THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION OF AN ANCIENT PERUVIAN PILGRIMAGE CENTER

Nasca society of the south coast of Peru has been interpreted as a sma ll militaristic empire led from an urban capital called Cahuachi. Rece nt investigations, however, yielded no data in support of that reconst ruction. Rather, excavations at Cahuachi revealed the site to be an em pty ceremonial center with little evidence of a dense, permanent, dome stic occupation. Yet, in the construction fills of the site's many mou nds, there is a quantity of refuse, including the remains of ritual pa raphernalia and quotidian artifacts. The lack of permanent domestic se ttlement, but evidence of intensive site use, is explained by postulat ing episodic pilgrimage activities. This model is supported by compari son of Cahuachi's spatial patterns and material remains to those found at other Central Andean pilgrimage centers, ancient and modern.