DOCSLIB.ORG

New Chronometric Dates for the Puquios of Nasca, Peru Author(S): Persis B

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
New Chronometric Dates for the Puquios of Nasca, Peru Author(S): Persis B Society for American Archaeology New Chronometric Dates for the Puquios of Nasca, Peru Author(s): Persis B. Clarkson and Ronald I. Dorn Source: Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Mar., 1995), pp. 56-69 Published by: Society for American Archaeology Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/971600 Accessed: 15/12/2010 12:49 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=sam. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Society for American Archaeology is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Latin American Antiquity. http://www.jstor.org NEW CHRONOMETRICDATES FOR THE PUQUIOS OF NASCA, PERU PersisB. Clarksonand RonaldI. Dorn Numericage assessmentsof organicmaterial encapsulated by rock varnishpresent on stone lintels of two "puquios" in the Nasca regionof the southcoast of Peruindicate a Precolumbianage. Acceleratormass spectrometry radiocarbon analyses at the Isotrace Laboratoryrevealed ages of cal A.D. 560(620)650 and cal A.D. 600(640)660 (I sigma). Thesecalibrated measurements are consideredto be appropriatein the contextof the archaeologicalsettlement pattern datafor the region.As well, the writtendocuments of the colonial period neitherconf rm nor deny the presenceof the puquEos.Three assumptions are inherentin the acceptanceof these dates:(I) AMS 14C dating and its application to rock varnishyield reliableresults, (2) sample contaminationcan be recognized,and (3) determinationof the age of the puquiosrests upon testableavailable information; ex silentio argumentsabout the presenceor absenceof the puquiosin the Nasca regionbefore the Spanish conquestare inadequatefor the resolutionof the question. Se ha determinadola edad cronologicaen los dintelesde dos puquEosde la regionde Nasca, costa sur del Peru, en base a materialorgan ico encapsuladoen barniz de roca;los fechados indican que los puquEosson prehispanicos. Los estudiosradiocarbonicos de espectrometriapor aceleracionde masa ('4CACM)realizados en los laboratoriosIsotrace han proporcionadodos fechas radiocarbonicascalibradas 560(620)650 D.C. y 600(640)660 D.C. (I sigma) respec- tivamente.Estas fechas calibradasse consideranapropriadas dentro del contexto de los patronesde asentamiento prehistoricode la region de Nasca, entendiendoademas que los documentoscoloniales no conf rman ni niegan la existenciade puquiosen la zona. Trespremisas son inherentesa la aceptacionde estosfechados: (I) elfechamiento de 14C medianteACM proporcionaresultados fRables e aceptablespara el estudio del barniz de roca, (2) cualquier contaminacionde las muestraspuede ser detectada,y (3) la determinacionde la edad de los puquEosse basa en tecnicas reproduciblesy datos verifcables. El uso de argumentosex silentio no es adecuadopara demostrarsi los acueductosexistieron o no en tiemposprehispanicos. Researchers working in the Nasca region nean channels and clear out the debris ac- of southern Peru are no doubt familiar cumulatedover the last year (Urton 1981:4). with an intriguingcultural feature known as While a variety of hydraulic systems were puquios. Puquios, also referred to as aque- used and adaptedthroughout the New World ducts or filtrationgalleries, are artificialchan- before and after the Spanish arrival in the nels constructedas tunnels or trenchesto gain sixteenthcentury, the puquios discussedhere access to the water table. Between approxi- include the threedrainages of the Rio Grande mately Januaryand April each year, during de Nasca: the Nasca (Aja and Tierras Blan- the rainy season in the Andes, the rivers flow cas), Taruga,and Las Trancas (Figure 1). and the water table rises, thereby providing Precipitationin the Nasca region itself is sufficientwater for the fields surroundingthe insufficientto supportcurrent human and ag- puquios. The necessary cleaning of the sub- riculturalneeds: the averagerainfall recorded terraneanchannels is timed to coincide with between 1957 and 1965 at the Majoro sta- the lowest water level at the warmest time of tion, situated about 3 km from the town of the year,usually between October and Decem- Nasca, was 5.03 mm, with a range between ber, when people crawl throughthe subterra- 23 mm (in 1963) and 0 mm (in 1958, 1960, Persis B. Clarkson* Departmentof Anthropology,University