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Abstract

The lines and geoglyphs of Nasca are a series of drawings etched into the surface of the so-called Pampas of Southern Peru. Of these geoglyphs, there are 16 that depict birds. The bird geoglyphs mainly created during the Late Paracas and the Nasca Period (c. 2400 to 1300 years ago) and account for the largest number of geoglyphs in the Nasca pampas that depict plants and animals. Bird geoglyphs are identified using general impressions or a few notable morphological traits. However, little consideration has been given to whether bird geoglyphs contain traits similar to those of other taxa or if the traits depicted by each figure match the taxon to which they have been attributed. In this study, we identified the Nasca bird geoglyphs from an ornithological perspective. In doing so, we revealed several discrepancies between their geoglyphic characteristics and those of the taxonomic groups to which they were attributed by previous research. In addition, we determined that some of the geoglyphs depicted a number of specific birds, including hermit, pelicans, and what is most likely an immature parrot. Each of these birds is regionally exotic. For instance, hermits and parrots are found in tropical rain forests whereas pelicans live in coastal areas. The reason exotic birds were depicted in the geoglyphs instead of indigenous birds is closely related to the purpose of the etching process. Further studies involving bird figures depicted on pottery and sacrificed bird remains would be useful when attempting to identify the geoglyphic birds further.

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... Much of the other fauna of the south coast riparian woodland is clearly and accurately depicted in all its rich variety in the naturalistic iconography of the Paracas and Nasca periods, including foxes, camelids, condors and owls. Judging by their frequent rendition in a variety of media, including ceramics, one of the Nasca geoglyphs and in extremely intricate cross-knit looped textile borders, hummingbirds would seem to have been particularly significant to the ancient Nasca (e.g., Eda et al. 2019). These tiny, brilliant darting birds migrate between the Andes and the coast: messengers then from the water headsprings. ...
... Yet perhaps the most striking faunal congregation depicted in the Paracas Nasca iconographic canon is that of creatures intimately associated with the rivers: birds such as swifts, ibis, egret and heron (Eda et al. 2019;Whaley et al. 2010a:21-23); and creatures of the waters themselves: crayfish, toads, catfish, tadpoles ( Figure 5B) and even the wasps that gather mud at the river's edge (Silverman and Proulx 2002:147). Moreover, collocates of particular plants and animals reveal the phenology of Nasca life, turning on the springtime arrival of seasonal river flows rising in the high Andean hinterlands: lizards depicted in their conspicuous springtime coloring ( Figure 5F); Andean foxes amidst spring-flowering matorral cacti ( Figure 5A); and Parkinsonia shrubs whose explosion of yellow florescence presages the water's arrival ( Figure 5D). ...
... 3 "Los guarangos dejan pasar el sol, pero quitándole el fuego" 4 "muchos animales salvajes" 5 Ulliquete (Neoraimondia arequipensis), its large cream flowers open at night to be pollinated by bats ( Figure 5A). 6 Two of hummingbird species noted in the Usaca woodlands-the iridescent, purple-throated Oasis hummingbird (Rhodopis vesper) and the Purple-collared Woodstar (Myrtis fanny)-move between coast and high sierra above 3500 m asl in seasonal cycles, clearly noted by the ancient inhabitants to judge by the frequency and taxonomic distinction with which they are depicted in the Paracas-Nasca canon, see Peters (1991), Sawyer (1997 and Eda et al. (2019). 7 Parkinsonia praecox ( Figure 5D). ...
Article
Past environments of the south coast of Peru were significantly different from those prevailing today. Here, in one of the world's driest deserts, life flourished, as it does today, in riverine oases along the watercourses rising in the Andean hinterlands; and in ephemeral fog oases (lomas) along the littoral. These habitats were the foundation of agricultural and other adaptations that evolved here over millennia. In this paper we aim to reconstruct those past habitats and the huerta farms and orchards set amidst shady old-growth woodlands since these are the contexts in which we might hope to understand the sacred artistic canons of Paracas and Early Intermediate Period Nasca. We invoke the concept of “Nasca domestic nature” to reflect the continuum between wild and cultivated, resources and environments, observed empirically in traditional huerta farming and the archaeobotanical record, and also depicted with such wonderful fidelity in this iconographic canon.
