plants. Feline, bird, and serpent motifs appear on many of the textiles,
but the human figure, real or mythological, predominates. Humans
dressed up as or changing into animals are common motifs on the
grave mantles—consistent with the Andean transformation theme
noted on the Raimondi Stele (FIG. 14-19). On one well-preserved man-
tle (FIG. 14-20), a figure with prominent eyes appears scores of times
over the surface. The flowing hair and the slow kicking motion of the
legs suggest airy, hovering movement. The flying or floating figure
carries batons and fans, or, according to some scholars, knives and hal-
lucinogenic mushrooms. On other mantles the figures carry the skulls
or severed heads of enemies. Art historians have interpreted the flying
figures either as Paracas religious practitioners dancing or flying dur-
ing an ecstatic trance or as images of the deceased. Despite endless
repetitions of the motif, variations of detail occur throughout each
textile, notably in the figures’ positions and in subtle color changes.
NASCA The Nasca culture takes its name from the Nasca River
valley south of Paracas. The early centuries of the Nasca civilization
ran concurrently with the closing centuries of the Paracas culture, and
Nasca style emulated Paracas style. The Nasca won renown for their
pottery, and thousands of their ceramic vessels survive. The vases usu-
ally have round bottoms, double spouts connected by bridges, and
smoothly burnished polychrome surfaces. The subjects vary greatly,
but plants, animals, and composite mythological creatures, part hu-
man and part animal, are most common. Nasca painters often repre-
sented ritual impersonators, some of whom, like the Paracas flying
figures, hold trophy heads and weapons. On the vessel illustrated here
(FIG. 14-21) are two costumed flying figures. The painter reduced
their bodies and limbs to abstract appendages and focused on the
heads. The figures wear a multicolored necklace, a whiskered gold
mouthpiece, circular disks hanging from the ears, and a rayed crown
on the forehead. Masks or heads with streaming hair, possibly more
trophy heads, flow over the impersonators’ backs, increasing the sense
of motion.
Nasca artists also depicted figures on a gigantic scale. Some 800
miles of lines drawn in complex networks on the dry surface of the
Nasca plain have long attracted world attention because of their
colossal size, which defies human perception from the ground. Pre-
served today are about three dozen images of birds, fish, and plants,
including a hummingbird (FIG. 14-22) several hundred feet long.
The Nasca artists also drew geometric forms, such as trapezoids, spi-
rals, and straight lines running for miles. Artists produced these
Nasca Lines, as the immense earth drawings are called, by selectivelySouth America 38314-21Bridge-spouted vessel with flying figures, Nasca, from Nasca
River valley, Peru, ca. 50–200 CE. Painted ceramic, 5^1 – 2 high. Art Institute
of Chicago, Chicago (Kate S. Buckingham Endowment).
The Nasca were masters of pottery painting. The painter of this bridge-
spouted vessel depicted two crowned and bejeweled flying figures,
probably ritual impersonators with trophy heads.1 in.14-22Hummingbird, Nasca, Nasca plain, Peru, ca. 500 CE. Dark layer of pebbles scraped aside to reveal lighter clay and calcite beneath.
The earth drawings known as Nasca Lines represent birds, fish, plants, and geometric forms. They may have marked pilgrimage routes leading to
religious shrines, but their function is uncertain.