Rosa Lasaponara Nicola Masini Giuseppe Orefici Editors The Ancient Nasca World New Insights from Science and Archaeology The Ancient Nasca World Rosa Lasaponara Nicola Masini (cid:129) fi Giuseppe Ore ci Editors The Ancient Nasca World New Insights from Science and Archaeology 123 Editors RosaLasaponara Giuseppe Orefici NationalResearchCouncil(CNR)-Institute CentroItaliano Studi eRicerche ofMethodologies for Environmental Archeologiche Precolombiane(CISRAP) Analysis (IMAA) Brescia Potenza Italy Italy NicolaMasini NationalResearchCouncil(CNR)-Institute ofArchaeological andMonumental Heritage(IBAM) Potenza Italy ISBN978-3-319-47050-4 ISBN978-3-319-47052-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-47052-8 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016956172 ©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2016 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. 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Cover Illustration: Nasca geoglyph depicting a hummingbird in the Pampa of Nasca Archaeological ReserveArea,DistrictofElIngenio,NascaProvince,IcaRegion.(PhotoNicolaMasini) Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Foreword I Thisisanimportant,extraordinaryandusefulbookformanyreasons.Asthereader might expect, a book that provides a description of fieldwork and findings that beganin1982atanarchaeologicalareaofglobalrenown,theNascaareaoftheIca region in Peru, will reward the reader generously with a very comprehensive pre- sentation of information and insights. We are dealing here, after all, with an enormousbreadthofmaterialthathasbeendocumentedfirsthand.Aparallelmight be drawn to research that rests upon the examination of primary archival written documentsversusasurveyofsecondarydocuments,yeteventhiswouldnotdothis work justice. Here we have the primary analysis of material evidence that was gathered and analyzed by the team of authors themselves. This is an example of what archaeology can bring to the accumulation of human knowledge: the inter- pretationofmaterialevidencebythosewhoknowitandhaveremoveditfromthe context in which it was found. This is what only archaeology can offer the world. By discharging their responsibility to analyze and publish what they have exca- vated, the authors in this volume have satisfied what should be the prime directive for all archaeologists: publish what you excavate. Given the range of excavations and other research carried out, this is especially worthy of admiration and congratulations. Yet there is more. The authors have managed to push the boundaries of archaeological research in a direction that holds enormous promise. They have, by doing so, thrown down a challenge to all archaeologists to do the same. The term landscapearchaeologyisnotnew,ofcourse,butthisbookshowshowitshouldbe done. The authors use remote sensing technologies not only to discover sites and features, but even more so to explore the ongoing dialectic between collective human behavior and the environment. This approach will surely render the infor- mationgainedfromarchaeologicalresearchnotonlymorecompletebutalsomuch more relevant to the environmental, social, and political issues that we face today. The use of archaeogeophysical research by the scholars who have prepared this book has enabled a profoundly landscape-oriented approach to the surveys (in- cluding rock art) and excavations (from burials to dwellings and temples and v vi ForewordI ceremonial structures, including evidence of human sacrifice dating back to 4200 BCE) that began in 1982 and the intense excavation and anastylosis that has been done at Cahuachi since 2002. The extent to which aerial and satellite remote sensinghavebeenusedtoaccomplishthismaywellbeunprecedentedinabookof thisscope.Assuch,itshouldbeseenasabenchmarkinarchaeologicalscholarship. In accomplishing this feat, the editors of this book have leveraged the effort invested in their research in the most admirable of ways. They have provided training in the use of aerial and satellite imagery through workshops and confer- ences that draw upon their Nasca work, as well as at other of their research areas and in other places in the world. This is timely because the treasure trove of remotely sensed imagery collected from satellite and aerial platforms that are now available online, grows every day. Let other archaeologists use the doorway that this book has opened to explore a new world of rapidly expanding research possibilities. Mauro Marsili Foreword II Several decades ago, as a young student of Mediterranean archaeology, I used to consult in my school library publications of archaeologists of the nineteenth and earlytwentiethcenturies.Ilookedwithadmirationandincredulityattheimpressive numberofvolumesofreports,inwhichresultsofseveralcampaignsofexcavations in Greece, Egypt, or the Middle East were presented, such as the reports of the French mission (École française d’Athènes) in Delos (Greece), related to investi- gations carried out since 1873 and continuing to date. What tenacity and deep dedication these scholars possessed, who devoted several decades of their lives to researchintoonesite,suchasClaudeSchaefferwhodevoted40yearsoflife(1929– 