... En el desarrollo cultural andino la presencia de las aves es continua. La identificación de diversas aves en los geoglifos de Nazca, permiten entender el alcance geográfico que supuso esta cultura, al reconocerse representaciones de diferentes ambientes: colibríes, pelicanos y posiblemente cóndores, entre otras (Masaki et al., 2019). También, representa un caso relevante la iconografía Chavín del templo tardío, con motivos de "dieciséis aves en procesión" (con variadas interpretaciones sobre si son cóndores, halcones o águilas arpías). ...
Article
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... [4] In addition, various novel techniques extend and complement these traditional techniques, including (electron) lithography, optical tweezing, direct printing, or force microscopic manipulation. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Remarkably, the size of glyphs and letters covers the range from a few hundred meters [13] down to the atomic scale [14] and even below. [15] In the more classical approaches, one creates a local, line-shaped variation of the material density in or on an extended substrate acting as background: A line is carved out or some ink is deposited. ...
Article
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Writing is an ancient communication technique dating back at least 30 000 years. While even sophisticated contemporary writing techniques hinge on solid surfaces for engraving or the deposition of ink, writing within a liquid medium requires a fundamentally different approach. The study here demonstrates the writing of lines, letters, and complex patterns in water by assembling lines of colloidal particles. Unlike established techniques for underwater writing on solid substrates, these lines are fully reconfigurable and do not require any fixation onto the substrate. Exploiting gravity, an ion‐exchange bead (pen) is rolled across a layer of sedimented colloidal particles (ink). The pen evokes a hydrodynamic flow collecting ink‐particles into a durable, high‐contrast line along its trajectory. Deliberate substrate‐tilting sequences facilitate pen‐steering and thus drawing and writing. The experiments are complemented with a minimal model that quantitatively predicts the observed parameter dependence for writing in fluids and highlights the generic character of writing by line‐assembly. Overall, the approach opens a versatile route for writing, drawing, and patterning fluids—even at the micro‐scale.
... In addition, various novel techniques extend and complement these traditional techniques, including (electron) lithography, optical tweezing, direct printing, or force microscopic manipulation [5,6,7,8, 9,10,11,12]. Remarkably, the size of glyphs and letters covers the range from a few hundred meters [13] down to the atomic scale [14] and even below [15]. In the more classical approaches, one creates a local, line-shaped variation of the material density in or on an extended substrate acting as background: A line is carved out or some ink is deposited. ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Writing is an ancient communication technique dating back at least 30,000 years. While even sophisticated contemporary writing techniques hinge on solid surfaces for engraving or the deposition of ink, writing within a liquid medium requires a fundamentally different approach. We here demonstrate writing of lines, letters and complex patterns in water by assembling lines of colloidal particles. Exploiting gravity, we roll an ion-exchange bead (pen) across a layer of sedimented colloidal particles (ink). The pen evokes a hydrodynamic flow collecting ink-particles into a durable, high-contrast line along its trajectory. Deliberate substrate-tilting sequences facilitate pen-steering and thus to draw and write. We complement our experiments with a minimal model that quantitatively predicts the observed parameter dependence for writing in fluids and highlights the generic character of writing by line-assembly. Overall, our approach opens a versatile route for writing, drawing and patterning fluids, even at the micro-scale.
... The earliest evidence that flamingos were linked to human societies and aroused the interest of humans come from the presence of these birds in many ancient artifacts, depicted on pots and vessels by Romans and Greeks (Honzl 2017) or even represented in the geoglyphs in Nazca, by pre-Incan cultures (Eda et al. 2019). Since then, flamingos have been admired by distinct groups of society who depict these animals in paintings or used their feathers as a fashion item (Snodgrass 2014). ...