of Winnipeg,515 PortageAvenue, Winnipeg,Man- itoba R3B 2E9, Canada RonaldI. Dorn * Departmentof Geography,Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-0104 Latin AmericanAntiquity, 6(1), 1995, pp. 56-69. Copyright@ 1995 by the Society for AmericanArchaeology 56 Clarkson and Dom] CHRONOMETRICDATES FOR THE PUQUIOS, NASCA, PERU 57 Figure 1. Map of the Nasca re- gion. and 1965 with January through September ogists and ethnohistorians.In a preliminary only recorded for the latter year; ONERN archaeologicalstudy of the prehistoricsettle- 1971 II:15). The puquios help to offset the ments of the Nasca region, Schreiber and insignificant amount of precipitation in the Lancho(1988) note that therewas an increase Nasca region by acting as a buffer against of settlements in previously uninhabited ar- drought.Although the waters in some of the eas in the Nasca Valley during Nasca 5, or puquios may fail to rise during times of approximatelyA.D.500. These areasare suf- drought in the Andes, placing some stress ficiently dry that the kind of settlement ex- many never dry up. A upon the system, pansionwitnessed during Nasca 5 would have drought during 1990 and 1991 ended in been impossible without a permanentwater March 1991 when heavy rains arrivedin the Schreiberand Lancho posit that the Andes, causing severe flooding in the rivers system. into and damage to the retardedcrops in the sur- suddenexpansion of Nasca 5 settlements roundingfields that were not wateredby pu- these zones was due to the construction of quios; in fieldswhere puquio waterwas avail- the puquios. The settlement patternstudy of able, many ofthe cropshad grownsufficiently the Nasca Valley is still ongoing,and the final that they were able to withstand the effects results have not yet been published (Schrei- of the flooding. ber and Lancho 1995). Silverman (1986:20) has also suggestedthat the location of Nasca The Age of the Nasca Puquios Valley sites, such as the Middle Horizon Pa- Evidence for the age of the Nasca puquio checo (Menzel 1964; Paulsen 1983) and the system has been brought forth by archaeol- Late Horizon Paredones, might have been 58 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 6, No. 1, 1995 chosen to take advantage of the already ex- of puquios. Barnes and Fleming (1991) sug- isting water system. gest that the lack of an eyewitness account The origin of the puquios has been studied regardingthe puquios dating back to early by a variety of researchers.An Inka origin colonial times indicatesthat the puquioswere was posited by the historianClements Mark- a post-Conquestconstruction by the Spanish. ham based on his examinationofthe puquios Barnesand Fleming believe that the puquios in 1853 (in Joyce 1912:119-120), as well as sharemuch in common with Moorishqanats, by other researchers (see Auza A. 1948, which were built throughoutthe Iberianpen- Conkling 1939, Gonzalez G. 1934). The Pe- insula, and that the techniques of construct- ruvian priest and amateur archaeologist A. ing these hydraulicsystems came to the New Rossel Castro stated that the Inka had never World with the Spaniards.However, as Ko- built subterranean irrigation systems any- sok points out, there are few references to wherein their domain, other than Nasca, and ancient irrigationworks by the early Spanish suggestedthat they were pre-Inkain age (Ros- chroniclers, perhaps because "(m)ost of the sel Castro 1942). Rossel described "Classic writers ... record the luxury, wealth and Naska" remains recoveredfrom the puquios abundance of fruits and vegetables in the (Rossel Castro 1977:175-176). There are no coastal valleys without inquiring into the illustrationsof the artifacts recovered in the method of their production.... They were puquios by Rossel, nor is there any infor- thereforenot primarilyinterested in the eco- mation about the puquios in question nor the nomic life of the coast insofar as the people specifics of the location of the artifacts;Ros- there could be used as human pack animals sel's conclusions are considered unsubstan- and mine laborers"(Kosok 1940:172-173). tiated here. Based upon Rossel's 1977 pub- Trimbornhad two wooden lintels from the lication, Petersen (1980) stated that the pu- Cantalloqand Majoro puquios in the Nasca quios were built between middle and late Valley radiocarbondated (see Scharpenseel Nasca times,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Climate, Agricultural Strategies, and Sustainability in the Precolumbian Andes Charles Ortloff [email protected]
