>>11036012

(Please read from the start)

“The bodies themselves were almost all in a flexed position, usually in their sides or sitting, with their bodies, or at least their heads, facing south. Another thing that almost all of the remains had in common was that they were wrapped in, or laid on top of, elaborately weaved and/embroidered textiles. Textile specialization was one of the few productions that the Nasca people during the apogee of Cahuachi practiced. These textiles came in different colors, varying grave to grave. Some were white, or tan, others were even black, red, or green, and had embroidered or weaved iconography and decoration as well. Textiles at Cahuachi, although second in quantity to Nasca ceramics, are the best indicators of status in a grave. That being said, it is still not that much information, because of the lack of grave goods in general.”

>> I don’t know about you anons, but I find these Nazca graves strickingly similar if not almost identical to the Paracas “Seed” graves. So it seems apart the petroglyphs and the geoglyphs, we also have the funerary practices that build the bridge between the 2 cultures.

“One example of differentiation in burials, possibly due to status, was two adult, most likely males, that were both buried within tombs (not associated with each other), but one of them did not have any grave goods at all, while the other contained three pots. Presumably one was of a higher status than the other. However, Nasca ceramics in general are the most abundant artifacts at Cahuachi and carry a variety of different information and meaning. Therefore, there is not enough information or sample to create a hierarchical social classification for the people buried with them of the different types of pottery, besides the distinction between plainware and fineware, and even then who is to say which in each distinction is better?

Other factors need to be considered before there can be a definitive answer, like what were the contents or uses of the vessels and were these actually more important than the vessels themselves? Some Nasca people were wrapped in better woven and decorated textiles than others (Silverman 1993: 216). It can be argued that there is a status differentiation in Nasca society based on the iconography and labor investment in textiles and the importance of textile production at Cahuachi. Pertaining to social status as well, some of the burials had deformed head shapes. Causes of death include sacrifice, or death in warfare, and of course more or less natural deaths. Children usually had the most elaborate burials. There were also adult males and females unearthed as well, varying in elaboration equally in their burials. Some of the adult, presumably males, were in poor condition where they had half of their teeth missing well before death and very worn bones, while other graves contained just the opposite: younger adult females, where the wisdom teeth had not broken through yet, with all of the teeth still present and in seemingly normal health as pertaining to the rest of the bones.”

>> What’s obvious to me is that the information about Cahuachi is a mess, a complete mess. It’s either done because of the lack of information and the “picture” is not formed yet, the site is not well understood. Or it’s done on purpose to make researcher get lost in this maze of information. This site has me really scratching my head; I’m unable to understand this site.

“Trophy heads

There was a multitude of trophy heads recovered in the cemeteries of Cahuachi. Excavators Kroeber, Strong, Doering all found heads, or conversely bodies with heads missing that indicate the practice of trophy head taking. Nasca trophy head taking occurs with warfare, ritual battles, and sacrificial practices. Nasca trophy heads are found in Nasca cemeteries, usually in tombs of other burials. It has been interpreted that the ritualistic reasoning behind taking the heads was “a ceremonial means of gathering the life – or soul - force of enemies,” and done during warfare where the main purpose of which was territorial expansion. Kroeber's excavations include a burial where the head was missing, as well as a “nest of three trophy heads” in a separate grave, and six other trophy heads lining a tomb. Strong recovered in his excavations a head and vessel associated with each other. Nasca trophy heads have been known to be placed in large vessels in cemeteries.”

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>>11049744

(Please read from the start)

>> I have a very stupid question about the so called Trophy heads: Why burry the “captured enemy” with such care as wrap them into a sitting position after cutting off their heads? Just stop and think about it a bit here anons: in this wikipedia page, they said that MOST of the graves were wrapped in textile, some had artifacts burried along with them. And most were put in a sitting position facing South. This means great care was given to the dead and specific religious rituals were performed. So then, they went onto saying that there is a large number of trophy heads but the bodies were burried “porperly”. According to them, those trophy heads are connected to warfare, as in belonging to enemies or sacrifices before battle begins. But they do not provide any type of explanation about the type of traces that the bones sustained while the decapitation took place. And I found it truly odd to see enemies caught, decapitated in rituals and then respectfully burried in nice textile wrappings. And we don’t see any fortification structure around the site, nor in the entire area protecting the villages. It doesn’t add up. I don’t know what to say anons. This site…..there is something about it that is bothering me…I mean the information provided about it…things…things are not making much sense to me. It’s just my view, maybe I’m wrong or too tired as I’m writing this.

“Doering found at the front of a tomb, a line of nine trophy heads with plaited hair, and where two of them were on a bed of coca leaves. Silverman's team discovered a young adult male head, and is a classic example of a Nasca trophy head.

The eyes, eyebrows, beard, and mustache are present. The dark straight hair is elaborately braided. The skin is preserved but brittle. The scalp exhibits a series of deliberate incisions made with a sharp instrument. The tongue was removed. The lips were sealed with two splinters of huarango wood. A carrying cord emerges through a hole in the frontal bone. The cheeks were stuffed with plainweave cotton cloth. The head exhibits frontal-occipital cranial deformation.”

>> See what I mean here anons? You don’t lay the severed head of an enemy or a captured foe or a local sacrifice on a bed of leaves like that. This is a display of respect and I’m not surprized to see it because the worship or cult of the ancestors took place in Cahuachi. Such signs of respect are usually associated with the cult of the ancestors or dead family/clan members. And just take a look at all the care they have given to preserve how the severed heads looked like! Going all the way to stuff their cheeks so they won’t cave in and remain puffy. If I didn’t know better, I would say I was in Ancient Egypt talking about mummification process. And it’s mentioned in a flash that there are elongated skulls found there. So are these naturally elongated, or they were turned into that shape via human interference? Of course no clarification about that at all – as expected.

“Warfare and violence

Cahuachi is surrounded by cemeteries and burials. This is because it was a prominent ceremonial center, though, not because of any widespread violence or warfare. Many of the burials at Cahuachi have not been fully excavated yet, and the bodies that have been recovered have not been unwrapped and studied yet either. This means that there is not a lot of evidence for violence, not because it was absent, but because it just has not been discovered. So, it is not to say that the Nasca people did not experience violence whatsoever. As briefly discussed above, trophy heads found around the site of Cahuachi can be interpreted as evidence for warfare and violence. Iconography on late Paracas style pottery is also evidence of head hunting practices.”

>> This is what I’m trying to say before: how could they write all of those things about this site and not be SURE of the informaiton because we don’t have enough data. We usually wait, sometimes a long time, in my field of work before we manage to find a tiny bit of SOLID information. And amazingly, in this Wikipedia page, they, themselves, admit the data is incomplete, and they jump into conclusion saying the severed heads are signs of warfare decapitation. I say that’s a lot of hot air. There are also a lot of signs showing the decapitation is not linked to warfare, like the respect and care shown towards the skulls and the absence of fortification. So it would be wiser to wait for all the data to come out before talking about this and making up our minds.

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