Article
We provide a systematic review of the current scope of published behavioral research on flamingos (Phoenicopteridae), to answer the following questions: (1) what is the profile of ethology and behavioral research on flamingos, (2) which are the behaviors displayed by flamingos already observed and described in nature and captivity, and (3) what are the prospects in the ethological research of the group? Eighty-eight studies, from 1978 to 2020, met our inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Most involved maintenance and social behaviors in the context of ecology and welfare. Furthermore, most studies were performed on animals in captivity and controlled conditions, but there was a recent trend of studies in the field, mainly in South America and the Caribbean. The most studied species were greater and American flamingos, but there is a recent rise in studies on Chilean and Andean flamingos in Latin America. Most ethological studies on this group included quantitative analyses, ignoring a more qualitative perspective of the individuals' displays. Behavior description can also help in comparative studies between flamingo species and other water birds. Expanding research to Andean, James's, and lesser flamingos is a priority, since their populations are more vulnerable. Ethological research can help identify the threats and measure the impacts on these species, which can be useful for setting up management plans and conservation actions to mitigate the damage and avoid extinction.
... Taken all lines together the total length exceeds 1,300 km. In 2019, over 140 new figures were discovered employing advanced technology like drones to map them in unprecedented detail [3]. Some of them scarcely contrast against the surrounding and are difficult to detect. ...
Preprint
The mysterious lines in the desert of Nazca in southern Peru received many attempts at an explanation. We discuss the possibility that their origin is based on solar eclipses which could have evoked some kind of "reaction" by the inhabitants. In the mid-4th century BCE, six very conspicuous events within 20 years occurred over that area. The climax was reached with the total eclipse of 11 March -357. In this paper we try to explain the geoglyphs as a medium of communication of the ancients with their gods.
... 250 km² bordered by the Andean foothills to the east, the Ingenio river to the north, and the Nasca river to the southwest (figure 1a). Prominent animal figures such as the monkey, the spider, the pelican, the whale, the hummingbird and others are located in this area, mainly along its northern and southern margins (Aveni 2000;Eda et al. 2019). Much of the plain´s interior is transected by long, straight lines that often converge in so-called line centers located on elevated terrain (figure 2; Aveni 1990Aveni , 2000Reiche 1993;Ruggles and Saunders 2012;Sakai et al. 2014). ...
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The narrow desert wedged between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes in South America is one of the most arid and inhospitable regions in the world. Yet it is also a striking example of human interaction with extreme environments. Geoglyphs-man-made markings of the ground surface in naturalistic or geometric shapes-cover portions of the desert in Chile and Peru at large scale, showing how the arid environment was used and shaped according to socio-cultural ideas and needs. Dating mostly from prehistoric times, the geoglyphs are preserved due to extreme environmental conditions and can still be appreciated today. This paper reviews archaeological evidence of geoglyphs in arid South America in order to shed light on their function and meaning. The two largest geoglyph concentrations , in the Nasca basin in south-central Peru and in the Atacama desert in northern Chile, serve as examples to discuss shared traits and differences between various geoglyph traditions. In spite of formal, functional, and chronological differences between geoglyphs of the two regions, there is evidence of a common conceptual framework in which ancient Andean societies interacted with the arid environment in diverse and complex ways.
Article
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Nazca is a city and system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru. The name is derived from the Nazca culture, which flourished in the area between 100 BC and 800 AD. Nazca Lines contain over 800 straight lines, 300 geometric figures and 70 biomorphic designs. Some of the straight lines are 30 miles long, while the largest bio morphs stretch up to 1200 feet. Among the zoomorphic figures are the famous Nazca condor, hummingbird, pelican, shark, bird, fish, spider, lizard, parrot, flamingo, iguana, dog, llamas, jaguar, fox, whale and monkey. We have identified a studied figure of Nazca Pampas as a species of umbrella birds (Cephalopterus) and this geoglyph has more resemblances with the short-lobed parasol (Cephalopterus ornatus) than any other species.