    Andean Past Volume 9 Article 15 11-1-2009 Climate, Agricultural Strategies, and Sustainability in the Precolumbian Andes Charles Ortloff [email protected] Michael E. Moseley University of Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/andean_past Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Natural Resource Economics Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Sustainability Commons, and the Water Resource Management Commons Recommended Citation Ortloff, Charles and Moseley, Michael E. (2009) "Climate, Agricultural Strategies, and Sustainability in the Precolumbian Andes," Andean Past: Vol. 9 , Article 15. Available at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/andean_past/vol9/iss1/15 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Andean Past by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CLIMATE, AGRICULTURAL STATEGIES, AND SUSTAINABILITY IN THE PRECOLUMBIAN ANDES CHARLES R. ORTLOFF University of Chicago and MICHAEL E. MOSELEY University of Florida INTRODUCTION allowed each society to design and manage complex water supply networks and to adapt Throughout ancient South America, mil- them as climate changed. While shifts to marine lions of hectares of abandoned farmland attest resources, pastoralism, and trade may have that much more terrain was cultivated in mitigated declines in agricultural production, precolumbian times than at present. For Peru damage to the sustainability of the main agricul- alone, the millions of hectares of abandoned tural system often led to societal changes and/or agricultural land show that in some regions 30 additional modifications to those systems.
    [Show full text]
  • Desert Varnish As an Indicator of Modern-Day Air Pollution in Southern Nevada
    UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 2009 Desert varnish as an indicator of modern-day air pollution in southern Nevada Piotr Nowinski University of Nevada Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Analytical Chemistry Commons, Environmental Sciences Commons, and the Geology Commons Repository Citation Nowinski, Piotr, "Desert varnish as an indicator of modern-day air pollution in southern Nevada" (2009). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 459. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/1391234 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DESERT VARNISH AS AN INDICATOR OF MODERN-DAY AIR POLLUTION IN SOUTHERN NEVADA by Piotr Nowinski Bachelor of Science, Chemistry University of Nevada, Las Vegas 1988 Master of Science, Chemistry University of Nevada,
    [Show full text]
  • Pscde3 - the Four Sides of the Inca Empire
    CUSCO LAMBAYEQUE Email: [email protected] Av. Manco Cápac 515 – Wanchaq Ca. M. M. Izaga 740 Of. 207 - Chiclayo www.chaskiventura.com T: 51+ 84 233952 T: 51 +74 221282 PSCDE3 - THE FOUR SIDES OF THE INCA EMPIRE SUMMARY DURATION AND SEASON 15 Days/ 14 Nights LOCATION Department of Arequipa, Puno, Cusco, Raqchi community ATRACTIONS Tourism: Archaeological, Ethno tourism, Gastronomic and landscapes. ATRACTIVOS Archaeological and Historical complexes: Machu Picchu, Tipón, Pisac, Pikillaqta, Ollantaytambo, Moray, Maras, Chinchero, Saqsayhuaman, Catedral, Qoricancha, Cusco city, Inca and pre-Inca archaeological complexes, Temple of Wiracocha, Arequipa and Puno. Living culture: traditional weaving techniques and weaving in the Communities of Chinchero, Sibayo, , Raqchi, Uros Museum: in Lima, Arequipa, Cusco. Natural areas: of Titicaca, highlands, Colca canyon, local fauna and flora. TYPE OF SERVICE Private GUIDE – TOUR LEADER English, French, or Spanish. Its presence is important because it allows to incorporate your journey in the thematic offered, getting closer to the economic, institutional, and historic culture and the ecosystems of the circuit for a better understanding. RESUME This circuit offers to get closer to the Andean culture and to understand its world view, its focus, its technologies, its mixture with the Hispanic culture, and the fact that it remains present in Indigenous Communities today. In this way, by bus, small boat, plane or walking, we will visit Archaeological and Historical Complexes, Communities, Museums & Natural Environments that will enable us to know the heart of the Inca Empire - the last heir of the Andean independent culture and predecessor of the mixed world of nowadays. CUSCO LAMBAYEQUE Email: [email protected] Av.
