[Si]
One of the largest and most complicated settlements of the Nasca Culture which flourished in a desert area beside the Nasca River in southern Peru in the Early Intermediate Period, c.ad 1–700. The site comprises a series of about 40 artificially modified hills, and walled enclosures. Although the site is often considered an urban centre, excavations here by Helaine Silverman in 1987 revealed very little evidence of permanent occupation. Instead, the site may be seen as a pilgrimage centre. The mounds, constructed with thick mud-brick walls to contain construction material supported temples, shrines, and ceremonial structures.
[Sum.: H. Silverman, 1993, Cahuachi in the ancient Nasca world. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press]
