Cahuachi,[1] in Peru, was a major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture, based from 1 AD to about 500 AD in the coastal area of the Central Andes. It overlooked some of the Nazca lines. The Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Orefici has been excavating at the site for the past few decades. The site contains over 40 mounds topped with adobe structures. The huge architectural complex covers 0.6 sq. miles (1.5 km2) at 365 meters above sea level.[2] The American archeologist Helaine Silverman has also conducted long term, multi-stage research and written about the full context of Nazca society at Cahuachi, published in a lengthy study in 1993.
Scholars once thought the site was the capital of the Nazca state but have determined that the permanent population was quite small. They believe that it was a pilgrimage center, whose population increased greatly in relation to major ceremonial events. New research has suggested that 40 of the mounds were natural hills modified to appear as artificial constructions. Support for the pilgrimage theory comes from archaeological evidence of sparse population at Cahuachi, the spatial patterning of the site, and ethnographic evidence from the Virgin of Yauca pilgrimage in the nearby Ica Valley.[3]
Looting is the greatest problem facing the site today. Most of the burial sites surrounding Cahuachi were not known until recently and are tempting targets for looters.[4]
^"The prehispanic Vatican". Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
^Silverman, Helaine. Cahuachi in the Ancient Nasca World. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 978-1-58729-471-6.
^"The largest adobe city in the world". Archived from the original on 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
^Lasaponara, Rosa; Masini, Nicola; Orefici, Giuseppe, eds. (2016). "The Ancient Nasca World". SpringerLink. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-47052-8.
14°49′7″S 75°7′0″W / 14.81861°S 75.11667°W / -14.81861; -75.11667 Cahuachi, in Peru, was a major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture, based from...
Cahuachi, a non-urban ceremonial site of earthwork mounds and plazas. Scholars have developed theories resulting from various excavations at Cahuachi...
and religious relationship between these geoglyphs and the temples of Cahuachi. In particular, using remote sensing techniques (from satellite to drone...
culture was responsible for the Nazca Lines and the ceremonial city of Cahuachi. They also constructed additional underground aqueducts, named puquios...
University of Arizona Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-8165-3313-8. Silverman, Helaine. Cahuachi in the Ancient Nasca World. University of Iowa Press. pp. 54, 203. ISBN 978-1-58729-471-6...
Nicaragua. He directed archaeological excavations in the ceremonial center of Cahuachi(Peru) since 1984, Pueblo Viejo near Nazca (1983–85), Tiwanaku, Bolivia...
directing several scientific investigations at the Nasca ceremonial center of Cahuachi, Pachacamac, Tiwanaku, Machu Picchu, Chankillo, Kuelap, and a number of...
battleship during World War I Kawachi Bankan, a pomelo-like citrus hybrid Cahuachi, major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture in present-day Peru Kawauchi...
of Brescia who was at that time involved in an excavation expedition in Cahuachi (Nasca-Peru). This was then to develop into work in this particular field...
rise of the Aksum AD 100 Khoekhoe reach southern coast of Africa AD 1 Cahuachi established AD 50 Pyramid of the Sun began AD 25 Han Dynasty reestablished...
as Rosaspata, a residence and ceremonial center of the Neo-Inca State. Cahuachi – Nazca, in present-day Peru. Caral – An important center of the Norte...
were mainly village-dwelling but left behind a large ceremonial centre at Cahuachi as well as the Nazca lines, a large number of huge designs set into the...
in the Nazca valley is Cahuachi, about 18 kilometres (11 mi) downstream from Nazca and near the famous Nazca Lines. Cahuachi is located along a course...
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