We woke up in Nasca — a decent little town in the northern part of the Atacama desert in southern Peru. It was founded by\u00a0Viceroy Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza in 1591.<\/p>\n
After breakfast, we relaxed a little bit as Felix was still ill. Then,\u00a0 Gisela and Felix\u00a0 went shopping while I covered the cultural part, and visited the archaeological museum Antonini.<\/p>\n
The museum houses a collection of musical instruments, textiles, mummies, ceramics, and trophy heads of the Nascas. Trophy heads are human skulls that have a hole punched in the forehead to which a rope is affixed. Probably, these ropes allowed the head to be carried or to be displayed. The scientific community still debates if these heads are war trophies of decapitated enemies or ritual objects of unfortunate victims of human sacrifices.<\/p>\n
The museum also tries to capture their daily lives, and displays their diet, as well as information about the region, and the climate. Most of artefacts were discovered as part of excavations in Cahu\u00e1chi, a former cultural centre of the Nascas that is located about 30 km west of the city of Nasca.<\/p>\n
A sophisticated irrigation system that was the basis for\u00a0 the steady food supply of the Nascas is explained as well.<\/p>\n
The Nasca culture developed around 100 BC and ceased\u00a0 around 750 AD.<\/p>\n
The Nasca lived in several local chiefdoms that were not centrally administered by a king or ruler. The policy makers were probably a caste of\u00a0 shamans.<\/p>\n
The discovery of precious Initially, the the climate was subtropical and humid enough to support grassland which provided the Nasca with an excess of food. Archaeologists suggest the collapse of the Nasca culture to be a result of a drier climate that lead to food and water shortages, and to karst formations of the once fertile soil. Left with the choice to stay and starve or to move, the Nascas decided to relocate to more humid areas.<\/p>\n Generally, the time\u00a0 of the Nasca is broken down\u00a0 into 7 phases:<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n
\n\t \nPhase Name<\/th> Phase<\/th> Time Range<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n\t Proto Nazca <\/td> 1<\/td> 100 BC \u2013 1 AD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Early Nazca<\/td> 2,3,4<\/td> 1 AD \u2013 450 AD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Middle Nasca<\/td> 5<\/td> 450 AD - 550 AD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Late Nasca<\/td> 6,7<\/td> 550 AD \u2013750 AD <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n