The Nazca Geoglyphs: A Pictographic Creation Story PDF

ARTICLE r T h e N a z c a G e o g ly p h s A Pictographic Creation Story BY DARREN IAMMARINO The N azca G eoglyphs— popularly known as the tural anthropologist, both the engineer and the as­ Nazca Lines—of southern Peru were first di...

ARTICLE r T h e N a z c a G e o g ly p h s A Pictographic Creation Story BY DARREN IAMMARINO The N azca G eoglyphs— popularly known as the tural anthropologist, both the engineer and the as­ Nazca Lines—of southern Peru were first discovered tronomer may project Western biases and miss the in the 1920s and made public in the 1930s immedi­ holistic picture. This is precisely what happened with ately became the subject of awe and controversy. The the Nazca Lines. more speculative theories as to the origin and pur­ The first two people to provide a lengthy and de­ pose of these enigmatic lines and biomorphic glyphs tailed account of the Nazca Lines were Paul Kosok have ranged from ancient alien runways to some and Maria Reiche. Maria Reiche has become some­ form of sacred geometry. This article will not deal thing of a cultural icon as a champion for the living with these fringe explanations as no scientist takes descendants of the original Nazca. For this reason her them seriously. Instead it: (1) critically examines the theory based in archaeoastronomy has exerted a more recent and credible theories about the Nazca strong impact on later research, even though it is Geoglyphs, many of which revolve around the impor­ lacking in scientific support. Kosok and Reiche tance of water, and (2) proffers a novel argument posited that the numerous lineal figures stretching about the purpose, function, and meaning of the bio­ across the San Jose Pampa were used as a sort of star morphic figures, as well as the more complex geo­ map or calendar.1The idea likely came to Kosok on a metric shapes. The thesis is that the geoglyphs— 1941 trip to Nazca where he witnessed the sun setting specifically the figural geoglyphs on the San Jose directly over one of the lines. After a later trip to Pampa—represent a permanent pictographic record Nazca Kosok said, “A number of the lines and roads of the creation myth(s) of the Nazca culture. Further, were found to have a solstitial direction: a few with an I propose that the figural geoglyphs were used in a equinoctial direction could also be identified. More­ religious and ritualistic fashion in at least two ways. over, various alignments were found to be repeated in First, they may have been used to re-enact key as­ several places.”2 pects of the creation myth for the purpose of restor­ The main thrust of the argument is that the lines ing order to society through the production of rain or were used to predict the coming equinoxes and sol­ predictable floods. Second, the labyrinthine nature of stices. This knowledge was important since the Nazca the geoglyphs may have been used to induce trance people relied so heavily on farming, water, and their states and allow access to the powers of various harvest. The biomorphic figures, rather than pointing deities or important deceased ancestors. Recon­ to anything, represented the various constellations in structing this creation myth I will attempt to bring their appearance and disappearance on the horizon. back to life for the first time in nearly two thousand The major problem is that there are hundreds to years an ancient Peruvian origin story. thousands of lines going in all directions. It stands to reason that, statistically, “a few with equinoctial direc­ I. Previous Scholarship tion” would inevitably be found if that is what one is The history of Nazca scholarship is plagued by the looking for. Why would the Nazca people make so same issues that obscure most academically in­ many lines, make them so long and have so many formed fieldwork—a lack of interdisciplinary knowl­ seemingly unnecessary animal figures all over the edge and interdepartmental communication. As desert floor? The ambiguities inherent in Kosok’s re­ scholars we can know only so much and often we are search did little to faze Reiche. Enlisted by Kosok to told to know more and more about less and less to help in his research, she spent the next 40 years ex­ the point that we know nearly everything about pounding on the ancient astronomical calendar theory. nearly nothing. An engineer might focus on how an The initial critique of Kosok and Reiche came ancient site was constructed, while an astronomer from fieldwork by Gerald Hawkins, and later by An­ will, not surprisingly, believe an ancient site is astro­ thony Aveni. Hawkins, an astronomer commissioned nomically aligned, but without the insights of a cul­ by National Geographic, pointed out that the lines of 18 SKEPTIC MAGAZINE volume 21 number 4 2016 volume 21 number 4 2016 WWW.SKEPTIC.COM 19  Nazca show no statistically significant results when compared with key astronomical events, specifically, solstices, equinoxes and lunar standstills. In addi­ tion, there were found to be no statistically signifi­ cant alignments to astronomical bodies, such as the 45 brightest stars, including the brightest star of the Pleiades, which is known to be of importance in An­ dean cosmology. The result of Hawkins’ survey was definitive: “The lines as a whole cannot be explained as astronomical nor are they calendric.”3 Hawkins’ research had some additional fortu­ nate implications derived from the numerous finds of classic Nazca pottery only in the archeological protected zone of the pampa, the area containing the vast majority of the biomorphic geoglyphs. Hawkins and Reiche had found early Nazca pottery in the pro­ tected zone, which suggests that the animal images, as well as some of the larger rectangular and trape­ zoidal shapes, may be from an early period of Nazca culture, specifically around 100-200 C.E. The inter­ esting point is that when the finds of Hawkins and others within the protected zone are compared with the rest of the surrounding pampa, a radically differ­ ent picture emerges. The impressive fieldwork of Persis Clarkson out­ side the protected zone has demonstrated that the majority of the “lineal figures” have pottery in and around them that is much later—900-1,000 C.E.