Nazca
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(näz'kə, näs'kä) 
n.
A pre-Incan civilization that flourished on the southern coast of Peru from about 200 B.C. to about A.D. 600, known for its polychrome vessels decorated with stylized designs and for the enormous drawings of geometric and zoomorphic forms etched in the desert floor 200 miles south of Lima.
n.
A pre-Incan civilization that flourished on the southern coast of Peru from about 200 B.C. to about A.D. 600, known for its polychrome vessels decorated with stylized designs and for the enormous drawings of geometric and zoomorphic forms etched in the desert floor 200 miles south of Lima.
[After Nazca, city in southern Peru.]
Nazca or Nasca (both: näs'kä), ancient culture of the Nazca, Pisco, and Ica river valleys on the desert coast of S Peru. Flourishing during the first millennium A.D., the Nazca culture seems to have developed out of the Paracas culture, and after 900 it was apparently under Tiahuanaco influence until the Inca conquered the region in the 15th cent. The Nazca excelled in the production of beautiful ceramics and textiles. Highly polished, expertly designed, and with polychrome painting, Nazca pottery is unlike that of other Peruvian cultures. Textiles show a multitude of weaving techniques and extraordinary skill in dyeing with several shades of the same color; both coastal cotton and highland alpaca wool were used. Aerial exploration of the arid tableland surrounding the Palpa valley has revealed a remarkable network of lines and trapezoids interspersed with giant animal figures of unmistakable Nazca origin; the animals were probably built to be seen by sky gods, and the lines are believed to be related to observations in astronomy.
Bibliography
See J. A. Mason, The Ancient Civilizations of Peru (1957, rev. ed. 1964); G. H. S. Bushnell, Peru (1956, rev. ed. 1963); E. P. Lanning, Peru before the Incas (1967); E. Hadingham, Lines to the Mountain Gods: Nazca and the Mysteries of Peru (1988).
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For the archaeological site, see Nazca Lines. For the culture it belonged to, see Nazca culture. For other uses, see Nazca (disambiguation).
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Nazca (sometimes spelled Nasca) is a city and a system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru, and the name of the region's largest existing town in the Nazca Province. It is also the name applied to the Nazca culture that flourished in the area between 300 BC and AD 800. They were responsible for the Nazca Lines and the ceremonial city of Cahuachi; they also constructed an impressive system of underground aqueducts named Puquios, that still function today.
The city of Nazca is capital of the Nazca Province of the Ica region.
On 12 November 1996 at 11:59 a.m. local time (16:59 GMT time) a heavy earthquake of 6.4 (the center of the earthquake was 7.7 in the sea) destroyed the city of Nasca and its surroundings almost completely. Because it occurred during the day there were only 17 fatalities, but 1,500 people were injured and around 100,000 left homeless. Almost all old houses in bricks were destroyed, but within 12 years Nasca has been completely rebuilt in colored houses with columns, now often multi-stored houses, with a small boulevard in the center.
Since 1997, Nazca has been the location of a major Canadian gold mining operation. The people who were living on the land for the previous 2000 years did not have title to the land, so they were displaced without legal problems. Since then, there have been some attempts to legalize poor citizens' ownership of their land and their fixed property, in response to Hernando de Soto's research on the poor.[original research?]
The climate of Nazca is just like the climate of Cusco. It is cold during the winter months starting in June and in the summer it is warmer.
Nazca has a small airport, the Maria Reiche Neuman Airport, used mainly for touristic flights over the Nazca lines.
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Coordinates: 14°49′44″S 74°56′37″W / 14.82889°S 74.94361°W
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