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36-629: Nazca is a city in Peru. Nazca , NAZCA or Nasca may also refer to: Nazca Nazca is the capital of the Nazca Province located in the Ica District of the Ica Region of Peru. On November 12, 1996, at 11:59 a.m. local time (16:59 GMT) there was an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 with its epicenter at 7.7 km into the sea. The earthquake almost completely destroyed

72-527: A course of the river in which it runs on the surface and thus the settlement did not depend upon puquios as did the settlements a few kilometers upstream. Many more puquios were likely built in pre-historic times in several other river valleys of the Rio Grande de Nazca system. Deep wells have replaced the abandoned puquios. Two types of puquios are in the Nazca region. The first is the trench puquios which

108-468: A result, they were forcibly displaced. Since then, they have sought to legalize their ancient ownership of land and fixed property. Nazca is one of the most arid regions in the world, with an average annual precipitation of 4 millimeters. Nazca's weather is controlled by the Humboldt Current , which carries water from Antarctica up the west coast of South America. This cold ocean water cools

144-434: A sophisticated way to provide water from underground aquifers in arid regions. The coasts of Peru and Northern Chile are exceptionally arid with agriculture only possible with irrigation. Precipitation is less than 25 millimetres (0.98 in) annually near the coast and increases only slowly at higher elevations in the inland Andes . Moreover, the Rio Grande de Nazca and its tributaries provide only sparse, seasonal water to

180-451: Is a deep, narrow ditch, usually less than one meter in width and lined with rocks, which is open to the air. The second type is the gallery or subterranean puquios which is tunneled beneath the earth to tap the water from an aquifer . The water-bearing aquifer is typically about 10 metres (33 ft) underground, although it can be much closer to the surface. From the aquifer, the water flows through an underground tunnel downslope, emerging at

216-684: The Nazca culture . The technology of the puquios is similar to that of the Qanats of Iran and other desert areas of Asia and Europe, including Spain. A few puquios in northern Chile and in other parts of Peru were probably constructed at the initiative of the Spanish after the conquest of the Inca Empire in the 16th century. The puquios first became a subject of study in the early 20th century. Although they had been known before, historic evidence

252-696: The Society of Jesus , Jesuit missionaries and priests. The hacienda San Joseph de la Nasca, located in the upper part of the middle Ingenio Valley, was owned by the Jesuit College of Cuzco. San Francisco Xavier de la Nasca, in the lower part of the middle valley, was owned by the Jesuit College of San Pablo in Lima. Both of these estates used numerous workers who were enslaved persons of sub-Saharan African descent. In addition to producing wines and brandies, both estates had substantial infrastructure for producing

288-469: The 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) long desert coastline of Peru empty into the Pacific Ocean. The river valleys were cultivated by their pre-Columbian inhabitants by using irrigation, but most of the valleys had more dependable and greater surface water availability than the often-dry rivers of the Nazca region. Conversely, the agricultural society of the Nazca people flourished best where surface water

324-577: The 21st century. The Nazca culture flourished in the area from 200 BCE to 650 CE. The Nazca puquios are found along five of the nine named feeder streams into the Rio Grande de Nazca. From south to north, the rivers with puquios are Las Trancas, Taruga, and the Nazca, which has two tributaries, the Tierras Blancas and the Aja. The sources of the rivers is in the Andes about 70 kilometres (43 miles) from

360-514: The Hispanic origin of puquios is that a Spanish law in Peru decreed that water from pre-Hispanic waterworks must be shared among landowners while the water from Hispanic waterworks could be owned by a single landowner. In an 18th-century legal case, a judge ruled in favor of the Hispanic origin of the puquios in the Chancay valley. Proponents for the pre-Hispanic origin of the Nazca puquios cite

396-744: The Liberating Expedition of General Don Jose de San Martin on October 14, 1820, after they escaped from the Battle of Nasca. Two days earlier, on October 12, General Juan Antonio Álvarez de Arenales , from Ica, was sent to the South in pursuit of the royal troops of Colonel Manuel Quimper fleeing from Ica. The second commander and chief of staff of the Division de la Sierra, was Argentine Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Rojas Argerich. He commanded 250 men: 110 infantry and 140 cavalry. The town of Nasca

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432-805: The Nazca Lines a World Heritage Site in 1994. Nazca has a small airport, the Maria Reiche Neuman Airport , used mainly for touristic flights over the Nazca lines. It was named for a woman who did much to study the Nazca lines and bring them to international attention as products of pre-Hispanic man. 14°49′44″S 74°56′37″W  /  14.82889°S 74.94361°W  / -14.82889; -74.94361 Puquios Puquios (from Quechua pukyu meaning source, spring, or water well) are ancient systems of subterranean aqueducts which allow water to be transported over long distances in hot dry climates without loss of much of

