Cahuachi and Pampa de Atarco: Towards Greater Comprehension of Nasca Geoglyphs (original) (raw)
Related papers
Lambers, Karsten. 2017. Chapter 4.1 in: Cecilia Pardo, Peter Fux (eds): Nasca. Exhibition catalogue. Lima: Museo de Arte de Lima and Zurich: Museum Rietberg. ISBN 978-9972-718-57-1., 2017
This essay, written in Spanish and English, is a summary of what we currently know about the geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa in south Peru based on recent archaeological research. It attempts to answer the questions how the geoglyphs were made, when and by whom, and what function and meaning they had. The essay is published in the catalogue of the Nasca exhibition jointly organised by Museo de Arte, Lima, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, and Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, in 2017/18.
The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2013
Hypotheses about geoglyphs at Nasca, Peru: new discoveries
Geoinformatics FCE CTU, 2016
The known hypotheses about the reasons why the geoglyphs in the Nasca and Palpa region of Peru were created are many: roads/paths, rituals/ceremonials, use of hallucinogens, astronomical meaning, influence of extraterrestrials, underground water… and so on. We present a new hypothesis, formulated by J. Sonnek (first published in 2011) in the context of all previous hypotheses.1 Sonnek explains the geoglyphs as tidied work areas for the production of rope and nets, although he goes much further than Stierlin. This eccentric hypothesis now has not only experimental but also archaeological and ethnographical support, which is presented here. Geoglyphs of a special shape were discovered in the pampas; they may represent technical objects – different types of ‘rope twisters’. Following this idea, Sonnek made technical devices (using today’s materials) and tested them in practice; they work perfectly, see his YouTube videos.2 In November 2012, wooden pieces, which may be the remnants of r...
The Geoglyphs of Palpa, Peru: Documentation, Analysis, and Interpretation
Forschungen zur Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen 2, 2006
Full text available at https://doi.org/10.34780/faak.v2i0.1000 - The Geoglyphs of Palpa, Peru is a revision of the author´s Ph.D. thesis. In this study, the famed geoglyphs of the Paracas and Nasca cultures on the south coast of Peru are investigated in order to better understand their function and meaning. Combining aerial photogrammetry, archaeological fieldwork, and GIS-based analysis, more than 600 geoglyphs in the vicinity of the modern town of Palpa were recorded and analyzed. This interdisciplinary approach enabled the establishment of the first digital archive of these prehispanic monuments. It also led to important new insights into the origin, development, and spatial context of the geoglyphs. The Palpa dataset was furthermore used to test a recent model that explains the function and meaning of the Nasca geoglyphs in terms of Andean social, cultural, and religious traditions. The results of this study indicate that the ancient activities which took place on the geoglyphs revolved around concepts of water and fertility, and were a means of expressing social status and cultural concepts. The geoglyphs integrated the desert into the cultural landscape of the valley-based Paracas and Nasca societies, and were thus a valuable cultural resource that can still be appreciated today.
With the exception of the Nazca Lines, geoglyphs in the Andes have tended to be studied without regard to their position in the landscape. The objective of the Quilcapampa Geoglyph Survey is to better contextualize rock art by identifying and then mapping areas of high concentration of geoglyphs on the broad pampa surrounding the middle Sihuas Valley in southern Peru. This paper outlines our workflow that combines World View 2 satellite images, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photography, and pedestrian survey to rapidly assess a 250 km 2 region. Aided by previous surface survey, the satellite imagery effectively located areas of high concentration of geoglyphs that could then be flown over by the UAV whose high resolution camera allows for the capture of features and details not readily identifiable via satellite. The documentation of Sihuas' geoglyphs aids both academic and conservation efforts in this region of Peru.
Visualisation and GIS-based Analysis of the Nasca Geoglyphs
Doerr, Martin and Apostolos Sarris, eds. 2003. CAA 2002 - The digital heritage of archaeology. Athens: Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Archive of Monuments and Publications., 2003
On the south coast of Peru, the famous geoglyphs carved into the desert surface of the Nasca region constitute a dominant feature in the prehistoric landscape. In a joint archaeological-geodetic project we used photogrammetry to map more than 1 000 of these ground drawings around Palpa, to the north of Nasca, which we later on revised in detail in the field. In this article we describe the visualisation of the geoglyphs and the landscape they are found in. Furthermore, we present the outlines of a GIS which we are currently establishing for the spatial analysis of the geoglyphs within their natural as well as cultural environment.