    [Show full text]
  • Inca Statehood on the Huchuy Qosqo Roads Advisor
    Silva Collins, Gabriel 2019 Anthropology Thesis Title: Making the Mountains: Inca Statehood on the Huchuy Qosqo Roads Advisor: Antonia Foias Advisor is Co-author: None of the above Second Advisor: Released: release now Authenticated User Access: No Contains Copyrighted Material: No MAKING THE MOUNTAINS: Inca Statehood on the Huchuy Qosqo Roads by GABRIEL SILVA COLLINS Antonia Foias, Advisor A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Anthropology WILLIAMS COLLEGE Williamstown, Massachusetts May 19, 2019 Introduction Peru is famous for its Pre-Hispanic archaeological sites: places like Machu Picchu, the Nazca lines, and the city of Chan Chan. Ranging from the earliest cities in the Americas to Inca metropolises, millennia of urban human history along the Andes have left large and striking sites scattered across the country. But cities and monuments do not exist in solitude. Peru’s ancient sites are connected by a vast circulatory system of roads that connected every corner of the country, and thousands of square miles beyond its current borders. The Inca road system, or Qhapaq Ñan, is particularly famous; thousands of miles of trails linked the empire from modern- day Colombia to central Chile, crossing some of the world’s tallest mountain ranges and driest deserts. The Inca state recognized the importance of its road system, and dotted the trails with rest stops, granaries, and religious shrines. Inca roads even served directly religious purposes in pilgrimages and a system of ritual pathways that divided the empire (Ogburn 2010). This project contributes to scholarly knowledge about the Inca and Pre-Hispanic Andean civilizations by studying the roads which stitched together the Inca state.
    [Show full text]
  • Acueductos De Nasca
    REPÚBLICA DEL PERÚ ACUEDUCTOS DE NASCA FORMULARIO DE PRESENTACIÓN LISTA INDICATIVA Lima, mayo 2019 Formulario de Presentación Lista Indicativa Anexo 2A FORMULARIO DE PRESENTACIÓN LISTA INDICATIVA ESTADO PARTE: Perú FECHA DE PRESENTACIÓN: Mayo 2019 Propuesta preparada por: Nombre: Correo Electrónico: Luis Jaime Castillo Butters – Ministro de Cultura [email protected] Dirección: Fax: Av. Javier Prado Este 2465 San Borja, Lima (511) 4769901 Institución: Teléfono: Ministerio de Cultura (511) 476 9933 Nombre del Bien: Acueductos de Nasca Estado, Provincia o Región: Perú, Región Ica, provincia de Nasca, distritos de Nasca y Vista Alegre Latitud y longitud, o coordenadas UTM: 506,740 E y 8´360,620 N (referencial ciudad de Nasca) DESCRIPCIÓN: Los Acueductos de Nasca se ubican en la provincia de Nasca, departamento de Ica, en la cuenca del río Grande, caracterizado por ser un sistema hidrográfico que nace únicamente en base a las precipitaciones que ocurren en las montañas de la parte alta de la cuenca, en la estribaciones de los Andes centrales y que dan origen a cursos de agua de características intermitentes, que suelen durar solamente entre tres y cuatro meses cada año (diciembre a marzo). Los acueductos se ubican en la parte baja de la cuenca; se caracteriza por ser una faja desértica muy seca, mayormente plana si bien existen algunos sectores con relieves montañosos complejos; el desierto es surcado por varios ríos, pero contrariamente a la abundancia de agua, se trata de cauces con un régimen irregular, donde la mayor parte del año el agua es escasa y en muchos casos se produce un estiaje total a veces muy prolongado.