— than that found in the protected zone.4 This finding is further evidence against the astronomical calendar theories of Kosok and Reiche because the lines likely did not exist until centuries after the biomorphic ge­ oglyphs. Aveni offers this intriguing fact: “One sur­ prising result is that the lines and figures may have represented at least two separate and unrelated efforts portrayed on a single canvas.”5 Reiche believed that the fact that many of the lines ran straight through the biomorphs suggested that the lines were connecting that biomorph to a constellation.6 However, if the lines were not there originally, that is clearly impossi­ ble. This insight—that the majority of lines and ray centers date to late Nazca and post-Nazca—will play an important role in my own argument. I must point out at this juncture that I do believe that the mystery of the Nazca Lines (but not the bio­ morphic geoglyphs) has been for the most part solved by previous scholars, specifically Aveni and later, Johan Reinhard’s excellent ethnohistorical work on mountain deities, the importance of water, and agri­ cultural fertility.7 Reinhard argues that the lines and trapezoidal figures are ceremonial pathways or ritual Two famous Nazca Geoglyphs: (Top) The Monkey located at 14 4 2 ’2 4.9 3 S 75 8 ’ 18.40 W. (Bottom) The Owl-Man, also known as the Astronaut, Space­ sites related to the continued regularity of the flow of man, or Priest is located on a hill at 14 4 4 '4 2.7 1 S 75 4 '4 7.2 4 W. water. The focus on the importance of water and 20 SKEPTIC MAGAZINE volum e 2 1 n um ber 4 2 0 1 6  tracking underground waterways has also been noted which major deity came first. The debate over pri­ by David Johnson, who observed that the various macy is between Cuniraya Viracocha, which is basi­ Nazca Lines marked out subterranean water flows, cally a later Inca version of the much earlier Kon/ underground aquifers, and/or simply mythical sites Pachacamac duality and Paria Caca, who is the main such as hills that were associated with water in some creator god of the local people who composed the way, shape, or form.8 However, Johnson’s claims Huarochiri Manuscript. The manuscript is relevant to about the biomorphic geoglyphs do not seem to be my thesis because the author of the text is forced to backed up by any evidence. give other famous creation stories in order to make It may be true that the lines, spirals, rectangles, sense of all the alternatives; one of these creator and trapezoids are associated with above-ground gods—Kon—is likely associated with the coastal re­ water sites or that they map out underground water­ gion in and around the Nazca Geoglyphs. The author ways, but the biomorphic geoglyphs—which are our repeatedly addresses Cuniraya, which for our pur­ focus here—do not seem to represent changes in di­ poses can safely be said to be at least similar or anal­ rection of the flow of water underground, as Johnson ogous to Kon, if not the same deity. suggests. Why make so many unique images that are There are too many references to Cuniraya to so large and involved just to represent a change in the provide all of the examples; instead, I present the direction of the water? Further, why use such a most pertinent aspects as they relate to my overall plethora of animal images rather than four or eight di­ argument and claims. The first reference runs as rectional markers/images? Since there is not a repeti­ follows, tion of the same few images—which would be expected if marking off directional changes—John­ Also, as we know, there was another huaca [super­ son’s theory on the function of the biomorphs seems human person, powerful and holy object] named unlikely. Additionally, as it is widely agreed that the Cuni Raya. Regarding him, we’re not sure whether vast majority of lineal figures came hundreds of years he existed before Paria Caca or maybe after him. after the original zoomorphic and anthropomorphic However, Cuni Raya’s essential nature almost figures. This would mean that, at best, David Johnson’s matches Viracocha’s. For when people worshiped theory is incomplete. The much earlier and far more this huaca, they would invoke him, saying, ‘Cuni impressive biomorphic geoglyphs require a com­ Raya Vira Cocha, you who animate mankind, who pletely different explanation from the lineal figures. charge the world with being, all things are yours! Yours the fields and yours the people.’ And so, long II. S itu a tin g th e N a z c a G eo g lyp h s w ith in ago, when beginning anything difficult, the an­ th e W id e r P an -A n d e a n M y th ic N a rra tiv e cients, even though they couldn’t see Vira Cocha, The specific beliefs and practices that made up the used to throw coca leaves to the ground, talk to him, and worship him before all others.9 Nazca religious and mythical paradigm still remain a mystery, mainly due to the paucity of any written evi­ First, I believe that Cuniraya is akin to the dence. Since the Nazca were a pre-literate people, older Nazca anthropomorphic deity represented on the best we can do is infer what we can from the the Pampa in the geoglyph of the “Astronaut/Owl- archeological record, the geological record, and the Man” and also on the neighboring plains of Palpa in historical and literary records, which come much numerous other anthropomorphic images.10 This later with the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s. creator deity associated with water and the creation Our story begins with the only “indigenous” creation of mankind could go by many names: Kon, Cuni­ account we know of, written by a native and not by a raya, Pachacamac, Viracocha, Anthropomorphic Spanish historian or missionary. Flying Being (Western scholarly attribution to a Paracas/Nazca cultural deity).11The stories told of P an A n d e a n M y th ic M o tifs : T h e Huarochiri the creator anthropomorphic gods in all the An­ Manuscript an d In c a M y th o lo g y dean myths show similarities. The most relevant ex­ The Huarochiri Manuscript was written around 1598 ample for my purposes is that the anthropomorphic by an anonymous source identified only as creator God either walks around through the entire “Thomas.” The manuscript is somewhat jumbled Andean landscape or flies around performing mirac­ and is full of revisions, redactions, and marginal ulous feats, as well as providing for the creation of notes from Father Francisco de Avila. In general, humankind, life-giving water, and fertility.12 the text gives various accounts of different origin Later in the Huarochiri Manuscript there is an myths and attempts to provide a chronology of explicit statement that puts to rest the debate about volume 21 number 4 201 6 WW W.SKEPTIC.COM 21  which god preceded all others. “Cuni Raya world/earth, and the heavens. This function Vira Cocha is said to have existed from very of the lines is supported by other scholars ancient times. Before he was, there was who have stated that the spirals may be nothing at all in this world. It was he who viewed as magical portals to the underside first gave shape and force to the moun­ of the world accessed through shamanic tains, the forests, the rivers, and all sorts of journeys as the shaman’s familiar (e.g., a animals, and to the fields for humankind’s condor, falcon, or swift). While on the un­ subsistence as well. It’s for this reason that derside of the world one could, in theory, people in fact say of Cuni Raya, ‘he’s called still see the geoglyphs and the same can be Paria Caca’s father.’”13 This leaves little said for being transported up into the heav­ doubt that even in other parts of the an­ ens above. cient Andean world, Cuniraya or Vira- To put this into a larger perspective—in cocha, or more generally the essence my thesis—the biomorphic images anthropomorphic creator deity, is the origi­ may represent a pictographic creation story laid nator of all life and life sustaining out on the pampa. When the shamans danced processes. Therefore, it stands to reason and “tranced” through the Nazca Geoglyphs, that worshiping him and propitiating they magically and ceremonially retold and him—or the god that defeats him—is a re-energized the story and they took on the good idea if you want to maintain social powers of their ancestors, all while ensuring order, the flow of water, and all other life that the creator god Kon was pleased. When giving substances. Kon was appeased, then he would keep The final aspect of the Huarochiri Man­ bringing water for their agricultural needs. uscript bearing on the function of the This shamanic, religious, and mythological Nazca Lines and geoglyphs comes from understanding of the nature and function of chapter 14 of the manuscript. the Nazca Lines and geoglyphs is somewhat addressed by one other previous scholar There Cuni Raya told him, ‘Inca, mobilize whose work revolves around Peruvian his­ your people, so that we may send magi­ tory, Maria Rostworoski, who comes closest cians and all sorts of shamans to Ura Ticsi, in her assessment of the lines and their func­ the world’s lower foundations (alt. under­ tion, but still misses the more general point. side of the world).’ As soon as he said this, Rostworowski points out that, the Inca promptly gave the order. ‘I am a condor shaman!’ [literally, I am the cam- The lines and biomorphic figures consti­ asca of the condor] ‘I am a falcon shaman!’ tuted a means of communication between said others. ‘I am one who flies in the form the ancient Nasca and the divinity, and the of a swift!’ replied still others. He [Cuni drawings would be a manifestation of reli­ Raya] instructed them, ‘go to the world’s gious expression...maybe the spirit of the lower foundations. ’14 air, wind, sea and earth was present in the images. It is quite possible that the arrival of This highlights two key points related to the the god Kon coincided with the cresting of possible function of the Nazca Lines and ge­ the rivers with water that was indispensable oglyphs. First, the shamans in the region fre­ for life on the coast and which coincided quently “embody” or take on the species with rain in the highlands. 