Most information about the lives of the Paracas people comes from excavations at the large seaside Paracas site, south of Lima, and first investigated by the Peruvian archaeologist Julio Tello in the 1920s. They are thought to have developed as a cohesive group around 1200 BC, or earlier…

Carbon 14 and DNA testing of the Paracas have not been carried out as of yet, so the questions of how old this culture is, and where they came from is unclear.

Their most obvious physical and social characteristic was cranial deformation, mainly of the royal classes. No one can adequately explain why this process was practiced, or where it came from.

As compared to a normal human skull, some of the Paracas ones are truly curious, and there may be evidence that the original Paracas generations had naturally elongated skulls…but from what genetic source?

Their demise as a distinct society may have been the result of genocide. While the Paracas culture developed in this region between about 1200 BC and 100 BC, the Topará culture is thought to have invaded from the north at approximately 150 BC. The two cultures then supposedly coexisted for one or more generations, both at this site and in the nearby Ica Valley, and their interaction played a key role in the development of the Nazca culture and ceramic and textile traditions.

The rise of the Nazca coincided with the disappearance of elongated skulls. Thus, one may surmise that the royal bloodline of the Paracas may have met with a tragic end at the hands of the warrior Nazca.

Here Sr. Juan Navarro, owner and director of the Paracas History Museum holds a 2 year old elongated skull, one of the last of the Paracas, who died 2000 years ago and was of the royal blood line.

Artist Marcia K. Moore is doing an amazing job of 3D modeling the Paracas, bringing these ancient and enigmatic people back to life…

Two upcoming 2014 tours that will include visits to Paracas are the following:

Details of this tour are HERE

Details of this tour are HERE