Photo of 2006 crew. From left to right, Jose Sereveleon, Kevin Vaughn,
Matt Edwards, Jelmer Eerkens, Stefanie Bautista,
Moises Linares Grados,
Victor Paredes, and Gonzalo Valencia.
Photo of 2004 crew. From left to right: Moises Linares Grados, Gabi Brockman,
Ryan Snodgrass, Fiorela Fiorela Vento, Jose Luis Nuñez, Jose Sereveleon,
Roberto Quispe, Jose
and Federico Garcia (kneeling).
The 2002 Upanca crew.
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The Early Nasca Craft Economy Project (ENCE; also referred to as the Proyecto Nasca Temprano, or PNT, in Spanish) was supported by the National Science Foundation and the H. John Heinz III Fund Grant Program for Latin American Archaeology. Vaughn directed the project from 2002-2007. The goal was to understand the complexities of Early Nasca (ca. A.D. 1-450) ceramic production, distribution, and consumption. The working hypothesis was that polychrome pottery was an important source of political capital for Early Nasca elites as it was the principal vehicle for Nasca ideology. One of the major results of the project (Vaughn 2004; Vaughn and Neff 2000; Vaughn et al. 2006 - see full references here) was that the pottery appears to have been produced in limited contexts most likely by specialists.
Vaughn also hypothesized that the distribution of that pottery was done in feasting and ceremonies at the ceremonial center Cahauachi. This project involved two interrelated but separate objectives:
1) To conduct a raw material survey of clays and mineral pigments to determine the variability of raw materials in the Nasca region that were available to ancient Nasca potters. Please click here for more information about this aspect of the project (you can also click the link under "Quick links" to the left).
2) To conduct excavations at selected Early Nasca sites to determine the extent to which people were using polychrome pottery in everyday life. Please click here for more information about this aspect of the project (you can also click the link under "Quick links" to the left).
The co-director of the project was Moises David Linares Grados Licenciatura from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima. Other members of the project included Aldo Noriega Gutierrez, Enrique Narcisso Belota, Roberto Quispe, Laly Ahon Zevallos, Jose Luis Nuñez, Fiorela Vento, Lurica Hayakawa, Gonzalo Valencia, and Jose Sereveleon. Jelmer Eerkens (UC Davis) worked with us in 2002, 2006, and 2007. In 2004, Gabi Brockman and Ryan Snodgrass of PLU participated in the project. In 2006, Matthew Edwards and Stefanie Bautista (both from UCSB) joined us, and in 2007 Sarah Cross and Matt Taylor from Purdue were on the project. |