The Palpa Province is the smallest of five

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

of the

Ica Region Ica (; qu, Ika) is a department and region of Peru. It borders the Pacific Ocean on the west; the Lima Region on the north; the Huancavelica and Ayacucho regions on the east; and the Arequipa Region on the south. Its capital is the city of Ic ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and the only

landlocked A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...

province of the region. The capital of the province is the city of Palpa.

Boundaries

*North:

Huancavelica Region Huancavelica () is a department and region in Peru with an area of and a population of 347,639 ( 2017 census). The capital is the city Huancavelica. The region is bordered by the departments of Lima and Ica in the west, Junín in the north, ...

*East:

Ayacucho Region Ayacucho () is a department and region of Peru, located in the south-central Andes of the country. Its capital is the city of Ayacucho. The region was one of the hardest hit in the 1980s during the guerrilla war waged by Shining Path known as ...

*South:

Nazca Province The Nazca Province ( es, Provincia de Nazca) is one of five provinces of the Ica Region of Peru. The capital of the province is the city of Nazca. Political division The Nasca Province is divided into five districts ( es, distritos, singular: ), ...

*West:

Ica Province The Ica Province is the largest of five provinces of the Ica Region in Peru. The capital of the province is the city of Ica. Huacachina is a small town, oasis and resort in this region. Political division The Ica Province is divided into fou ...

Political division

The Palpa Province is divided into five

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

s ( es, distritos, singular: ), each of which is headed by a mayor (''alcalde''):

Districts

* Llipata * Palpa *

Río Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

* Santa Cruz * Tibillo

History

The Palpa Province has been involved with several pre-Columbian societies, from the Archaic Period to the

Late Intermediate Period This is a chart of cultural periods of Peru and the Andean Region developed by John Rowe and Edward Lanning and used by some archaeologists studying the area. An alternative dating system was developed by Luis Lumbreras and provides different dat ...

. As a result, there are traces from these civilizations, which include the

Nasca Lines The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were created between 500 BCE and 500 CE by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and le ...

and various archeological sites near

Palpa, Peru Palpa is a town in southern Peru, capital of the province of Palpa in the Ica region. Archeological sites As the capital of the Palpa Province, the area is rich in archeological sites. Some have been around since the Archaic Period all the way ...

, including Pinchango Alto. Other sites include: Pinchango Bajo, Mollake Chico, PAP-294, PAP-365, PAP-64A and PAP-64B, Juaranga, Los Molinos, Estaqueria,

La Muña LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

, El Arenal, Chillo, Parasmarca, PAP-379,

Pernil Alto The Pernil Alto archaeological site is located in Rio Grande District of Palpa province in the Ica Region of Peru. Although the site was occupied earlier, archaeologists traced the adoption of agriculture by the inhabitants from about 3800 BCE ...

, and

Huayuri Huayuri, also called the Lost City of Huayuri, is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site which flourished from 1150 to 1450 CE in the Late Intermediate Period (1000 - 1476 CE) of Peru. Huayuri is located in the Peruvian coastal desert in Ica R ...

."A comprehensive numerical chronology for the pre-Columbian cultures of the Palpa valleys, south coast of Peru"
/ref> There has been work done here in

3D modeling In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based representation of any surface of an object (inanimate or living) in three dimensions via specialized software by manipulating edges, vertices, an ...

of the Nasca Lines."A 3D Model of the Nasca Lines at Palpa"
Artifacts from the following civilizations have been found in the chronology of the Palpa Valleys: Paracas, Nasca, Wari, and the Inka. Like many other Andean civilizations, there is overlap between them. Other civilizations include the Loro and Chakimpampa, but little is known as there is a gap in the Middle Horizon Period. Each period, and with them the civilizations, had different styles of ceramics, which aided in the organizing of the timeline of the area.

