Nazca

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It is clear that the purpose of the Nazca lines combined the importance of water and astronomy in Nazca life with the ceque system and other rituals. But the biomorphic figures -- the spiders, birds and other animals -- do not seem to reflect these same values. Almost all of the figures are located on about 5% of the northwest corner of the pampa and are built on an entirely different scale from the lines. Ceramic data actually places the biomorphic figures about a thousand years before the dates of the lines. But the biomorphic figures -- the spiders, birds and other animals -- do not seem to reflect these same values. Almost all of the figures are located on about 5% of the northwest corner of the pampa and are built on an entirely different scale from the lines. Ceramic data actually places the biomorphic figures about a thousand years before the dates of the lines. The animals do not align in the same directions of the geometrical figures and not a single line leads to or terminates within the drawing of an animal. The biomorphs seem to be from an earlier and more localized tradition, likely engaged in by people who lived in the area of that small corner.

As Helaine Silverman states in her article, "The study of the lines as undifferentiated features devoid of sequence has flawed several interpretations." This seems to be just one manifestation of the basic problem with the theories made about the Nazca lines. Many researchers seem to have a single-mindedness -- they view the Nazca as a culture like our own, with the same values, the same ideas, and the same desires. In doing so, they create culturally blind theories. They look for a single purpose for the lines created by single-dimensional people in a single time period. Anthony Aveni and others have recently tried to combine all of the previous theories into a multi-faceted, multipurposeful explanation for the Nazca lines. The lines are an integration of the roles that astronomy, water, ritual and the ceque system played in the lives of the Nazcas. They reflect the beliefs and ideas of a bygone culture and leave behind a story that we can understand only if we view it through Nazca eyes.
-In general, Nazca culture is considered to consist of three stages; Early, Middle, and Late stages, and also the Classic Nazca (approximately A.D. 250-750). One of the most famous and distinctive features of the Nazca culture is the polychrome pottery which has attracted attention because of its technological refinement and the exciting symbolism of its motifs. This pottery culture spreads in the area of the valleys of Chincha, Pisco, Ica, Nazca and Acari. In the Early stage, these wares did not have much color, but Middle and Late Nazca polychromes are buff or red and are painted in three to eight colors. The most popular choices of color were red, black, white, brown, yellow, gray and violet with an outline in black.

In fact, it links walking with the expression of art. Ritual walking along "straight, predetermined routes" has been documented among many pre-Incan groups. The lines seem to reflect more of the Andean ceque system than ritual walking. The ceque system was used by Andeans to organize their city--from the center of the city, 41 straight line ceques radiated out, each line being marked by several buildings and landscape features, called huacas. Each ceque had a different social class that attended to it in a sort of "hierarchy of worship." The placement of ceques gave information about various kin groups, the relationship among the groups, and the organization of ritual and work activity.

Bowls and beakers were common forms, but double-spout and head-and-spout jars are also found. Birds, fish or fruits were commonly drawn on the pottery, and Nazca's religious or mythological features were also used in its design. Needless to say, the Nazca lines are the most attractive feature in this culture. These large "geoglyphs", drawings on the earth's surface, make no sense on the ground. We can recognize the features only from the air. There are several kinds of figures, such as fish, birds, monkeys, a whale, spiders and plants. These lines spread on the ground more than 800 miles (1,300 km), some of which extend 12 miles (20 km) long. Since these lines are on a flat surface and its climate is extremely dry, nearly all geoglyphs remain completely intact. These geoglyphs are not only featured in the Nazca, but also in other coastal areas (Zana, Santa, Sechin Valleys, Pampa Canto Grande, and Sihuas Valleys), and the northern Chile. The purpose of the drawings is uncertain, but it is believed to be connected to their beliefs and economical systems.

