NASCA: GEOGLYPHS, CAHUACHI AND CEREMONIAL LANDSCAPES. STATE OF THE ART AND NEW RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES. INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM IN HONOR OF GIUSEPPE OREFICI
The International Symposium organized in honor of Giuseppe Orefici aims to bring together researchers from different parts of the world dedicated to the study of Nasca culture and the cultural landscapes of the southern Peruvian Andes. The meeting proposes a space for interdisciplinary discussion aimed at presenting the most recent advances in archaeology, conservation, heritage technologies and territorial analysis related to the geoglyphs, the ceremonial center of Cahuachi and the social and symbolic systems developed in the Río Grande de Nasca basin.
For more than four decades, the research directed by Giuseppe Orefici at Cahuachi has decisively contributed to redefining knowledge about the ceremonial, political and religious organization of Nasca society, as well as about monumental adobe architecture, ritual practices and the dynamics of territorial occupation. At the same time, the development of multidisciplinary approaches has made it possible to integrate archaeology, archaeometry, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, geology, physical anthropology, archaeogeophysics, satellite remote sensing and cultural heritage conservation.
The symposium aims to reflect on the current state of research while also opening new avenues of study through dialogue between different disciplines and international experiences. Particular attention will be given to the archaeology and cultural landscape of Nasca, the study of Cahuachi and the region’s main ceremonial centers, as well as the geoglyphs, the territory and the ritual systems linked to the symbolic construction of the landscape.
The meeting will also foster debate on the use of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, archaeogeophysics and non-invasive methodologies applied to archaeological research, documentation and the monitoring of cultural heritage. Another central axis will be devoted to the conservation and management of archaeological heritage, considering both the challenges linked to human pressure and the effects of natural hazards and paleoenvironmental transformations in particularly fragile desert contexts. Likewise, the study of the puquios and the pre-Hispanic hydraulic systems of the Nasca region will be addressed, analyzing their technological, territorial and symbolic aspects in relation to water management in desert environments.
The symposium will also include new interdisciplinary research in the Nasca basin, integrating perspectives from the human, environmental and technological sciences. Topics addressed will also include the music and archaeomusicology of Nasca culture, with the aim of deepening the understanding of the sonic, ritual and symbolic dimensions of pre-Hispanic Andean societies.
The tribute to Giuseppe Orefici also represents an opportunity to recognize the value of international scientific cooperation in the development of long-term research in Peru and in the training of new generations of specialists dedicated to the study of pre-Hispanic Andean civilizations. The symposium thus aspires to establish itself as a reference space for scientific debate on Nasca and its multiple historical, cultural and heritage dimensions.