Article
Gegenstand dieser Arbeit ist eine Untersuchung der weltbekannten Geoglyphen von Nasca an der Südküste Perus (400 v. Chr. - 600 n. Chr.) mit dem Ziel, neue Erkenntnisse über ihre Funktion und Bedeutung zu gewinnen. Ein bisher undokumentierter Korpus von über 600 Geoglyphen in der Gegend von Palpa wurde erstmals mit modernen Methoden der Geomatik, wie Luftbildphotogrammetrie und GIS, dokumentiert, modelliert und analysiert. Dies wurde ergänzt durch eine genaue archäologische Dokumentation der Geoglyphen im Gelände sowie die Auswertung und Interpretation der erhobenen Daten. Dieser interdisziplinäre Ansatz ermöglichte neue Erkenntnisse zur Chronologie, Typologie und räumlichen Verteilung der Geoglyphen. Zudem konnte ein Erklärungsmodell aus jüngerer Zeit anhand archäologischer Daten getestet werden, welches versucht, die Geoglyphen auf der Grundlage von sozialen, kulturellen und rituellen Traditionen des Andenraumes zu erklären. Die Untersuchung ergab, dass die Aktivitäten auf den Geoglyphen Konzepte von Wasser und Fruchtbarkeit zum Inhalt hatten, als Mittel des Ausdrucks von sozialem Status und kulturellen Vorstellungen dienten und zu einem grossflächigen Einbezug der Wüste in die Kulturlandschaft führten. Die wichtigsten Resultate dieser Arbeit sind: (1) ein umfassendes digitales Archiv der Nasca-Geoglyphen von Palpa, (2) ein fundiertes Bild dessen, was auf den Geoglyphen geschah, und (3) die kritische Einschätzung eines aktuellen Modells zu Erklärung der Geoglyphen anhand archäologischer Befunde. In this study, the famous Nasca geoglyphs (400 BC - AD 600) on the south coast of Peru are investigated in order to better understand their function, use, and meaning. A hitherto undocumented corpus of more than 600 geoglyphs around the modern town of Palpa was recorded, modeled, and analyzed, using for the first time state of the art geomatic tools like aerial photogrammetry and GIS. This was complemented by a thorough archaeological documentation of the geoglyphs in the field and an analysis and interpretation of the acquired data. This interdisciplinary approach led to important new insights into the chronology, typology, and spatial distribution of the geoglyphs. It furthermore allowed to test a recent model striving to explain the geoglyphs in the framework of social, cultural, and ritual Andean traditions against archaeological field data. The study shows that activity on the geoglyph revolved around concepts of water and fertility. It was a means of expressing social status and cultural concepts and led to a large-scale integration of the desert into the cultural landscape. The main results of this study are: (1) a comprehensive digital archive of the Nasca geoglyphs at Palpa, (2) a well-founded idea of human activity related to geoglyphs, and (3) a critical assessment of a recent model to explain the geoglyphs solidly based on archaeological evidence.
Article
There appears to be no cogent reason why lines and geoglyphs were drawn on the Nasca Pampas, but the most plausible explanation may be that they had been delineated for the sake of praying for a good harvest. The aim of this study is to examine the peasants’ knowledge of meteorological phenomena in the neigh-boring areas around the Nasca Pampas along the south coast of Peru. This research will lay basic groundwork for a forthcoming archaeological study of the Nasca lines. The field investigation has clarified four types of meteorological knowledge shared by peasants near the Nasca Pampas :(1) Agricultural water near the Nasca Pampas is derived from rainfall in the Andes.(2) It rains in the Andes when coast drizzle goes inland and breaks against highland drizzle.(3) It does not rain even during the rainy season when the coast drizzle does not move to the highland.(4) It rains in the Andes when peasants carry sea water in pots from the coast to the highland.
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Stone engravings from Sechin, hitherto interpreted as human eyes, are reinterpreted as anuran eggs. The reasons for this interpretation and the possible symbolic meaning of such eggs are given.
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