Up-Dates : Nascodex News Releases are up-dated periodically to keep readers abreast of our published research projects as they develop. We are pleased to receive e-mail from anyone interested in the Nasca Lines providing it has serious archaeological, anthropological or astronomical comment.


NEWS RELEASE 1: EPIGRAPHY.
The 3rd century B.C. date for the “Phoenician “ inscription has been strengthened by discovery of potsherds in the region of Palpa ( Reindel/Isla 1999 ) attributed to the Paracas /Middle Ocucaje Phase, i.e. circa 300 B.C. It is not known if artifacts of this period were found within or around stone heaps making up inscription characters.

The transliteration by Dr Clyde Winters has an added dimension also: A study by Jeanette Sherbondy ( 1982 ) and we quote.....”A modern myth from Puquio ( Ayacucho ) states that ancestors travelled sub-terranean aquatic routes. The ancestors created springs and openings in the earth. They distributed lands and waters to each people”.

The foregoing is quoted from independent professional sources. Did filtration galleries and Nasca Lines commence at one and the same time.... in the 3rd century B.C. ? Is this the real beginning of the Andean Peoples history ?. Click to homepage.


NEWS RELEASE 2: UP-DATE.
Our theme that Units of Measurement based upon astronomical phenomena may have been an independently developed universal concept can be up-dated with the following interesting coincidences:

Tiahuanaco : Sunken temple (Kalasasaya)
26 metres x 28 metres
Standard Units
234 x 257

Egyptian Royal Cubits:
20 x 10 x 11.8
Standard Units
96 x 48 x 53

Thus: 1 Royal Cubit = 4.8 Standard Units; 1 Standard Unit = 0.208 Royal Cubits.

Still on the subject of cubits: A right angle triangle 15 x20 x 25 cubits is a 3 : 4 : 5 ratio Pythagorian triangle ( the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid, Egypt ).Converting to standard units derived for Precolumbian Peru, one obtains a ratio of 72 : 96 : 120 , which is also a 3 : 4 : 5 triangle. One could therefore deduce the Priest-Architects who designed and constructed the Nasca Lines were familiar with and used advanced geometry.

Angor Wat: Design of the Temple complex at Angor Wat is based around a unit of measurement called the “ hat “, equal to 0.43545 metres ( 435.45 millimetres) Converting: 1 hat = 3.9949, or 4 Standard (Peruvian) Units of Measurement. Click to homepage.


NEWS RELEASE 3 : UP-DATE.
In the excellent new book “The Nasca” (Silverman/Proulx, Published by Blackwell, 2002, page 223) Professor Donald Proulx, Department of Anthropology at Amherst, believes and we quote....” a simpler calendar could have functioned based on the annual start of water coursing down the rivers”; this is elementary but true, except such a time marker is only of value once water flow commences- only till then could the agricultural calendar begin. But, local communities really need to track the approach of the rainy season in advance to ensure that land or terracing intended for sowing and planting is prepared well beforehand. A more sophisticated and accurate system of prediction is therefore desirable.

The Zig-Zag “Water Clock”, discovered by Archaeologist, William J Veall , is just such a device. By brilliantly combining major solsticial, equinoctial and zenith/anti-zenith azimuths into a zig-zag shape time frame an observer could predict more closely the arrival of spring rains simply because since time immemorial, at the latitude of Nasca, the rains coincided with the sun at zenith, i.e when the noon day sun is immediately overhead at a particular latitude. At Nasca this happens around November 2nd ( Aveni p.153).

At the Cahuachi Ceremonial Centre, for example, Priest-Gods could enhance their reputation considerably by “ making water appear like magic” (cited from Silverman in “The Nasca”) as they chanted ritual incantations to the Sky Gods. Apparently, Priest-Gods also learned to ‘listen in ‘ for the start of water flow through sub-terranean channels which naturally permitted extremely fine tuning of their persuasive powers with the Rain Gods. No doubt the local farmers knew this trick as well!. Click to homepage.


SUMMARY OF PROJECTS NEWS RELEASED
To summarise progress of the first three projects introduced on our web-site: Epigraphy: At first glance seemingly a fanciful notion but the fact that the stone heap inscription was not only translated but the transliteration is identical to an ancient myth telling how early (Nasca) ancestors that occupied the region appear to have encouraged (taught) the inhabitants to exploit sub-terranean water sources. Could 300 B.C. be the start date for the Nasca Lines?. Click to Home page.

Units of Measurement: The Standard Unit derived from astronomical phenomena is proving to hold good for a range of universal units of measurement. However, it is not our intention to speculate on the universal derivation of a Unit of Measurement. Nascodex research is concerned solely with the metrology of Precolumbian Peru. The Geometriglyph already exhibits many exciting possibilities to analyse and draw conclusions regarding not only a scale of linear measurement but the same scale units and ratios can be utilised for time keeping and calendric purposes. Click to Home Page.

Finally, the intricate integration of azimuthal alignments into a linear geometric figure, the Zig-Zag, illustrates celestial knowledge, ingenuity and technical sophistication amongst (taught to ) the indigenous population Clearly, an elongated design is tailor-made for narrow - topped mountain, or rocky desert, plateau. Interestingly, the principle is the same as Fan-shaped “stone circles” found in France , like Le Petit Menec, and Myd Clyth in the British Isles. Click to Home Page.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Reindel, Markus and Isla Johny, ( 1999 ) Das Palpa - Tal: Ein Archiv der Vorgesichte Perus. Geheimnisvolle im alten Peru, ed. Judith Rickenbach (1985) pp.177 - 98 Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Switzerland.( cited in “The Nasca”).
Sherbondy, Jeanette ( 1982 ) The canal systems of Hanan Cuzco. Un-published dissertation, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign.(cited in “The Nasca”).
Silverman - Proulx: “The Nasca “. (Blackwell Publishing. UK and USA 2002 ).
Aveni, Anthony. F. “Between the Lines” (Univ. Texas Press. 2000)

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