The Nazca Lines: A New Perspective on their Origin and Meaning [Paperback]

Johan Reinhard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1986

Over two millennia ago gigantic figures and lines began to be drawn on the surface of the desert near the town of Nazca in southern Peru. Depictions of animals and birds, geometrical designs, and human-like figures were made on such a scale, including some over 100 m long, that they could only be seen without distortion from the air. This collection of geoglyphs (earth drawings), known today as the Nazca Lines, is considered to be one of the most baffling enigmas of archaeology.

In this book the Nazca geoglyphs are analyzed in terms of traditional religious concepts and economic practices found in the region and elsewhere in the Andes. Archaeological, ecological, and historical information is utilized in the development of a theory to explain the lines and figures as part of religious practices designed primarily to insure the availability of water and the fertility of crops.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"More than any other publication on the Nazca lines, it is Reinhard's monograph that places them in the broadest possible anthropological context... It thereby provides...the most satisfying and simplest explanation of the origin and meaning of the geoglyph-marked pampa."  Dr. Helaine Silverman in National Geographic Research

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish (translation)
Introduction: French, German, Spanish

Product Details

• Paperback: 79 pages
• Publisher: Editorial Los Pinos; 2a ed edition (1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8489291179
• ISBN-13: 978-8489291171
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,955,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Johan Reinhard (1943- ) is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. Born in New Lenox, Illinois, he began his studies in anthropology at the University of Arizona, before going on to receive his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna, Austria. Since 1980 he has conducted anthropological field research in the Andes, and his discoveries of perfectly preserved frozen Inca mummies were selected by Time in 1995 and 1999 as among "the world's ten most important scientific discoveries" of those years. He has also spent more than ten years in the Himalayas, conducting anthropological research. In 1987 he was a recipient of the Rolex Award for Enterprise, in 2001 the Ford Motor Company chose him as one of twelve "Heroes for the Planet," and in 2002 he was awarded the Explorers Medal of the Explorers Club. He is the author of more than seventy academic and popular publications, including six books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Water of the Gods, January 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nazca Lines: A New Perspective on their Origin and Meaning (Paperback)

Well traveled and linguistically accomplished anthropologist Johan Reinhard gives THE NAZCA LINES A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THEIR ORIGIN AND MEANING by interpreting the figures and lines in terms of a desert people asking mountain dwelling gods for fertile crops and precious water. Dr Reinhard says that other explanations are possible and not mutually exclusive. However, he particularly likes to start from environmental dynamics, Hispanic chronicles, local legends, persisting customs and religious beliefs. The author backs up a clear writing style with his own exquisite black and white photographs, with helpful maps, and with telling evidence from before, during, and after Inca times. Unfortunately, this unique book is out of print, but well worth the effort to track down.