Beyond the Nasca Lines

A groundbreaking study reveals the dynamic rise, fall, and reformation of complex societies at La Tiza, Peru, spanning over 5000 years. Unlike previous research focused on the Nasca Lines (100–650 AD), this work adopts a diachronic perspective to explore the region's long prehistory, from Middle Preceramic hunter-gatherers (3500 BC) through the Inca empire (1450 AD). Key findings highlight how societal transformations—driven by kinship organization, subsistence shifts, immigration, religious movements, climate change, trade, and imperial policies—shaped the Nasca culture's cycle of conquest, collapse, and renewal during the Late Intermediate Period (1200 AD). The study leverages La Tiza's unprecedented continuity as a settlement to illuminate the interconnected factors behind ancient societal resilience and vulnerability.

Conlee, C. A. (2016). Beyond the Nasca Lines. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvx074jz