15 power of numerous local birds. This could explain the prevalence of bird imagery on Up to this point I am in agreement with the San Jose Pampa and their use as invoca­ Rostworowski. However, when she states, tory aids. A second hypothesis surrounds the “the purpose of the biomorphic figures and Images of the Peruvian Creator God (Top) A p o tte ry frag m en t th o u g h t by mention of the underside of the world. It is lines was to attract the attention of the fly­ som e to be ca. 4 ,0 0 0 years old. possible that the labyrinthine qualities of ing divinity who had arrived on earth and (M iddle) A sculpture from th e lintel o f the Nazca Lines and geoglyphs were to help whom they were awaiting,”16 I feel she is a m assive gateway near Lake Titicaca aid in trance induction, but also in trans­ somewhat missing the point. It is not so — ca. 1 ,5 0 0 years ago. (Bottom ) An porting the shaman into the lower firma­ much that they were “waiting and trying to image o f Con from a 2 0 th ce ntu ry wall painting, (opposite page) The C reator ment of what was likely a threefold division attract the attention” of Kon, but rather, the God painted on pottery. of the universe into underworld, middle issue was to appease and propitiate a capricious 22 SKEPTIC MAGAZINE v o lu m e 2 1 num ber 4 2016 god who could and had destroyed prior generations of humanity at will. Contrary to Rostworowski’s hypoth­ esis, the people may have wanted to avoid attracting Ron’s attention due to fear, but nevertheless, they wanted to be prepared to show him due reverence when/if he appeared again. In addition to the mythological creation ac­ counts within the Huarochiri Manuscript, there is an­ other source that we can turn to in order to obtain a record of Kon within ancient Andean creation myths. However, when introducing the writings of the Spanish chroniclers one must be especially care­ ful to take into account their heavy bias for Catholi­ cism and their disdain for all things magical and shamanic. blended account of Peruvian creation stories. Zarate’s retelling of the creation account is short Las C ro n is ta s on A n d e a n M y th and R elig io n enough to reproduce the majority of it. What follows What little information we have about ancient reli­ is the entire account minus the flood narrative at the gious beliefs and practices in pre-Hispanic Peru end, which in any case has little relevance to any un­ comes from the few Spanish chroniclers that arrived derstanding of the Nazca Lines and geoglyphs. He with the waves of conquistadors in the 1500s. Not begins by saying, “It is true that some kinds of tradi­ surprisingly, the majority of their information is bi­ tions have been preserved among them, added to, ased and must be taken with at least a few grains of changed or diminished from age to age according to skeptical salt! Further, the focus of their accounts was the imaginations of the time. This is more or less on the Inca myths and not on an attempt to uncover what they amount to.”18 This quote supports my the beliefs of other ancient Andean peoples like the claim that Zarate gives a blended account of what he Nazca. It may seem that given all of this there is little considers a pan-Andean creation story but what may point in examining what las cronistas had to say, but in fact be more of a southern coastal creation story. that would be foolish because many practices and be­ He continues with his retelling of the origin story. I liefs can persist for thousands of years with only min­ have italicized the points that seem to be of greatest imal change. relevance to an understanding of a possible Nazca The most relevant cronistas for understanding origin myth. the history of the pre-Hispanic Andean region are: They say that there came from the north a man with­ Agustin Zarate, Bernabe Cobo, Juan de Betanzos, out bones or joints, who shortened or lengthened the road Antonio de la Calancha, and Pedro Sarmiento de he walked according to his wishes, and raised or leveled Gamboa. I will mainly focus on Zarate because his mountains as he pleased; that this man created the In­ origin account is the most pertinent because it is dians of that time, and that since the inhabitants of uncharacteristically not simply an Inca creation ac­ the plain had displeased him he made their country count. Zarate does something truly unique—he sandy, as it is to this day. He decreed that rain should presents a blended version of the creation story of never fall there, but sent them the rivers that flow the ancient Peruvians. He has created a pastiche of there, so that they should at least have water to drink origin myths from all the different versions that he and to cool them. This man was called Con, and he was learned about or encountered. This is valuable for the child of the sun and moon. They considered him a the present study because the majority of the cro­ god and worshipped him; and they say that to the nistas merely presented an Incan version of cre­ people he created he gave the grasses and wild fruit ation, which comes a millennium after the Nazca for their nourishment. people and is thus, too far removed in time and also Afterwards there came another man from the in geographical location. In addition, nearly all of south, with more power than the first. He was called the Spanish historians of the time added a heavily Pachacamac, which means creator, and he was also the Christianized gloss to the accounts which made it child of the sun and the moon. On his arrival Con disap­ appear that there was a flood narrative or that the peared, leaving the men he had made without a leader Inca