Irrigation and Society in the Peruvian Desert

"Nasca, once home to a sophisticated ancient culture, is an improbable paradise: a verdant landscape in the middle of the Peruvian coastal desert, one of the driest places on the face of the Earth. Irrigation and Society in the Peruvian Desert: The Puquios of Nasca looks at the legendary puquios of Nasca, the underground aqueduct system built by Incas that is perhaps responsible for this strange abundance of water. Katharina Schreiber and Josue Lancho Rojas explore the puquios, their probable means of construction, their function in ancient society, and how they are used today. Few ancient cultures were as knowledgeable about water or as technologically adept at accessing it, and Schreiber and Lancho Rojas provide a fascinating glimpse of an ancient society through the seemingly mundane task of transporting water. Irrigation and Society in the Peruvian Desert is much more than a mere treatise on water distribution, it is a detailed examination of the role large-scale irrigation played in the emergence of sociopolitical complexity."--BOOK JACKET.