The Body Context: Interpreting Early Nasca Decapitated Burials

Lisa DeLeonardis

47 citations0/0 files storedLatin American Antiquity

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Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning Latin American history and culture Archaeological and Geological Studies

Abstract

Abstract One of the most enigmatic aspects of decapitation practices among south coastal Peruvian Paracas and Nasca cultures (900 B.C.-A.D. 750) is the near absence of headless bodies in the archaeological record. Drawing on a case study of an Early Nasca, Phase 3 headless burial at Site PV62D13 in the lower Ica Valley, together with examples of headless interments reported in the literature, I examine the nature and disposition of headless burials. Three burial patterns, or forms, are proposed. The burial at PV62D13 is distinguished for its extended posture and interment in a non-cemetery setting and is proposed to be a dedicatory burial. Burial forms for disembodied heads are also examined, and over time, a notable increase in cached heads, buried without grave offerings is observed. Painted ceramic images of Nasca trophy heads and headless bodies are reviewed diachronically and a marked increase in decapitation scenes is noted for Late Nasca. Attention is drawn to the limited number of headless body images overall, and possible solutions to reconcile the visual imagery with the archaeological data are offered.

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References

1982Death and the Regeneration of Life 1947Handbook of South American Indians 1988The Hold Life Has: Coca and Cultural Identity in an Andean Community 1978Mountain of the condor: Metaphor and ritual in an Andean ayllu 2013Tombs for the Living: Andean Mortuary Practices 1962Cloth and Its Functions in the Inca State 1 1973The Jivaro: People of the Sacred Waterfalls.1972The Jívaro

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2026Performing Death: Social Analyses of Funerary Traditions in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean 2004Households, Crafts, and Feasting in the Ancient Andes: The Village Context of Early Nasca Craft Consumption 2006Skull Collection Modification and Decoration 2015The Oldest Case of Decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil)2005Crafts and the Materialization of Chiefly Power in Nasca 2007Decapitation and Rebirth

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