title: A 2,300-year-old architectural and astronomical complex in the Chincha Valley, Peru.
abstract: Recent archaeological research on the south coast of Peru discovered a Late Paracas (ca. 400-100 BCE) mound and geoglyph complex in the middle Chincha Valley. This complex consists of linear geoglyphs, circular rock features, ceremonial mounds, and settlements spread over a 40-km(2) area. A striking feature of this culturally modified landscape is that the geoglyph lines converge on mounds and habitation sites to form discrete clusters. Likewise, these clusters contain a number of paired line segments and at least two U-shaped structures that marked the setting sun of the June solstice in antiquity. Excavations in three mounds confirm that they were built in Late Paracas times. The Chincha complex therefore predates the better-known Nasca lines to the south by several centuries and provides insight into the development and use of geoglyphs and platform mounds in Paracas society. The data presented here indicate that Paracas peoples engineered a carefully structured, ritualized landscape to demarcate areas and times for key ritual and social activities.
authors.affiliation: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, andDepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095;Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501; and stanish@ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stanish
authors.affiliation: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, andInstituto Francés de Estudios Andinos, Miraflores 15074, Perú
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tantaleán
authors.affiliation: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, and.
authors.forename: Benjamin T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Nigra
authors.affiliation: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, and.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Griffin
keywords: Andean; chiefdoms