    [Show full text]
  • Nazca Culture Azca Flourished in the Ica and Rio Grande De Nazca River Valleys of Southern Peru, Nin an Extremely Arid Coastal Zone Just West of the Andes
    Nazca Culture azca flourished in the Ica and Rio Grande de Nazca river valleys of southern Peru, Nin an extremely arid coastal zone just west of the Andes. Nazca chronology is generally broken into four main periods: 1) Proto-Nazca or Nazca 1, from the decline of Paracas culture in the second century BCE until about 0 CE; 2) Early Nazca (or Nazca 2–4), from ca. 0 CE to 450 CE; 3) A transitional Nazca 5 from 450–550 CE; and 4) Late Nazca (phases 6–7), from about 550–750 CE. Nazca 5 witnesses the beginning of environmental changes thought to be associated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), cycles of warm and cold water that interrupt the cold, low-salinity Humboldt Current that flows along the Peruvian coast. A 2009 study in Latin American Antiquity suggests that the Nazca may have contributed to this environmental collapse by clearing the land of huarango trees (Prosopis pallida, a kind of mesquite) which played a crucial role in preventing erosion. While best known for their pottery and the Nazca lines (geoglyphs created in the surrounding desert), perhaps their greatest achievement was the construction of extensive puquios, or underground aqueducts channeling water from aquifers, similar in purpose and construction to the qanats of the ancient Middle East. Through the use of puquios the ancient Nazca made parts of the desert bloom; many Nazca puquios remain in use today. Some scholars long doubted that the puquios were made by the Nazca, but in 1995 chronometric dates using accelerator mass spectrometry confirmed dates in the sixth century CE and earlier.
    [Show full text]
  • Nasca Culture Integration and Complexity: a Perspective from the Site of La Tiza
    Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 35 (2014) 234–247 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Anthropological Archaeology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jaa Nasca culture integration and complexity: A perspective from the site of La Tiza Christina A. Conlee Texas State University, Department of Anthropology, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA article info abstract Article history: The Nasca culture (AD 1-650) located on the south coast of Peru has been interpreted in many ways since Received 21 January 2014 it was first investigated by Max Uhle in 1901. Scholars have described it as a middlerange society, Revision received 16 June 2014 heterarchy, simple chiefdom, confederacy, paramount chiefdom, theocracy, state, and empire. This paper explores past interpretations of Nasca and presents data from the site of La Tiza in the southern Nasca drainage. The evidence from La Tiza indicates that population was larger and settlements were more Keywords: variable than has previously been proposed for southern Nasca. In addition, there are indications of a Nasca culture greater degree of social differentiation and ritual activities not previously identified at other sites in Integration the area. This has implications for the overall integration and complexity of the Nasca culture. Complexity Inequality Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Peru Early Intermediate Period 1. Introduction Silverman and Proulx, 2002; Vaughn, 2009). The last twenty years have seen a proliferation of research on the Nasca culture and there Since it was first investigated by Max Uhle in 1901, the Nasca is now a great deal of new data that can be used to better assess the culture of the Early Intermediate Period (AD 1-650) has been inter- nature of this ancient society.
