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: The Puquios of Nasca looks at the legendary puquios of Nasca, the underground aqueduct system built by Incans which is arguably responsible for this strange abundance of water. Authors Katharina Schreiber and Josue Rojas explore the puqios, 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 Rojas provide a fascinating glimpse of an ancient society through the seemingly mundane act of transporting water. Irrigation and Society is much more than a simple treatise on water distribution: it is a detailed examination of the role of large scale irrigation in the emergence of soci-political complexity.