1969) to study Ugarit in Syria. IhadneverexpectedtofindsimilarcasesinAndeanarchaeology,beforearriving in Cahuachi and meeting Giuseppe Orefici, who since 1982 has directed 33 cam- paigns of excavations—so, probably constituting the longest episode of uninter- rupted work in Andean archaeology. This volume summarizes more than just three decades of archaeological research, interdisciplinary investigations ranging from the botanical research by LuigiPiacenzatotheanthropologicalstudiesbyAndreaDrusini.Besidesthem,we have the results of investigations carried out since 2007 by the ITACA Mission of Italian CNR, directed by Nicola Masini, including scholarly experts in remote sensing, archaeogeophysics, geology, diagnostics, and photogrammetry. The interdisciplinary investigations led by Nicola Masini and Rosa Lasaponara have been conducted to provide information for the further detection of buried remains, the study of geoglyphs and puquios, the analysis of ceramics, and the evaluation and monitoring of archaeological looting and vandalism. What has motivated all these specialists is definitely the scientific interest and charmofCahuachi,withitslonghistory,hugesize,andfascinatingcomplexity.No less important is the personality of Giuseppe Orefici who has been, during the recentpast decades,tocoordinate dozensofspecialistsandstudents, offeringthem vii viii ForewordII the opportunity to develop their own research topics. I personally and my col- leagues are proud to have had the opportunity to work in Cahuachi1: in fact, the contribution of one of us (Anna Gruszczynska-Ziolkowska) is included in this publication.Theimportanceofthisvolumeresidesinthewidepanoramaofvarious different perspectives into the remains of the Nasca culture, with its monumental architecture, mysterious geoglyphs, irrigation systems, polychrome ceramic, tex- tiles, and musical instruments. Reading this book, it is fascinating for the richness and variety of its contents and investigation methods which will further enhance our knowledge of Nasca culture. The amount of data collected with the use of advanced technologies and sci- entific approaches is overwhelming and yet more decades will be needed to fully analyze and publish them. Probably Cahuachi will become the Délos or Ugarit of Andean archaeology: I wish this to the Nasca Project, its scholars, and its director. Mariusz S. Ziółkowski 1MariuszS.ZiółkowskireferstothemissionoftheCentreforPrecolombianStudiesofUniversity ofWarsawwhichcooperatedwithProyectoNascaforanumberofinvestigations,amongwhichis themusicologicalstudiesoftheNasca(seeChap.17byGruszczynska-Ziolkowska). Foreword III “TheAncientNascaWorld:NewInsightsfromScienceandArchaeology”collects the innovative results of the Italian research in Peru carried out by the archaeo- logical mission Proyecto Nasca, directed by Giuseppe Orefici, and the Italian Mission of Heritage Conservation and Archaeo-Geophysics in Peru (ITACA) directed by Nicola Masini of CNR, active in Nasca 1982–2007, respectively. ThevolumeeditedbyRosaLasaponara,NicolaMasini,andGiuseppeOreficiis the original result of the synergy between two realities of Italian research and the dialogue between various disciplines, such as archaeology, anthropology, remote sensing,geophysics,anddiagnostics,inordertorespondtothenumerousquestions posed by the history of human beings in relation to the environment and to the physical evidence that has been left in legacy and that we recognize as cultural heritage. It seems that the Nasca civilization, with its mysteries and questions that have long been posed to scholars from countries all over the world, is the ideal ground for interdisciplinary research and to create a bridge between humanities and physical scientific disciplines. Archaeology and science, also through digital technologies, are increasingly interconnected in order to know, interpret, and actualize the contributions of the various civilizations and to raise awareness of our origins, as well as to develop a vision of the future by learning from the past. Nasca and the ceremonial center of Cahuachi are two emblematic case studies that help us to understand how humans has been able to exploit, with intelligence and an intimate and mystic relationship with nature, the few resources that the environment and the climate of one of the most arid places in the world, the Atacama desert, granted them. The great pyramids of Cahuachi, built by exploiting the hills of the Nasca drainage, marked by floods, and the intelligent filtration systems to retrieve sub- terranean water, are only some of the most significant examples of this ability that the Nasca have demonstrated to adapt to their desert environment. ix x ForewordIII In this way, they created oases where agriculture flourished, built villages, erected pyramids, and drew geoglyphs in order to celebrate their intimate rela- tionshipwiththegodsandtoexpressavisionoftheworldwhichtheauthorsofthe chaptersofthisvolumehavebeenabletooutlineinthevariousartisticexpressions (architecture, ceramics, music, textile) and with the most innovative methods of scientific analysis. Douglas C. Comer