Nasca-Wari Relationships on the Greater Peruvian South Coast

Summary

The Middle Horizon was a period of unprecedented interaction and change in the Nasca region. Nasca was one of the earliest places where Wari influence was found, extending back to the pre-imperial Huarpa culture of the Early Intermediate Period. It is also one of the few coastal regions with solid evidence of Wari colonization. However, the relationship was not a simple, unilineal one with Wari the dominant core society and Nasca the passive peripheral society. Instead a bilateral relationship developed in which many things were shared between the two. Wari colonies and foreigners are found in Nasca, along with changes in local settlements, new mortuary practices, and new long-distance prestige goods. Many aspects of Nasca culture were incorporated by Wari including ceramic technology, iconography, flexed burial positions, and trophy head taking. The evidence from Nasca suggests a hybrid culture developed that is most evident in the Loro ceramic style and in ritual practices involving trophy head taking. It is possible that it is from the Nasca region that Wari influence, and this new hybrid culture, spread to valleys further south along the coast.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21379