468-555: The Nazca drainage basin. The team that conducted this study concluded that the puquios are pre-Hispanic. In addition, RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems), or drones, were used in 2016 to map and document five sample aqueduct systems in the Nazca region. A scientific method to precisely date the puquios has not been found, but, despite doubts, the "general consensus in 2017 was that the Nazca puquios were of "pre-Hispanic, Middle Nasca [c. 500 CE] origin...with subsequent Spanish and Republican modifications." The pre-Columbian origin of

504-521: The Nazca puquios does not contradict the likelihood that the origin of other puquios scattered sparsely around the Central and Southern Andes is Spanish. The technology of the puquios is similar to that of the qanats of Iran and Makhmur, Iraq , and other ancient filtration galleries known in numerous societies in the Old World and China, which appear to have been developed independently. They are

540-597: The Pica oasis, yet these have since been abandoned due to economic and social changes. The puquios of Pica-Matilla and Puquio Núñez tap the Pica Aquifer . The puquios of the Nazca (or Nasca) region are of most interest to archaeologists as the area was the center of pre-Columbian civilizations such as Nazca culture which flourished from 100 BCE to 800 CE. Most archaeologists believe that the Nazca puquios are of pre-Columbian origin, but some believe that they were built by

576-423: The Spanish colonial period, Nazca was known for viticulture, producing wine and grape brandy (aguardiente de la uva). Today this is commonly called pisco , after the famous port of the same name. Locally, the brandy is known as Nasca. These products were widely distributed throughout the viceroyalty of Peru and beyond. The largest of the Nazca vineyards were located in the rich Ingenio Valley, and were property of

612-424: The air and limits the accumulation of moisture within clouds; as a result, though clouds and fog are able to form, there is little rain. Nazca's temperatures range from 10 to 32 °C with an average daily high of 21 °C. Summer months from November to March are dry, sunny, and hot. During the winter from June to August, fog from the coast rolls over the hills to keep temperatures in the moderate range; however,

648-613: The ceramic storage jars, known as botijas, in which the wine and brandy was transported. Today, the towns of San Javier and San José are known for the ruins of the large 18th-century baroque churches built during the Jesuit administration of these estates. In 1767, following the expulsion of the Society of Jesus by King Charles III of Spain , the Crown confiscated and administered these properties as royal estates. Nazca Patriots received

684-424: The city of Nazca and its surroundings. Due to its occurrence during the day, there were only 14 fatalities. However, 1,500 people were injured and around 100,000 were left homeless. Within 12 years Nazca has been almost completely rebuilt. Since 1997, Nazca has been the location of a major Canadian gold mining operation. The indigenous people at the time did not own the rights to their traditional communal lands. As

720-412: The coast of Peru." He described the puquios and said that "the fertility is due to the skill and industry of the ancient inhabitants. Under their care an arid wilderness was converted into a smiling paradise." In the 21st century many of the puquios are still in use but their use is threatened by industrial agriculture and production of exportable crops such as asparagus. Deep wells have replaced some of

756-602: The early 21st century Rosa Lasaponara, Nicola Masini , and their team of the Italian CNR (National Research Council), in cooperation with archaeologist Giuseppe Orefici , studied the Nazca puquios using satellite imaging. They found evidence that the puquios system was once much more extensive. Scholars were able to see how the "puquios were distributed across the Nazca region, and where they ran in relation to nearby settlements – which are easier to date." Satellite imagery also revealed additional, previously unknown puquios in

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792-564: The establishment of large settlements in river valleys with puquios in the 6th century CE, an indication that the settlement was stimulated by the water supplied by the puquios. They interpret Nazca culture iconography as portraying puquios symbolically. Climatic change may also have been a factor as the region entered several centuries of extreme aridity after about 400 CE which required the construction of irrigation works, presumably puquios, to provide water for domestic use and irrigation. The first known historical writing to refer to puquios in Nazca

828-424: The indigenous subjects of the Spanish colonists in the 16th century. The theory of a Spanish origin holds that the puquios technology is not substantially different from Spanish techniques used from the early conquest to drain mines. An early example is the mine of Potosí that was drained by subterranean canals as early as 1556 following instructions of Florentine engineer Nicolás de Benito. Another argument for

