We will soon feature individual articles about different World Heritage Sites, such as natural and archeological landmarks, and specific art forms, religions, ethnic groups, museums etc.

Nazca Culture

The Nazca Culture, thought to have sprouted from the Paracas Culture around 50 ce, consisted of the Early, Middle, Late and Classical Periods, (200-750 ce). This culture has been well-known for its polychrome pottery, its weavings, petroglyphs  and architecture. Located in the Southern Desert Costal areas of Peru, the Ica, Pisco and Nazca Valleys where home to this culture that would be helfd in admiration and revernce for ages.
The main reason why many believe this culture sprouted from the Paracas Culture, is that both of these civilisations featured enigmatic lines, now known as the “Nazca” Lines, however the petroglyphs of these two cultures do differ. Fifty figures that have been discovered, so far, have been proven to have been made by the people of the Paracas Culture between 400 and 500 bce. The main reason why these figures vary so much is due to the fact that there are more than 300, varying from 20 km to 1,300 m long. Though some are, most are not simply straight lines, there are many differnet types of concentric circles, geometric shapes, wavy parallel lines, images of animals; fish, birds, spiders, monkeys and a whale. The reason these images reamin intact is that they where etched in bedrock surrounded in a dry climate.
Although impressive, the Nazca lines are not all the culture is recognised for. The people of the Nazca Culture also excelled in the production of polychrome pottery, They advanced to make monochromatic pottery, with up to 20 shades of red and brown. Pottery from this culture idd not include much color from the beginning, in fact, it was not until the Middle and Late periods that the Nazca brought in differnet shades of red. Many objects were drawn on this pottery, which included bottles, bowls, and jars. Some of the images painted on the pottery included birds, fish and fruit, which may have  a link to the Nazca’s religious beliefs and myths. Common pottery included the “double-spout” and the “head-and-spout” jars.

Not only did this culture create pottery, but they also excelled in the fabrication of  textiles. They had a large number of weaving techniques and where able to dye these textiles. The materiasl they used included cotton, grown near the coast and alpaca wool from aniamls raised in the mountain regions. The interlacing thread combination contrasted that of other local contremporary groups.
Although the production of these art forms may be well understood, many still wonder about the Nazca’s cultural systems and beleifs. They wonder about the Nazca lines and how the people of this civilisation would have made such lines without aerial vision and they wonder regarding the purpose of these many lines that lead nowhere. How where they able to eliminate fine impurities in the clay they used? What did the objects in their pottery represent? There are many theories regarding their icinogrpahy, nonetheless non epresent substantial explanation, preserving the mystery of this ancient civilisation. 

By; Crystal Eneque

www.crystalinks.com/nazca.html

E.P. Lanning, Peru Before the Incas (1967) 

www.world-mysteries.com/mpl_1.htm
 

The History of the Tongva People

The Tongva occupied an area that is now covered by Los Angeles County and parts of Orange County The area extended to Aliso Creek and to southwestern San Bernardino County. They also occupied the southern Channel Islands: Santa Catalina, San Nicholas, San Clemente, and possibly Santa Barbara Island. The Tongva and the Chumash were the two most populous and powerful groups in Southern California. Many Tongva village sites existed in the Los Angeles basin. Tongva people still live in the Los Angeles area. They are often referred to as "Gabrielino" because they were taken by the Spanish to the San Gabriel Mission in the late 18th century.
The Tongva spoke a Takic Uto-Aztecan (Shoshonean) language. The neighboring tribes, Cahuilla, Serrano, Luiseno, Juaneno, and Fernandeno, spoke different Takic languages.

Because of the mild climate in Southern California, women wore only a two-piece skirt. The back part was made from the soft inner bark of cottonwood or willow, or sometimes deerskin. The front piece was made of many cords of twisted dog bane or milkweed. In cold weather, men, women, and children wore a robe or blanket made from twisted strips of rabbit fur woven together with milkweed or yucca fiber twine. Robes were also made from deer skins. Along the coast and on the Islands, robes were made of sea otter skins.

People went barefoot except in rough country when they wore sandals made of yucca fiber. Everyone took a daily early morning bath. Women used red ocher to protect their faces from sunburn and for decoration. Men and women tattooed their faces with interesting designs. Men wore their hair long and sometimes pinned it up with a cane or bone hairpin. Women left their hair long with bangs over their forehead. Clay was used to clean and strengthen the hair. It was applied, left to dry, and then brushed out. Ornaments were made of strings of shell beads, steatite, and whalebone. Men wore cane earrings. Children usually went without clothes.

Food was abundant. Men generally were the hunters of meat, sea mammals, and fish. The Tongva and Chumash had ocean-going wood plank canoes.

Women gathered plants, seeds, and shell fish. Food crops were not planted, but existing plants were cultivated and weeded. In the inland areas, tons of acorns were gathered, stored, ground, leached of tannic acid, and then cooked into a mush or soup. Bedrock mortars and portable mortars, metates, and manos were used to grind seeds and acorns.

The people made brushes of yucca root, dippers from gourds, plates and bowls from wood, and shallow bowls from abalone shells. No pottery was made, but steatite, or soapstone, was quarried on Catalina Island. Steatite was carved into pots or flat pans. Coiled and twined baskets of various sizes and shapes were made. Huge cone-shaped carrying baskets were used to bring the acorn harvest back to the village. Tightly woven water bottles were coated with asphalt.

Houses were dome shaped, made by bending and tying willow branches into shape, then thatched with tule, carrizo, or grass. There was an entrance door and smoke hole in the house.

Each village was autonomous and had its own leader. The leader's office was hereditary and passed from father to son, or occasionally, to a daughter. The leader took the name of the village. He settled all disputes. Retribution was in the form of shell bead money, food, or animal skins. Murder or incest was punishable by death. Only the leader was allowed more than one wife.

A special ceremony was conducted for adolescent girls. The girls were the center of dancing and singing in their honor. During the ceremony a sand painting was made depicting the beliefs of the Tongva. This ceremony gave them the status of adult women in the tribe.

It was believed that after death important people became stars in the sky, and ordinary people went to the underworld to dance and feast. The dead were cremated with their possessions.

The Tongva were the originators of a new religion which was prevalent in California at the time of the Spanish contact. Chungichnish, the deity of this religion, was born at Puvungna, a Tongva village which was located at the site of Rancho Los Alamitos near Long Beach.

By Elizabeth Esparza

For More Information please visit; http://www.gabrielinotribe.org

Polychrome Nazca Bottle

Photo by Crystal Eneque Salazar