Archeological sites

Pinchango Alto, Palpa, Peru

One such famous archeological site is Pinchango Alto. It is the largest Late Intermediate Period site in the Palpa region, and is the upper part of a larger site, denoted by Alto, while the lower half is denoted by Bajo. Located roughly three kilometers north of the town of Palpa, it sits on the mountain Cerro Pinchango, between the Grande and Palpa rivers. This site is famous for its place in the experimentation of recreating the site with 3D modeling, as well as autonomous recording, both of which made examining the hard to reach site easier than before. Given its isolated location, it's one of the best preserved sites in the region. These methods allowed for proper examination without disturbing the site and area around it. Surveys in the region have shown that settlements first started in the

Formative Period Several chronologies in the archaeology of the Americas include a Formative Period or Formative stage etc. It is often sub-divided, for example into "Early", "Middle" and "Late" stages. The Formative is the third of five stages defined by Gord ...

, and increased over time, but that there was also a partial abandonment during the Middle Period. The population grew again, however, during the Nasca period. This site is specifically located on a plateau overlooking the Rio Grande, and is marked by old, deep pits. The site was likely an economic based one, with connections to mining. Many artifacts here have been dated to the Later Intermediate Period.

Pinchango Bajo, Palpa, Peru

This site is theorized to be the lower part of Pinchango Alto, given its location right below the other site. However, this site is not well preserved by comparison, as many structures have been destroyed by modern roads and waste dumps. Artifacts found in the area date back to the Late Intermediate Period as well.

Mollake Chico, Palpa, Peru

Located west of Pinchango Alto, excavations of the site revealed an Early Paracas tomb, as well as funerary items from the Nasca Period. There were also signs of settlement at this site.

Geoglyph sites

Geoglyphs A geoglyph is a large design or motif (generally longer than 4 metres) produced on the ground by durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth. A positive geoglyph is formed by the arrangement and alignmen ...

refer to the type of structure that the

Nazca Lines The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were created between 500 BCE and 500 CE by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and le ...

are, shapes drawn into the Earth. Sites PAP-294, PAP-365, PAP-64A and PAP-64B, and PAP-379 are all geoglyph sites in the Palpa region. * PAP-294 Coordinates: UTM 481.604 E, 8.394.291 N * PAP-365 Coordinates: UTM 481.504 E, 8.391.593 N * PAP-64A and PAP-64B Coordinates: UTM 476.925, 8.392.634 N. PAP-64A is to the West, and PAP-64B is to the East. * PAP-379 Coordinates: UTM 479.247 E, 8.389.797 N

Juaranga, Palpa, Peru

Located about three kilometers southwest of Palpa, this site is close to the Palpa River. This site holds primarily Paracas Period remains.

Los Molinos, Palpa, Peru

This site is located roughly 4 kilometers west of modern Palpa, near where the Rio Grande and Palpa River meet. Adobe brick structural remains have been found here, and the site has been dated at being built primarily during the Early Nasca Period, though had inhabitants during the Middle Horizon as well. In addition, the presence of funerary contexts and other evidence shows that the place was used as a cemetery at some point.

Estaqueria

This settlement is roughly 4 kilometers southwest of Palpa, and covers several hilltops with its terraces. Ceramic sherds of the Initial Nasca Period have been found here, as well as samples from wooden posts.

Pernil Alto, Palpa, Peru

Pernil Alto is another famous site in the region, located in the middle of the Rio Grande valley. This site is one of the few sites known to have been occupied during the Archaic Period, and that has been more thoroughly excavated. After a time of abandonment in the Late Archaic Period, it was re-inhabited during the Initial Period. This introduced adobe structures to the site.

Nazca Lines and 3D modeling

Given the nature of the Nazca Lines, studying them had been hampered for a long time, as accurate documentation was hard to get ahold of. Being major landmarks, outside in the weather, many factors made it difficult to get records of them- weather, people moving around them, and general lack of preservation to the structures. As a result, M. Sauerbier and K. Landers strove to attain records that wouldn't be changed by rainfall, as the region had been relatively dry, and as such didn't wash away the lines. With climate change becoming more of an issue, however, this could change at any time. Utilizing aerial imagery, they produced a 3D model of the northern part of the Nazca Lines, near the modern Palpa.

References

External links

Provinces of the Ica Region {{Ica-geo-stub