PARACAS CULTURE The name of the peninsula located between Pisco and Ica valleys is used by the archeologists to name the cultural development of this area previous to the Nazca culture. The rewards found by Julio C. Tello in 1925 in the Paracas bay, in the spot called "Large Heads", would be the evidences of one of the last stages of a history which involved in the development in the bay as well as in the other valley of the Ica region. The Paracas small villages were found in the Chincha, Pisco, Ica and Rio Grande. The antecedents of Paracas culture aren't clear enough. In fact, they received foreign influences which allowed the development we now know from them. THE STAGES From his discoveries, Julio C. Tello identified two moments in the development of Paracas Culture: 1. Paracas Caves: From 700 B.C. until year 0 A.D. Its designation proceed from the rewards of collective buries in caved cameras in the underground. 2. Paracas Necropolis: Between year 0 A.D. and 200 A.D. This is related with the Greek term that means "city of dead people" the rewards shows buries in rectangular cameras half underground ORGANIZATION It is suggested that Paracas people had a powerful elite in charge of a theocratic government in charge of the cult, through this they controlled dwellers. The ceremonial centers founded prove this. The different kinds of clothes are a manifest of the levels in their society. There are several indications that show us that Paracas Necropolis became a complex society capable to control more than a valley. The exchange net the artisans had of wool, colorants and obsidian is another evidence of the efficient and prestige this politic organization had. The center was located probably in Chincha valley, the only one with a ceremonial architecture. BURY RITUAL OF PARACAS It is certainly known the bury ritual of Paracas people. There were collective buries and it depended on the family ties. Before the funeral, the naked body was lay in fetal position over a basket or a bundle. They also considered dresses, vegetables, pieces of clothes, small dresses decorate with ornamental needlework, and pieces of gold and silver as oblations. All of this was cover up with a large strip of cotton. When adult people was buried it was usually also included some other pieces like ceremonial dresses protected also with the cotton stripes. The important people had another kind of stuff besides the mentioned above, so the number of bundles was more. It was possible to have no more than 3 bundles over the center. ARCHITECTURE Both stages, Caves and Necropolis, share the same traditional ceremonial architecture. The buildings made of bricks from dried clay were orientated usually from east to west and formed by several compounds enclose within a walls. CERAMICS The archeological rewards show Paracas people as skilled artists. Paracas Caverns seems to be a continuation of the Chavin traditions because de decoration techniques and the use of paintings. They represented geometric and zoomorphic figures (felines, foxes, fishes, monkeys, and birds). There is no knowledge from the Paracas Necropolis stage. TEXTILES The Paracas cloaks have a decoration made in cotton based in earlier stages. The decoration embroidered with colorful thread associated to Paracas Necropolis hasn't any antecedents. They prepared 190 shades derive from 7 basic colors.