Sector:USA/Nasca_Lines_Origins

## Metadata

**Incident ID:** INC-7241

**Date:** 1927-2024 (incident range covers initial documentation through present-day investigations)

**Location:** Nasca Desert, Ica Region, Republic of Peru (approximate coordinates 14.7°S, 75.1°W)

**Reporting Agency:** Department of Andean Archaeological Records (DAAR) — Field Unit: Geoglyphs and Ritual Topography

**Status:** UNRESOLVED

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## Executive Summary

A series of systematic investigations was conducted regarding the manufacture, function, and contextual associations of the Nasca Lines (hereafter "the Lines") located on the Pampa in the Ica Region. Field surveys, controlled excavations, geophysical surveys, stratigraphic recording, and laboratory analyses were employed between 1994 and 2023. The purpose of the investigation was to identify the procedural methods used in geoglyph production, the spatial and temporal relationship between the Lines and associated cultural material, and the potential socio-ritual functions that may have motivated creation of the Lines.

During the investigation, material cultural remains were recovered in association with segments of linear geoglyphs and with several figurative geoglyphs. A subset of recovered osteological remains displayed consistent postural and anatomical features that were not accounted for by standard taphonomic processes recorded elsewhere on the pampa. Soil samples were collected from geoglyph surfaces and sub-surface loci; anomalies in saline mineral assemblages were recorded at multiple, non-contiguous geoglyph centers. These anomalies were subjected to laboratory analysis including X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and stable isotope assays.

Two discrete facts were recorded that, at present, lack a coherent causal explanation derived from the data set and extant comparative models. All other observations, methods, and analyses are documented below according to field records, laboratory reports, and chain-of-custody documentation.



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## Background and Prior Documentation

The Lines were first documented in aerial photographs during the 1920s and 1930s. Subsequent systematic mapping was conducted by the National Geographic Society and Peruvian archaeological teams beginning in the 1940s. Ethnographic and archaeological literature was assembled and cross-referenced with newly recorded field data. Local archival material, including municipal registries and agricultural records, was reviewed to establish modern land use patterns and potential post-depositional disturbance.

Previous interpretations that were tested included: (1) astronomical alignments, (2) ritual pathways, (3) water procurement ritual loci, and (4) communal labor expressions. Secondary hypotheses regarding external influences were evaluated but not supported by material evidence within the excavated contexts described below.

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## Methods

All excavations were conducted under permit RA-DAAR-1994-016 and subsequent renew