believed in a trinity.17Though Zarate may be or protector. Pachacamac then changed them into mon­ guilty of injecting a flood myth onto the end of his keys, cats, bears, lions, parrots and other birds of the volume 21 number 4 2016 W W W.SKEPTIC.COM 23  country. Then Pachacamac created the Indians of the arrival of the Spanish, neither the Inca nor the today, and taught them how to till the earth and grow Spanish could fully destroy the cultic devotion crops. They considered Pachacamac a god, and all the given to Pachacamac. In fact, he was the second princes of the land wish to be buried when they die in most important deity in the Incan period even the place which took its name from him because he though he was not associated with the Inca people. dwelt there, and which lies four leagues from Los Lastly, Zarate drops a bombshell when he Reyes. The Indians say that Pachacamac lived there points out that Pachacamac transformed this earlier for many centuries, up to the time when the Chris­ race of humans into monkeys, cats, bears, and all tians came to Peru; but he has not appeared since... 19 sorts of local birds. The vast majority of the Nazca Geoglyphs are animals, with the monkey, hum­ The italicized lines need to be unpacked one- mingbird, condor, and parrot being perhaps the by-one. First, we hear of a man/god named Con most famous images of all. This may be a case who “has no bones or joints.” It is possible there is a where the Nazca people are remembering their ori­ parallel here to the wildly popular Nazca Geoglyph gin story and are rightly terrified given the previous known as “the astronaut” or “the owl-man.” This acts of both Kon and Pachacamac. large anthropomorphic geoglyph is unique in that it What would you do in this situation? I know appears almost cartoonishly (without bones?) what I would do and that would be to appease and carved into the hillside with one arm raised, similar propitiate the gods, and what better way to do that to the ubiquitous staff god images throughout an­ than by retelling the story in a permanent everlast­ cient Peru. This is the only anthropomorphic figure ing format—carve it into the desert gravel and on the San Jose Pampa, and I feel it is likely that it sand. This ritualistic activity would prove to the represents the Nazca creator God, who is more or gods that the people have not forgotten and they less identical to Con or Kon. will not make any mistakes in the future. In addi­ Next, we learn that Con is capable of shorten­ tion, it allows the people to reconnect with the ing or lengthening roads and raising or leveling power of their ancestors who have been trans­ mountains. It is possible that there is a connection formed into the native wildlife. What a beautiful here to the Nazca lines, trapezoids, and rectangular way to forge an intimate ecological connection by figures spread out all over the desert. It could be a actually believing that many of the animals were, in sign to the god Con showing that they remember truth, your ancestors of a prior age. This worldview and respect his power to arbitrarily alter the could explain why a belief in sympathetic magic, lengths of roads and the heights of mountains. It is shamanism, and ancestor worship was so strong in worth noting the massive trapezoidal “runway” the region; we can connect with these animal powers shapes are often found on top of flattened hills and because they are literally our ancestors. We can con­ mountains. nect by walking, dancing, and re-enacting our cre­ Continuing on we discover that Con is the ation myth. In the process of re-enacting, we child of the sun and moon. I believe that there are ensure that we will not be starved or dehydrated by two possibilities here. First, Con may represent one Con and that we will not be transformed into other age of the sun, and then when Pachacamac comes creatures by the power of Pachacamac. it is a “new age of the sun.” The second possibility is that Con represents the power of the daytime and III. T h e M e a n in g an d P u rp o se that Pachacamac represents the night and hence, o f th e N a zc a G eo g lyp h s “on his arrival [Pachacamac’s] Con disappeared.” This evidence strongly suggests that the Nazca Geo­ So, when the night approaches the sun simply van­ glyphs were designed as a pictographic or “huaco- ishes, nowhere to be found. Alternatively, Pachaca­ graphic” creation story, which was meant to mac may be the sun in its nighttime voyage on the provide three critical functions: underside of the earth and due to the cyclical changes of space and tim e—pachacuti—sometimes 1. A way to appease Kon/Pachacamac and thus, en­ Pachacamac is the daytime sun and sometimes he sure order out of chaos and the continual flow is not depending upon the age of man that one is of life-sustaining water. living in. It should be mentioned that both Con and 2. A mytho-magical means to convey camay or Pachacamac are extremely important ancient unique, animating powers to individuals deities and Pachacamac’s influence was so powerful through numerous huacas/glyphs which taken that even up to the period of the Inca Empire and together, comprised an all-encompassing origin 24 SKEPTIC MAGAZINE volume 21 number 4 2016  story/huaca. The entirety of the Nazca Geo­ Note again for number one that Con or Cuni- glyphs on the San Jose Pampa can be under­ raya and Pachacamac may be two sides of one coin stood as a permanent “carved in rocks/sand” and thus represent the sun in two modes—the un­ pictographic recording of their creation derside of the world and the upside of the world. It myth...a myth similar to the one that is writ­ is possible that the underside due to pachacuti be­ ten down hundreds of years later by Agustin comes the upside and vice versa cyclically and Zarate. hence, the constant confusion in trying to identify 3. An impressive and profound way to practice an­ and distinguish these two deities. cestor worship. There is plenty of evidence to support the claims that the geoglyphs conveyed Camay to In regard to functions number one and two, shamans. Due to the prominence of shattered and the following points stand as supporting evidence unshattered pottery on and around the geoglyphs for the claims: (at least decades ago), it is almost certain that the (a.) The glyphs were put on the desert floor and were lines were used ritually and were walked. I am made on a massive scale that is necessary only if strongly inclined to believe that the entire picto­ you wanted a god in the sky or underworld sky to graphic creation story was walked once a year, but see it. Kon is described by another Spanish that certain glyphs could be walked whenever a chronicler—Francisco Lopez de Gomara—as shaman needed to “take on” the attributes of that flying across the lands. “[Con] Andaba, o quiza animal or spirit. Repetitive walking, plus constant mas bien volaba, ligero y agil acortando las dis- turning in a labyrinth, plus chanting, plus drugs is tancias, bajando las sierras y alzando los a potent mixture for a profound altered state of valles.”20 Essentially this translates to: “Con consciousness. walked, or perhaps rather flew, light and agile I will say that there is little to no way to put forth shortening distances, lowering the hills and lift­ supporting evidence for my third claim above about ing the valleys.” the lines being used for ancestor worship other than (b.) Many of the biomorphic geoglyphs match up to rely on my other claim that the animal glyphs rep­ with key events in the creation story as related resent an earlier race of humans. If that is true or if by the cronista Agustin Zarate (e.g., the mon­ some of the glyphs represent specific ayllus or kinship key, various birds). groups as some have suggested,21then it is certainly (c.) In addition, the inclusion of the one and only possible that walking the animal glyphs could also anthropomorphic figure known today as the have been an act of ancestor veneration.22 Astronaut, suggests that it is probably a god and Kon is a likely candidate given the region W h a t A b o u t th e S tr a ig h t Lines? and the figure’s relationship to the other geo­ The primary focus of this paper has been to un­ glyphs. Furthermore, it is intriguing that the cover the meaning and functions of the biomorphic Astronaut figure is both enclosed rather than geoglyphs; however, it is worthwhile to briefly ad­ open like a labyrinth and is on a hillside. This dress the actual lineal figures to round out a com­ could very well be because that specific plete picture of what may have been happening on image is not meant to be ritually walked. If the San Jose Pampa throughout the history of the by walking the lines a shaman or ordinary Nazca people. First, it seems likely that the actual person can take on the Camay or magical lineal figures did not exist until hundreds of years power of the figure represented, it would after the original biomorphic geoglyphs were laid clearly be blasphemous to try and take on the down.23This does not automatically mean that they power of the creator god himself, especially are completely unrelated to the meaning and func­ given that he seems to have many trickster tions of the lines. god attributes. Furthermore, hills and moun­ There is possibly a relationship between the tains are associated with mysteriously storing earlier biomorphs and the later lineal figures. As I and providing water for agriculture, an act have argued above, the importance of water is rep­ intimately intertwined with Kon’s primary resented in the pictographic creation story of the role. protected zone and also, the later lineal figures (d.) The large “leveled” trapezoid and rectangular have been shown by other scholars to relate to glyphs also fit into the creation myth narrative water. Perhaps the later lines may have served to that Kon raised and leveled mountains at will. funnel the power of the protected zone/creation volume 21 number 4 2016 W W W. S K E P T I C. C O IV I 25  myth to other parts of the dry desert through the or Mother Earth. Kon also created animals to roam force of magic and the animating effect of ritual. on her surface. Yet still, something was amiss, and so This possibility seems more probable than an early Kon took it upon himself to create humans, who at hypothesis I had that the later lineal figures may least in some respects would resemble him. For rea­ have acted almost like a map or guide connecting sons that remain unclear, this first race of humans the dots and thus explaining the proper chronologi­ failed to appreciate the works of Kon—his generos­ cal ordering of the creation story. There are just too ity, his power—and so he made them suffer with a many lines—and lines completely separated from great drought. Kon came down from the north and the biomorphic images themselves—to support this took away the rain and the abundance of Mother “connect the dots” hypothesis. Earth, leaving nothing but sand and sporadic river Nevertheless, I believe that