4. The Surface Survey and Culture Epoch Terminology

Extract

The primary purpose of the 1952-53 expedition was to make stratigraphic cuts in order to place the Nazca culture in relation to the Cavernas culture which was known to occur at Paracas and Ocucaje but not, so far as then known, elsewhere in the lea Valley proper nor the Nazca region. My brief survey trips in the Ica-Nazca area in 1940, 1941, and 1949 had not revealed such stratified sites. Therefore, an important part of the 1952-53 expedition was to make a surface survey of the large area, both for its own sake and particularly to select the most promising sites for sondage.