Paracas culture

Paracas lacked a central figurehead or government, and were instead composed of local chiefdoms. These communities were joined by shared religion and trade, but maintained economic and political autonomy. Early Paracas communities were within the Chavín sphere of interaction and formed their own versions of the cult. Though one of the smaller sites in the valley, it has still been subject to intensive research and is useful for understanding the political evolution of Paracas. The site is composed of a monumental platform mound with two sunken courts surrounded by agricultural fields. In contrast, there are abundant Paracas remains in the Ica, Pisco, and Chincha valleys, as well as the Bahía de la Independencia. He noted that the southern Nazca region, which became the most populous region of its culture, was never an important area of Paracas occupation. He believes that initial settlement of the region by Paracas populations and subsequent population growth mark the beginning of Nazca society. Many Paracas sites were later inhabited by the Topará tradition, and the decline of the Paracas culture is often thought to be associated with the "invasion" of the Topará culture the north at approximately 150 BCE. This is largely based on Topará-style ceramics found at late Paracas and initial Nazca sites. However, this theory has recently been called into question; the termination ritual at Cerro del Gentil and other Chincha Valley sites precedes any Topará occupation, and the sites show no sign of resistance to an invading culture. Radiocarbon dates show that the earliest accepted Topará site, Jahuay, was first occupied ~165 years after the closure of Cerro del Gentil. This suggests that the decline of Paracas and the Paracas-Nazca transition was already underway when the Topará tradition emerged. == Ceramics ==

Paracas ceramics is distinguishable from the Topará culture and Paracas-Nazca transition as a result of the difference in the slip used to create and decorate the ceramic pieces. Nazca ceramics involved a focus on polychrome designs accomplished through the application of a slip consisting of clay and pigments obtained from minerals like manganese found in their environment. The Paracas ceramic style involved the application of a clay based slip before firing the polychrome ceramic pieces.Ceremonial burial was of great significance in the Paracas culture. The Paracas emerged separate from the Chavín culture and decidedly included specific aspects of Chavín material art like the feline-eagle motif that was similar to the falcon frieze of the Black and White Portal located at Chavín de Huántar, a Pre-Incan ceremonial site in the highlands of Peru, a center for the Chavín culture. A recurring feature in Paracas ceramics involved the representation of a full face feline. The middle Paracas period (500–380 BCE) included the time spent constructing the Paracas culture, which is distinctive from Chavín culture. In this period, the Paracas expanded trade networks and continued to build their religious framework that supported the building of burials consisting of a large number of ceramics. The late Paracas phase (380–260 BCE) was linked with the homogenization of Paracas ceramics and the influx of people visiting the huacas in the southern coast of Peru. This period involved the growing presence of the "Oculate Being," a creature that was a major part of the Inca valley. The sequence of these stages enables for analysis of the imagery and colorants used to decorate Paracas ceramics. However, the accessibility and use of pigments varied across different regions in the Incan Valley. At Ocucaje, the early and middle phases of Paracas ceramics consisted of pigments (mostly red and green) that were rich in iron. The late phase showed the Paracas culture moved away from iron-base paints. Paracas ceramics in the late style was marked by the presence of less vibrant colors and more of a neutral color palette, marking a transition in Paracas ceramic style. == Mummy bundles ==

The dry environment of southern Peru's Pacific coast allows organic materials to be preserved when buried. Mummified human remains were found in a tomb in the Paracas peninsula of Peru, buried under layers of cloth textiles. The dead were wrapped in layers of cloth called "mummy bundles". These bodies were found at the Great Paracas Necropolis along the south Pacific coast of the Andes. At the Necropolis there were two large clusters of crowded pit tombs, totaling about 420 bodies, dating to around 300–200 BCE. The mummified bodies in each tomb were wrapped in textiles. Sheet gold and shell bead jewelry was worn by both men and women, and some were tattooed. The shape of these mummy bundles has been compared to a seed, or a human head. The amount of stolen materials is not known; however, Paracas textiles began to appear on the international market in the following years. It is believed the majority of Paracas textiles outside of the Andes were smuggled out of Peru. == Textiles ==

] According to Anne Paul, this shape could have been a conscious choice by the people, with the seed a symbol of rebirth. Paul also suggests that the detail and high quality of the textiles found in the mummy bundles show that these fabrics were used for important ceremonial purposes. Some depicted a fallen figure, or possibly flying. Some figures appear to have face paint, and hold a severed head, also called trophy heads. The dyes used came from many regions of the Andes and are an example of reciprocity, as people from different altitudes traded with one another for different goods. The cochineal was ground up with mortar and pestle to create a red pigment. The woven textiles of Paracas were made on backstrap looms generally in solid color. These webs were richly ornamented with embroidery in two different styles. The earlier linear style embroidery was done in running stitches closely following the furrows of the weaving itself. Red, green, gold and blue color was used to delineate nested animal figures, which emerge from the background with upturned mouths, while the stitching creates the negative space. These embroideries are highly abstracted and difficult to interpret. The later used Block-color style embroidery was made with stem stitches outlining and solidly filling curvilinear figures in a large variety of vivid colors. The therianthropomorphic figures are illustrated with great detail with systematically varied coloring. == Cranial modification ==

Artificial cranial deformation Like many ancient Andean societies, the Paracas culture participated in artificial cranial deformation. Of the excavated and accessible skulls from the Paracas Cavernas, the vast majority of skulls were visibly modified. The skulls were observed to be primarily of two shapes: Tabular Erect or Bilobate. Though Tabular Erect was the most common among both sexes, Bilobate skulls were observed at a much higher rate in female skulls. However, many of the Paracas trepanations remove such a large amount of the skull that direct evidence of skull fractures or similar injuries coinciding with trepanation is elusive. Observed trepanations and skull fractures are both most common on the front of the skull, lending indirect support to an association between the two. Based on the level of bone reaction and healing observed in a trepanned skull, archaeologists can estimate the survival rate of these medical procedures: 39% of patients would have died during trepanation or shortly after (with no bone reaction being observed), and nearly 40% of patients would have survived long-term (with extensive bone reaction being observed). Currently, the best estimate of the frequency of trepanations in the Paracas culture is around 40%, though sampling bias in the initial selection of skulls, the large quantity of unopened mummy bundles, and the 39% mortality rate of Paracas trepanation make an estimate this high very unlikely. == Geoglyphs ==

In 2018 RPAS drones used by archaeologists to survey cultural evidence revealed many geoglyphs in Palpa province. These are being assigned to the Paracas culture, and have been shown to predate the associated Nazca lines by a thousand years. The theorized evolution of the Paracas culture into the Nazca supports this assignment. In addition, the Paracas geoglyphs show a significant difference in subjects and locations from the Nazca lines; many are constructed on a hillside rather than the desert valley floor. Archaeologist Luis Jaime Castillo notes that this difference has very practical effects: the Nazca lines would not have been easily viewed, intended for the gods, while the Paracas geoglyphs could have been easily viewed by humans, and their representational figures were potentially used to demarcate territory. ==References==