The investigations conducted previously on the Nasca puquios, with particular reference to those systematically performed by Schreiber and Lancho Rojas (1995), Schreiber and Lancho Rojas (Los puquios de Nasca: un sistema de galerías filtrantes. Editorial Los Pinos, Lima, 1998), Schreiber and Lancho Rojas (Aguas en el Desierto. Los puquios de Nasca. Fondo Editorial, Lima, Perú, 2006), have had the merit of placing the theme of Nasca water management in the center of debate on the ancient Nasca world. Water has become the crossroads of all the other research lines focused on the influence of environment and climate on the Nasca culture, as well as on the geoglyphs, ceremonial architecture, and settlements. In this cultural framework, some studies based on multitemporal, multiscale, and multisensor analyses have been performed in the Río Grande de Nasca drainage in order to investigate the interaction between the puquios and environmental conditions, as well as to improve knowledge of the local environmental settings. Herein we present and discuss the investigations, based on the integration of remote sensing, GIS -based analyses, and geophysical prospecting, in the framework of the ITACA mission of the Italian CNR. Outputs from satellite-based investigations, along with all the information already available from previous studies, were the input data used in the statistical spatial analyses and geophysical prospecting. The main findings provided information useful to: (i) improve the current knowledge on the puquios at both intra-site and inter-site levels and their relationship with environmental and human settings, (ii) identify unknown puquios, (iii) and support planning for subsequent archaeological excavations. As a whole, the investigations based on the adopted integrated approach provided new insights into this hyper-arid area which has been the homeland for numerous civilizations, despite the extreme physical environment that presents serious obstacles to human occupation.
Puquios: New Insights from the Integration of Remote Sensing, GIS-Based Analyses and Geophysical Investigations
2016
Abstract
The investigations conducted previously on the Nasca puquios, with particular reference to those systematically performed by Schreiber and Lancho Rojas (1995), Schreiber and Lancho Rojas (Los puquios de Nasca: un sistema de galerías filtrantes. Editorial Los Pinos, Lima, 1998), Schreiber and Lancho Rojas (Aguas en el Desierto. Los puquios de Nasca. Fondo Editorial, Lima, Perú, 2006), have had the merit of placing the theme of Nasca water management in the center of debate on the ancient Nasca world. Water has become the crossroads of all the other research lines focused on the influence of environment and climate on the Nasca culture, as well as on the geoglyphs, ceremonial architecture, and settlements. In this cultural framework, some studies based on multitemporal, multiscale, and multisensor analyses have been performed in the Río Grande de Nasca drainage in order to investigate the interaction between the puquios and environmental conditions, as well as to improve knowledge of the local environmental settings. Herein we present and discuss the investigations, based on the integration of remote sensing, GIS -based analyses, and geophysical prospecting, in the framework of the ITACA mission of the Italian CNR. Outputs from satellite-based investigations, along with all the information already available from previous studies, were the input data used in the statistical spatial analyses and geophysical prospecting. The main findings provided information useful to: (i) improve the current knowledge on the puquios at both intra-site and inter-site levels and their relationship with environmental and human settings, (ii) identify unknown puquios, (iii) and support planning for subsequent archaeological excavations. As a whole, the investigations based on the adopted integrated approach provided new insights into this hyper-arid area which has been the homeland for numerous civilizations, despite the extreme physical environment that presents serious obstacles to human occupation.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
