The word “Paracas” evokes images of handsome post-fire painted pottery decorated in deep, earthy tones (see fig. 2); exquisitely crafted monochrome pottery modeled into the shapes of flora and fauna; and stunning textiles employing masterfully dyed threads and yarns (see figs. 1, 4). These are the principal artistic legacies of a culture that flourished on the south coast of Peru for nine hundred years, from approximately 700 BC to AD 200. This cultural tradition had a wide geographical …