STORIES : Nazcas' Secrets
Nazcas' Secrets back to thumbnails
The offering heads are also attributed to the Nazca civilisation in time span from 500 to 550 AD. This object, considered as an offering to the cerimonial centre was buried alongside the body together with a flute and its holder made from bone. The mouth was closed with two cactus thorns so that the dead person would not come back or speak again. This procedure is depicted on numerous vases of that civilisation. This theme, present on all the Paracas pottery, takes up most of the scenes which decorate the Nazca vases. It is a killer whale which often has in its hands a knife made from obsidian and a head. Unfortunately information lacks to specify with exactness the contest of these representations. Are they shaman metamorphosis? Are they pictures of sea gods? Whatever the case the Nazca style, thanks to the singular motifs with vivid and varied colours, a polychromy similar to their fabrics, cannot be mistaken for that of any other coastal civilisation.
Keywords:
archeological find, Archeology, South America, Paracas, Nazca's secrets, Nazca, Patricio Estay, Nasca, offering head, Peru