Ruins of Cahuachi

Location:
Nazca, Peru

Ruin

By Carlos

The Ceremonial city of Cahuachi is located about 28 kilometres away from the modern city of Nazca, at the lower section of the Nazca Valley, virtually in the middle of the desert. Since 1982, the Italian Archaeologist Giuseppe Orefeci has begun tireless work uncovering the ancient city of the Nazca people.

The archaeological complex covers an area of 24 square kilometres and within its territory exist huge pyramids, temples and platforms, which are brought to light year by year by Giuseppe Orefeci and his team. The ceremonial center of Cahuachi has a great importance, as it was there where the ancient Nazca culture developed. There is much evidence that indicates that the Nazca Lines builders lived at Cahuachi, all this evidence is supported by the great array of artifacts found at Cahuachi, such as ceramics, textiles, musical instruments and dozens of burial sites containing mummies dating back from 2000 years ago.

So far, the pottery found in Cahuachi show shapes of humans beings, animals and bowls, depicting an amazing iconography, which prove clearly that all the figures etched on the Nazca desert resembles those found painted on the pots found at Cahuachi. In addition, there are many lines pointing from the Nazca Lines area towards Cahuachi, which make us believe, the Nazca people used them as sacred roads to reach the Nazca desert (where the figures are located) perhaps to draw more animal divinities or simply to pray their gods to send rain over their hostile enviroment.