Nazca Culture - Economy

Economy

Nazca subsistence was based largely on agriculture. Iconography on ceramics and excavated remains indicate that the Nazca people had a varied diet, composed of maize, squash, sweet potato, manioc and achira, and even a small trace of various fish. They also used several non-food crops, such as cotton for textiles, coca, San Pedro cactus, and gourds. The latter were decorated to illustrate activities in daily life. The evidence of coca in society can be seen through remains but also through ceramics. This is the same for the hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus, which has been illustrated in ceremonies on several polychrome pots and bowls. In terms of animal resources, the Nazca made sacrifices of llamas and guinea pigs at Cahuachi. Llamas were also commonly exploited as pack animals, for their wool, and as a source of meat (Silverman and Proulx, 2002).

As archaeological evidence indicates thus far, sometime during the Middle Nazca period, the Nazca people created an aqueduct system to sustain life in the exceedingly arid environment. The exact date of construction of the puquios has been under contention for some time now. Dating of the puquios is quite difficult because of the materials involved in their construction. Attempts at dating the trenches have also been difficult as the puquios were found by excavation. This destroyed early context that might have been interpreted (Schreiber and Rojas, 1995). The most promising techniques used to date them thus far has been the AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) analysis of varnish that has collected on the rocks inside the puquios, as well as the study of settlement patterns in the area (Clarkson and Dorn, 1995). These techniques have placed the original construction of the puquios at the Middle Nazca period, as indicated above.

The irrigation system was made up of underground channels, known as puquios, which tapped into the subsurface water. The channels were dug into the mountainside until they reached the aquifers under the surface. The channels were lined with river rocks. They did not use any mortar so that the water would pass into the channels. The water was transported to irrigation canals (acequias) in order to directly supply water for agricultural purposes, or the water was deposited into small reservoirs (kochas) for later use (Schreiber and Rojas, 1995). Numerous access holes or ojos (eyes) were placed along the surface of the underground channels and operated much in the same way that modern manholes do. People would descend into the puquios in order to clear obstructions or make repairs (Schreiber and Rojas, 1995). It is difficult to tell how long these underground channels are because extant puquios have been altered and many of the puquios are too dangerous to explore underground. The length of the puquios are estimated by measuring the distances covered by the ojos (Schreiber and Rojas, 1995).

Many of the channels remain in use to this day. This also testifies to their importance to generations of ancient people in the arid environment. With modern use, people have altered the puquios to be used more efficiently, including installing motorized pumps. In some cases, the kochas have been lined with concrete in order to hold the water better (Schreiber and Rojas, 1995). Some of the best-preserved channels are those located in Cantalloc. (Silverman, 1988)