Year: 2020
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: The narrow desert wedged between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes in South America is one of the most arid and inhospitable regions in the world.Yet it is also a striking example of human interaction with extreme environments.Geoglyphs -man-made markings of the ground surface in naturalistic or geometric shapes -cover portions of the desert in Chile and Peru at large scale, showing how the arid environment was used and shaped according to socio-cultural ideas and needs.Dating mostly from pre-historic times, the geoglyphs are preserved due to extreme environmental conditions and can still be appreciated today.This paper reviews archaeological evidence of geoglyphs in arid South America in order to shed light on their function and meaning.The two largest geoglyph concentrations, in the Nasca basin in south-central Peru and in the Atacama desert in northern Chile, serve as examples to discuss shared traits and differences between various geoglyph traditions.In spite of formal, functional, and chronological differences between geoglyphs of the two regions, there is evidence of a common conceptual framework in which ancient Andean societies interacted with the arid environment in diverse and complex ways.
Author: Karsten Lambers
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3208925272