it is possible to floods to provide for the sustenance of the people. recreate a rough approximation of the Nazca cre­ Somewhat later, another god arrived on the ation myth laid out on the Pampa by employing scene, this time from the south. This god was called later pan-Andean mythic motifs. Below is but one Pachacamac, he was an ancient god like Kon, but attempt at “reading” or “translating” the picto- he was invisible, whereas Kon was visible. Pachaca­ graphic creation story into modern English; I pres­ mac was the god of things unseen—the darkness, the ent it as more of a creative work than a rigorously enigmatic, and the ocean depths. The people recog­ supported set of arguments. Finally, I conclude the nize the characteristics of Pachacamac in the Killer paper with a “summary and interpretation” via the Whale because the Killer Whale is both black and voice of a fictional ancient Nazca storyteller. In so white and thus, resembles the boundary between doing I am not suggesting that this reinterpretation things seen and unseen. The Killer Whale is also ter­ is exactly what the Nazca believed, only that it is in ribly powerful and lives in the ocean depths. Out of line with both later Andean myths and ubiquitous nowhere, the Killer Whale appears and demands themes and motifs that can be found within the blood; supposedly, he can even carry the sun on its creation stories the world over. The following myth nighttime journey through the underworld. represents a pastiche of scholarly research on An­ Regardless of Pachacamac’s true form, when the dean mythology, known pre-Columbian myths, darkness of Pachacamac came, Kon suddenly disap­ such as the Huarochiri Manuscript, accounts of the peared. Without a leader, Kon’s people were defense­ earliest Spanish chroniclers and most important, less against Pachacamac who turned them into Nazca imagery and iconography. monkeys, spiders, llamas, parrots, bears, cats and other birds of the country. After the transformation T h e R e tu rn o f Kon: of the first race of man, Pachacamac created the In­ R e s u rre c tin g th e N a zc a C re a tio n M y th dians of today and taught them how to cultivate In the beginning, before the existence of humans, crops. Although he is honored as a powerful god, the animals, and the very earth itself, there was a vast people know that Pachacamac s time is limited and darkness. Out of the darkness the great creator God that he must share the cosmos with Kon. As one ar­ Kon spontaneously and mysteriously appeared. Kon rives the other always leaves. Soon...Kon will called into being the Earth, the Moon, the sky and awaken and once again fly over the lands. The sun the stars, and even time itself. At this point, Kon, or will rise, ice will melt, and water will flow and the as he is known to some—Coniraya Viracocha— rivers will spill their bounty across the plains. took on a physical yet ethereal form. He developed However, the neatly ordered rhythms of nature the appearance of a tall man wearing a long white come at a price. The people must dance their robe and carrying a large staff. Although he looked dances, walk their sacred lines; they must make like a man, he seemed to flash with the brightness sacrifices. Most importantly, the people must re­ of the sun and he moved about the land gracefully member. Remember their origins, their gods...they for he was quite agile. Some even say that he had must never forget the great visible works of Kon no need for bones or joints. and the hidden and invisible ways of Pachacamac. As the master of time and space, Kon could travel great distances in the blink of an eye, he could S u m m a ry an d In te rp re ta tio n raise or level mountains at will. However, during this This is why we Nazca people have created our lines primordial age, the Earth was still barren and lifeless. and images on the desert floor—first and foremost, Looking out upon the emptiness of the Earth, Kon to honor our beginnings and to show Kon that we re­ decided to create plants to grow within Pachamama member his deeds. We drew our story into the dry 26 SKE P TI C M A G A Z I N E volume 21 number 4 2016 ground as a signal to Kon so that he will never forget us be shared because we are all distant relatives. When we call and so that he will be pleased with us. We need his life-giv­ to the animals and copy their movements, their ways, they ing rivers and his far-reaching warmth. With our desert let us borrow their gifts, their powers. Finally, we placed an story, we also show reverence to our ancestors who were image of Kon as a shimmering man holding a staff and an transformed into animals. This is why we made such large image of Pachacamac as a powerful Killer Whale so that copies of them in the desert. Walking the paths of the mon­ both of them will be given their proper place. Then, and key, the condor, the spider, we connect with nature, which only then, can there be order out of chaos and peace within is all around us. The powers of the birds and animals can the land. Q REFERENCES 1. Kosok, Paul. 1959. "Astronomy, the tion in Quechua and Incaic Astron­ 15. Rostworowski, Maria. “ Origen reli- Priesthood and the State.” Zeitschrift omy." In Ethnology, vol. 17 (2), 157- gioso de Ios dibujos y rayas de fur Ethnologie, 5-18. Kosok, Paul and 167. The natives recognize shapes in Nasca.” Journal de la Societe des Maria Reiche. 