The Peruvian Pacific shore is a long desert. A little south of Lima, between 200 b.C. and 700 a.C., there the Nazca civilization emerged. It is surely one of the most important in pre-Hispanic Peru, nowadays praised by both tourists and archaeologists.
Outline of the Civilization
Pre-Hispanic Peru has definitely a continuity. Before Nazca, there were two major societies, ChavÍn and Paracas, and another one, Mochica, appears after, around 100 a.C.. The Nazca civilization received influences from both Chavín and Paracas. Thus it was able to reach an advanced stage of development.
Like its predecessors, it was a theocracy. The priests ruled together with the warrior royalty, over a population of commoners mainly governed by religious concepts. They were able to build large villages on the desert and on its late expansion reached today’s Ayacucho region in the Andes; those villages, which can still be visited nowadays, had palaces, religious temples and areas for common citizens. They were also fierce fighters, although for most of their age didn’t really have an enemy. Their social organization was run by the priests and the royalty, who organized the nation and collected taxes from the people, who worked on the fields and state projects for their survival. Later, around 600 a.C., Tiahuanaco priests coming in pilgrimage from the Titicaca Lake region visited their rulers and made a coalition which conquered all Peru and established a monotheistic empire, which was called Wari (the one that preceded the Incas).
This image gives an idea of how the constructions of the Nazca could have been.
They had had knowledge of doing agriculture on the desert, so they were quite successful: there is still today the complex system of water pipelines and channels they used to irrigate crops. There were corn, many types of beans and fruits. Also ventured into the ocean and made fishing another very important and abundant resource; there is archaeological evidence they even knew whales. Their pottery is highly renowned for it covers almost all aspects of their culture, also very finely drawn and colored, to the point of still being a major influence for Peruvian painters and sculptors. Finally they were absorbed by the Wari empire.
The Astonishing Nazca Lines
They are a number of large drawings spread across the desert sand which once belonged to this regional kingdom. Now the striking thing about them is that they can only be seen from the sky! Why were they designed and drawn this way? Nobody knows for sure. Undoubtedly they had political-religious significance, otherwise the state would not have sponsored and commissioned them; however, all the actual reason(s) are not clear yet. The most supported hypotheses are:
- They were paths for walking on specific religious rituals
- They worked as a gigantic astronomical calendar for planning agriculture
- Were said by rulers to be a place for control of the Sun, the Moon and all nature
- And of course, there is the alien hypothesis: the designs were a kind of airport for extraterrestrial spaceships
Archaeology and science mostly endorses the first one, but nevertheless the debate is still open.
Figures of animals in the Nazca desert, which can be observed from a plane.
Visit the Nazca Civilization with TOUR IN PERU
- The amazing desert designs can be seen on a professionally-guided tour by airplane! Visitors are able to observe all images down on the desert plains, film videos and take pictures. It is one of the most demanded, praised tours by national tourists and also by travelers from all over the world.
- The region has more great attractions, like the beauty of the desert -activities like sandboarding and others are also available-, of the Pacific ocean, their typical cities and villages and of course delicious gastronomy
You can certainly contact us in case wishing to include this amazing destination on your next vacation in Peru! This tour would be a perfect addition to an Inca Trail, a classic Machu Picchu visit and so on!
Talk to our travel operators for planning a perfect time in our country! Cusco City, Machu Picchu, the Nazca lines and more are waiting for you!