    [Show full text]
  • El Valle Del Sondondo, Paisaje Cultural Vivo
    El Valle del Sondondo, Paisaje Cultural Vivo © Ministerio de Cultura © Dirección de Paisaje Cultural 2017 Fuente: ©CTB/PRODERN/Enrique Castro Mendivil SALVADOR DEL SOLAR LABARTHE Ministro de Cultura JORGE ARRUNÁTEGUI GADEA Viceministro de Patrimonio Cultural e Industrias Culturales EDWIN BENAVENTE GARCÍA Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural LENKA FIGUEROA AÑORGA Dirección de Paisaje Cultural INVESTIGACIÓN: Josué Carlos Gonzales Solórzano Frank David Huamaní Paliza Lila Magaly Tantaleán Valiente Anderson Chamorro García REDACCIÓN: Josué Carlos Gonzales Solórzano Frank David Huamaní Paliza EDICIÓN Frank David Huamaní Paliza CARTOGRAFÍA: Leyla Mabel Sotelo Manrique María Giovanna Chamorro Mott CORRECCIÓN DE TEXTOS: Frank David Huamaní Paliza Josué Carlos Gonzales Solórzano DISEÑO Y DIAGRAMACIÓN: Johan Orreaga Muñoz FOTOGRAFÍA: Ministerio de Cultura - Dirección de Paisaje Cultural FOTO CARÁTULA: ©CTB/PRODERN/Enrique Castro Mendivil Hecho el depósito legal en la Biblioteca Nacional del Perú Nº 2017-09885 ISBN: 978-612-4126-64-2 © Dirección de Paisaje Cultural, 2016 Sede Central: Av. Javier Prado Este 2465, San Borja, Lima Central telefónica: 0051 - 01 - 3215554 Email: [email protected] Primera edición, Junio 2016 Primera reimpresión, setiembre 2017 Tiraje: 1000 ejemplares Impreso en Perú Se terminó de imprimir en setiembre de 2017 en: MAGRAF E.I.R.L. Calle Miguel Checa , dpto B, urb. Santa Catalina La Victoria, Lima Índice Índice Índice de tablas Índice de gráficos Tabla 01. Hectáreas de andenerías en Sondondo 27 Grafico 01. Uso vertical del territorio (valle y puna) en el Valle del Sondondo 24 Tabla 02. Número y longitud de canales en el Valle de Sondondo 29 Grafico 02. Uso y manejo de la puna en las altiplanicies de Cabana 35 Tabla 03.
    [Show full text]
  • Southern Exposures
    Searching for the Pliocene: Southern Exposures Robert E. Reynolds, editor California State University Desert Studies Center The 2012 Desert Research Symposium April 2012 Table of contents Searching for the Pliocene: Field trip guide to the southern exposures Field trip day 1 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5 Robert E. Reynolds, editor Field trip day 2 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 19 George T. Jefferson, David Lynch, L. K. Murray, and R. E. Reynolds Basin thickness variations at the junction of the Eastern California Shear Zone and the San Bernardino Mountains, California: how thick could the Pliocene section be? ��������������������������������������������������������������� 31 Victoria Langenheim, Tammy L. Surko, Phillip A. Armstrong, Jonathan C. Matti The morphology and anatomy of a Miocene long-runout landslide, Old Dad Mountain, California: implications for rock avalanche mechanics �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 38 Kim M. Bishop The discovery of the California Blue Mine ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 44 Rick Kennedy Geomorphic evolution of the Morongo Valley, California ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 45 Frank Jordan, Jr. New records
    [Show full text]
  • Surface Rock Controls on the Development of Desert Varnish in the Mojave Desert
    SURFACE ROCK CONTROLS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF DESERT VARNISH IN THE MOJAVE DESERT By Eric James Zautner Submitted to the graduate degree program in Geography and Atmospheric Science and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. ________________________________ Chairperson Daniel R. Hirmas, Ph.D. ________________________________ William C. Johnson, Ph.D. ________________________________ Xingong Li, Ph.D. Date Defended: 7/22/2016 The Thesis Committee for Eric James Zautner certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: SURFACE ROCK CONTROLS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF DESERT VARNISH IN THE MOJAVE DESERT ________________________________ Chairperson Daniel R. Hirmas, Ph.D. Date Approved: 7/22/2016 ii ABSTRACT Desert varnish is a commonly occurring feature on surface rocks of stable landforms in arid regions. The objectives of this study were to investigate how desert varnish is related to the properties of the rocks on which it forms and how varnish is related to landform surface age and stability. To accomplish these objectives, approximately 350 varnished rocks from previously dated sites in the Mojave Desert were collected, photographed, converted to 3-D models, and analyzed to determine the extent, intensity, and patterns of desert varnish and how the desert varnish was related to land surface age and stability. Our results show a link between increasingly stronger varnish expression and both landform age and stability. We found a potential interaction between vesicular (V) horizons and the formation of the rubified ventral varnish. The rocks in this study showed a maximum varnish expression at a depth below the embedding plane that corresponded to the depth of V horizons when present and the lowest portion of the rock when absent.