Almost all of the lines in a line center located on the northeastern corner of the pampa are astronomically related. While this explains why astronomy only plays a part in some of the Nazca lines, it leaves the purposes of the remaining lines unknown. The most probable explanation lies in the Nazca relationship to water and irrigation. The placement of the line centers has to do with the locations of mountains and surface waters. With few exceptions, the centers are located at the bases of hills surrounding the pampa and along the place where the pampa borders the "principal river valleys and tributaries." Many line centers were alongside or within view of these tributaries and all of them were related to the Nazca river drainage. Often a line becomes a trapezoid a long way from the center -- these trapezoids are always situated on the elevated land between the dry irrigation canals (quebradas) and are parallel to the direction of flow of water. part of the study focused on determining the orientation and flow of each line's nearest quebrada. Aveni used aerial photographs to measure the width, length and placement of the quebradas. He then found the angle between the axis of the geometric figure and the direction of the flow of the water and the result reflected the tie between water and the Nazca lines. Within a five degree error, 60% pointed upstream and 40% pointed downstream. It is obvious that the placement of the trapezoids was not just a matter of convenience to fit in with land contours -- it was a reflection of the importance of water in Nazca life. The importance of water is directly back to the ceque system and astronomy. The terminal huacas of many ceques lay at positions where the water flow changed directions. Many rituals associated with the ceque system stress the relationship between people and water. And since the "lines were almost surely walked upon (recall that many have footpaths within) and that the act of walking may have been associated with the water flow because the lines began and ended at centers that were located at significant points on the pampa with respect to the passage of water over it."

The field work for this theory encompassed a broad range of resources. They used aerial photos from the Servicio Aerofotografio Nacional and took the astronomical measurements of all the lines. They also used a "ground-based strategy" in order to perceive the subtle details in the same way that the Nazca did when they were building them. Their work was complicated by the absence of pre-Columbian written texts and so they argue by analogy with other Andean cultures. These methods are used to develop a theory which unifies the many purposes of the lines. The first element of this theory is that of the lines as a pathway. It complies completely with the theory mentioned above but does not limit the purpose of the lines to roadways.

The ceque system was "the most dominating feature present in the physical and built landscape that denotes concepts of order and organization." In this way, the ceque system unifies ideas about religion, social organization, water, calendar, and astronomy. It is apparent that the line centers formed on the pampa, identical in shape to the ceques, could also have served similar, multifaceted purposes. Astronomy was a part of this purpose. Some of the ceques were related to astronomy -- they lined up with the sunrise and sunset on the first day of planting season and winter and summer solstices and marked the rising of the Pleiades and the celestial llama. These same important days, accompanied by days important specifically to the Nazca (especially the solar zenith passages and the dates of pampa water flow), are reflected in the placement of some lines within the line centers. Astronomical planning was not a general part of all centers, but in fact seems to be concentrated in one or two specific line centers.

According to anthropologist Johan Reinhard, the Nazca people believed that mountain gods protected humans and controlled the weather. These gods also affected water sources and land fertilitysince they are associated with lakes, rivers and the sea. Each figure might have a different meaning for the Nazca people depending on their social class. The straight lines, as sacred paths, from Nazca to Andean highlands are still used to bring water. Today, these lines are maintained for the religious merit of the people. The triangles and trapezoids are made for the flow of water and are placed near the river. People often have ceremonies beside the water flow. The figure of spirals depicts seashells and the ocean, and the figure of zigzags illustrates lightning and river. The bird figures, representing a heron, pelican or condor, are believed to be signs of faithfulness to the mountain gods. Other sea birds are associated with the ocean. Monkeys and lizards represent the hope for water. Shark or killer whale motifs show the success of fishing. Spiders, millipedes and plants are associated with the rain. Even though the Nazca River was located near this cultural area, river water was not enough to support their agricultural needs. Some questions are still debated among specialists. Why were so many lines necessary? How and why did people draw such large figures on the ground without any aerial vision or aerial equipment? We may never understand the true meaning of the Nazca Lines, but we can decipher pieces of the traditional Andean people's belief system from these great geoglyphs.