Nazca, A Mysterious Legacy in Peru



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  Tangol 24/04/2018

Nazca is a center-south region  city of Peru,  located on the right bank of the Aja River, a tributary of the Rio Grande. Nasca is a very active city, due to the influx of tourists who visit the ancient Nazca Lines every day, and also due to the mining, agricultural and commercial development of the area.  Nasca is a mysterious city full of contrasts; here some of interesting tourist places:

Nazca Lines: located in the Pampa of San José and over an area of ??50 km, the geoglyphs represent figures of animals and plants, some of these figures can reach up to 300 meters in length and occupy a surface area of ??1000 m².

Cahuachi: Citadel and ceremonial center of the ancient Nazca, there are two pyramids staggered with adobe, very close is the place known as Estaqueria, where stakes of carob are preserved.

Cementerio de Chauchilla: located 10 km south to Nazca City, pottery and pre-Inca mummies can be seen.

Aqueducts of Cantalloc: Located 4 km north to city of Nazca City built by Nazca culture and operate today, demonstrating its technological advances in hydraulic engineering, built more than 40 aqueducts, which were used all year, to be able develop an efficient agriculture and able to satisfy  the population needs, there are other aqueducts in various places of the city

Cerro Blanco: Located east to Nazca city, the largest dune in Peru; ideal for practicing adventure sports such as sandboarding and paragliding.

Municipal Museum of Nasca: You can see ceramics and textiles of the Nazca culture.

Nazca the greatest archaeological mysteries of all time. The desert, one of the most arid of the planet, was home of the Nazca culture,  200 BC and 600 AD this culture created a set of gigantic geoglyphs, only visible from a certain height, forming animal, human and geometric figures.

Since the archaeologists began to study the figures, there have been dozens of theories about its creation, its meaning and its usefulness. Today we know with certainty that inhabitants created geoglyphs by removing reddened stones from surface so that white sandstone that lies below was seen, but what led them to create these gigantic figures.  At first archaeologists thought that lines were not more than roads, but other theories gained more force that assured that figures constituted "centers of adoration" thought to please a divinity located in the heights, and, even, they formed a gigantic calendar, which had the purpose of aiming at the sun and the celestial bodies.  Nazca figures were built by at least two distinct cultures, with different techniques and symbolisms.  The fact that Nazca lines were no more than roads does not seem the most attractive, but a group of Japanese archaeologists who have revealed the situation of 100 new Nazca geoglyphs believe that the first theory, which was formulated by the Peruvian anthropologist Julio Cesar Tello who was the first to study the site seriously could be partly successful.  The geoglyphs were created by different groups  Researchers from Yamagata University, led by Dr. Masato Sakai, have presented their findings at the annual convention of the American Archaeological Society, which was held last April.   To understand the relationship between  different images, Sakai and his colleagues analyzed  location, style and method of construction of  new geoglyphs and discovered that there are four different types of figures that tend to be grouped into different routes, all with the same Destination: the pre-Inca city of Cahuachi. Today there is only one pyramid left, but between the year 1 and 500, when Nazca experienced its splendor, it was a center of pilgrimage of the first order and, clearly, the capital of the Nazca culture.  Researchers have discovered that geoglyphs vary not only in form, but also in terms of type of construction. Some figures are formed after removing stones inside and others after removing their edges.  According to Japanese archaeologists, Nazca figures were built by at least two distinct cultures, with different techniques and symbolisms, which can be seen in the geoglyphs that trace the path from their area of ??origin to the city of Cahuachi.   Geoglyphs  shows  the formative period were drawn to be seen from the ritual paths.  Researches show that geoglyphs of the formative period were drawn to be seen from the ritual paths, However, the previous figures, from the early period, were used as ritual centers in which, for example, intentional destruction of pottery was carried out."

Inhabitants of the area continued taking care of some geoglyphs long after they lost their original use, even after the collapse of Cahuachi.








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