    [Show full text]
  • Aeolian Processes Pre-Reading
    Aeolian processes Pre-reading. Explain these terms. sediment sparse clay minerals landforms sphinx sculpture diameter hollow From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 6. Read about Aeolian processes and wind erosion and find what these terms refer to. a) Aeolus……………………………………… b) arid environments………………………… c) deflation …………………………………… d) abrasion ………………………………….. e) desert varnish…………………………… f) ventifacts ………………………………… g) yardang ………………………………… h) blowouts……………………………….. Aeolian (or Eolian or Æolian) processes pertain to the activity of the winds and more specifically, to the winds' ability to shape the surface of the Earth and other planets. Winds may erode, transport, and deposit materials, and are effective agents in regions with sparse vegetation and a large supply of unconsolidated sediments. Although water is much more powerful than wind, aeolian processes are important in arid environments such as deserts. The term is derived from the name of the Greek god, Æolus, the keeper of the winds. Wind erosion Wind erodes the Earth's surface by deflation (the removal of loose, fine-grained particles), by the turbulent eddy action of the wind and by abrasion (the wearing down of surfaces by the grinding action and sandblasting of windborne particles).Regions which experience intense and sustained erosion are called deflation zones. Most aeolian deflation zones are composed of desert pavement, a sheet-like surface of rock fragments that remains after wind and water have removed the fine particles. Almost half of Earth's desert surfaces are stony deflation zones. The rock mantle in desert pavements protects the underlying material from deflation. A dark, shiny stain, called desert varnish or rock varnish, is often found on the surfaces of some desert rocks that have been exposed at the surface for a long period of time.
    [Show full text]
  • The Big Picture Part 1 Nazca (Nasca) Nazca Is a City and System of Valleys on the Southern Coast of Peru
    The Big Picture Part 1 Nazca (Nasca) Nazca is a city and system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru. It is also the name of the largest existing town in the Nazca Province. The Nazca culture flourished in the area between 100 BCE and 800 CE. https://www.ancient.eu/Nazca_Civilizat ion/ Cahauchi Temple Complex Irrigation https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=MuluiE26rEw Puquios are an ancient system of subterranean aqueducts built by both the Paracas and Nasca cultures in the region of present-day Nazca, Peru. The former group occupied the area roughly between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, and the Nasca from 200 BCE to 650 CE near the city of Nazca, Peru. Of 36 known puquios in Peru, most still function and are relied upon to bring fresh water into the desert. Nazca Textiles The Nazca are also known for their technically complex textiles. The textiles were most likely woven by women at habitation sites from spun cotton and wool. The dry desert has preserved the textiles of both the Nazca and Paracas cultures. Nazca Pottery The use of pre-fire slip painting to produce certain colors. Major pottery shapes include double-spout bottles, bowls, cups, vases, effigy forms, and mythical creatures. Archaeologists have excavated highly valued polychrome pottery among all classes of Nazca society, illustrating that it was not just the elite that had access to them. Commoners were able to obtain these goods through feasting and pilgrimages to Cahuachi. Nazca Lines Nazca Geoglyphs are among the world’s largest drawings. The hummingbird measures over 300 feet in length.
    [Show full text]