1947. “The Mysterious the spaces in-between the star clus­ Americanistes, 79: 198-199. Markings of Nazca," Natural History, ters and so if Nazca had anything to 16. Ibid, 198-199. vol. 56, 200-207 and 237-238. do with astronomical alignments, it is 17. See Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa’s, Kosok, Paul and Maria Reiche. 1949. more probable that the lines should The History o f the Incas, for a prime “Ancient Drawings on the Desert of be pointing to these shapes rather example of a Christian gloss on the Peru.” Archaeology, 2, 206-215. Re­ than specific stars. Of course, the Incan creation stories. iche, Maria. 1949. Mystery on the sheer size of the space between 18. Zarate, Agustin. 1968. The Discovery Desert. (Self Published). some of the clusters makes any at­ and Conquest o f Peru, translated by 2. Kosok, Paul and Maria Reiche. 1947. tempt at claiming astronomical align­ J.M. Cohen, 1555. Harmondsworth: "The Mysterious Markings of Nazca,” ment to the Dark Magellanic Cloud England, Penguin Books, 48. Natural History, vol. 56. pointless because almost any line 19. Zarate, The Discovery and Conquest 3. For a full account of Hawkins’ survey going any direction would point to one o f Peru, 48-49. results see: Hawkins, Gerald and An­ of the dark spaces; this is further 20. De Gomara, Francisco Lopez. 1941. thony Morrison. 1978. Pathways to damaging evidence to any astronomi­ Historia General de las Indias, ed. Es- the Gods: Mystery o f the Andes cal calendar theory as an explanation paca-Calpe, 1552, Madrid. Lines. Michael Russell Publishing. for the meaning of the Nazca Lines. 21. Gary Urton and Helaine Silverman Also note: Hadingham, Evan. 1987. 7. Reinhard, Johan. 1992. “ Interpreting have both drawn this connection to Lines to the Mountain Gods: Nazca the Nazca Lines.” In The Ancient Ameri­ the importance of social groups or ayl- and the Mysteries o f Peru. New York: cas: Art from Sacred Landscapes. lus creating tangible social space for Random House. Richard F. Townsend (Ed.). Chicago: ritual practice. 4. See: Clarkson, Persis. 1990. “The Ar­ The Art Institute of Chicago, 291-301. 22. This possibility could be strengthened chaeology of the Nazca Pampa: Envi­ 8. Johnson, David. 1999. “ Die Nasca- by the fact that certain geoglyphs, such ronmental and Cultural Parameters.” Linien als Markierungen fur unterirdis- as “ hands,” “ huarango tree,” and “the In The Lines o f Nazca. Anthony F. Aveni che Wasservorkommen,” Nasca: astronaut” are closed, meaning that (Ed.) Philadelphia: American Philosophi­ Geheimnisvolle Zeichen im Alten they may not have been ritually walked. cal Society, 117-72; Clarkson, Persis Peru. Judith Rickenbach (Ed.) Zurich: This matters because why would kin and Ronald Dorn. “ Nuevos Datos Rela­ Museum Rietberg, 157-164. groups associate themselves with the tives a la Antiguedad do ios Geoglifos y 9. Salomon, Frank and George Urioste more ambiguous geoglyphs or plant ori­ Pukios de Nazca, Peru.” Bolettn de (Eds.) 1991. The Huarochiri Manuscript. ented geoglyphs? As for the astronaut, Lima, 78: 33-45; Clarkson, Persis and Austin: University of Texas Press, 44. I have already claimed that as a creator Ronald Dorn. “ New Chronometric 10. For examples of other anthropomor­ deity, it would be blasphemous to ritu­ Dates for the Puquios of Nasca, Peru.” phic geoglyphs in and around the ally walk and take on his power. The Latin American Antiquity, 6: 56-69. Nazca territory see: Reindel, Markus point is that the animal glyphs ap­ 5. Aveni, Anthony. 2000. Between the and Johny Isla. 1999. Das Paipa-Tai: peared to be walked, whereas more Lines: The Mystery o f the Giant Ground Ein Archiv der Vorgeschichte Perus. amorphous, plantlike or godlike glyphs Drawings in Ancient Nasca. Peru. Nasca: Geheimnisvolle Zeichen im were likely not walked, and the animal Austin: University of Texas Press, 3. Alten Peru. Judith Rickenbach (Ed.) glyphs may well have been connected 6. Leading Andean scholar and anthro­ Zurich: Museum Reitberg. to a previous race of humans. pologist Gary Urton spent years living 11. The prevalence of Kon or Concon as a 23. The evidence for a later date for the in Peru and he collected ethnographic wandering nonlocal deity with great lines as opposed to the biomorphic data from the various indigenous power can be found across a large figures primarily comes from the work groups. Urton pointed out that in the swathe of Peru. This argument is well of Persis Clarkson who found numer­ Southern Hemisphere, constellations presented by: Rostworowski, Maria. ous functionally associated ritual re­ that we are familiar with in the North­ 1992. Pachacamac y el Sehor de Ios mains in and around the Pampa. The ern Hemisphere play little to no role. Milagros: Una Trayectoria Milenaria. pottery around most of the lines Instead, the indigenous people of Lima: Institute de Estudios Peruanos. suggests a much later date than the Peru look to the space between star 12. The entirety of chapter 2 in the biomorphic geoglyphs. This point is clusters, the so-called Dark Magel­ Huarochiri Manuscript is devoted to further strengthened by the fact that lanic Cloud. See: Urton, Gary. 1979. Cuniraya’s wanderings around Peru Maria Reiche, one of the first re­ At the Crossroads o f the Earth and and his bringing into being all that is. searchers in the area in modern times, the Sky. Austin: University of Texas 13. Ibid., 91. found very early Nasca pottery in and Press; Urton, Gary. 1978. “Orienta­ 14. Ibid., 88-89. around the biomorphic geoglyphs. volume 21 number 4 2016 WWW. SKEPTI C. 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