864-476: The intense sun makes daylight hours seem hotter than they are. There are two versions of the Spanish foundation. According to the writings of chroniclers, the city was founded on October 28, 1548, commissioned by Pedro de la Gasca , peacemaker by Alonso de Mendoza . The other version states that it was founded in 1591 by the Viceroy García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete . During

900-402: The puquios. The puquios are equally distant from the Pacific Ocean at elevations of about 500 metres (1,600 ft). These small rivers are mostly dry except during the rainy season in the Andes from January to April, but have both underground and surface sections during the dry season. The inhabitants of the river valleys constructed the puquios as sources of water during the dry season. As of

936-415: The surface into a trench puquios for distribution to irrigation canals and for drinking and domestic purposes. The underground tunnel is typically about one meter square, although some of the tunnels reinforced with wood beams or in modern times with cement, can be 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height. Spaced along the route of the gallery puquios are vertical shafts, "eyes" or "ojos" in Spanish, which extend from

972-417: The surface to the subterranean tunnel. The "ojos" permit access to the tunnel for maintenance and repair. The funnel-shaped ojos are spaced from 10 metres (33 ft) to 30 metres (98 ft) apart. The length of the gallery (underground section) of the puquios ranges from a few meters to 372 metres (1,220 ft). The associated trench puquios may be as long as a kilometer. Fifty-seven small rivers along

1008-456: The surrounding foothills and other high places. There are innumerable formations of both animals and geometric designs. Local tour companies sell flights ( sobrevueltos ) over 12 main figures, the most famous of which are the hummingbird, the condor, and the monkey. The spiral tail of the monkey inspired the spiral in the "P" of the Perú logo, which is also found on its currency. UNESCO declared

1044-414: The system were called puquios . More than three dozen continue to operate, to irrigate farmland and provide domestic needs. The Nazca culture is famous for its desert line drawings , the product of complex construction projects carried out by a hierarchical society from 500 BC to AD 500. Contrary to the popular belief that the lines and figures can be seen only from an aircraft, they are also visible from

1080-452: The valleys on the Nazca region. In the past, precipitation was higher in some eras, possibly reaching an average of 200 millimetres (7.9 in) annually. The people of the Nazca culture may have built the puquios to adapt to a climatic transition from greater to lesser precipitation after 400 CE and enduring until about 1100 CE, followed by a wetter period which lasted until about 1450 CE at which time another drier era began that persisted into

1116-487: The water to evaporation. Puquios are found in the coastal deserts of southern Peru , especially in the Nazca region, and northern Chile . Forty-three puquios in the Nazca region were still in use in the early 21st century and relied upon to bring fresh water for irrigation and domestic use into desert settlements. The origin and dating of the Nazca puquios is disputed, although some archaeologists have estimated that their construction began about 500 CE by indigenous people of

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1152-472: The year 2000, 43 puquios were still functioning of which 29 were near the city of Nazca in the valley of the Nazca river and its tributaries. The best known of the puquios are the Cantalloc Aqueducts . The largest pre-Columbian ruin of a settlement in the Nazca valley is Cahuachi , about 18 kilometres (11 miles) downstream from Nazca and near the famous Nazca Lines . Cahuachi is located along

1188-468: Was established on August 29, 1821. On July 2, 1855, it was elevated to a district and then it became a province on January 23, 1941. Nasca, as the name is spelled in the 21st century, still has a dry climate. Before and during the time of the Inca, it had a formidable system of hydraulic engineering. The water was accessed through filtration galleries from underground branches, called aqueducts. The openings to

1224-445: Was in 1605 by the Spanish cleric Reginaldo de Lizárraga . Lizárraga mentions that the "indios" (indigenous peoples) of the region made use of the puquios but does not specifically attribute their construction to either the Spanish or the indigenous people. He also mentioned the much-diminished population of the indigenous people, their numbers a fraction of their pre-Columbian population due mostly to epidemics of European diseases. In

1260-494: Was most scarce. The puquios were the technology that permitted a substantial population to exist in an intensely arid region. The Spanish first exerted control and settled in the Nazca region in the late 16th century. Under Spanish rule the area was noted for viticulture and the production of pisco , a brandy . In 1853, the English traveler Clements Markham described the Nazca valley as "the most fertile and beautiful spot on

1296-426: Was scarce. Around 1900 scholars noted that puquios, locally known as socavones (lit. shafts ), were spread through the oases of Atacama Desert . In the 21st century, puquios, in various states of use and decay, still exist in the valleys of Azapa and Sibaya and the oases of La Calera , Pica - Matilla and Puquio de Núñez . In 1918 geologist Juan Brüggen mentioned the existence of 23 socavones (shafts) in

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