The Nazca culture flourished from ca. 1-750 A.D. beside the dry southern coast of Peru in the river valleys of the Rio Grande de Nazca drainage and the Ica Valley. Having been heavily influenced by the preceding Paracas culture, which was known for extremely complex textiles, the Nazca produced an array of beautiful crafts and technologies such as ceramics, textiles, and geoglyphs (most commonly known as the Nazca lines). They also built an impressive system of underground aqueducts, known as puquios that still function today.

No doubt due to the extreme nature of the surrounding environment, much of Nazca religious beliefs centered on agriculture and fertility. Much of Nazca art depicts powerful nature gods such as the mythical killer whale, the harvesters, the mythical spotted cat, the serpentine creature, and the most prevalent of worshiped figures, the anthropomorphic mythical being. Much like the contemporary Moche culture, Shamans apparently used hallucinogenic drugs, such as extractions from the San Pedro cactus, to induce visions.

The Nazca culture is characterized by its beautiful polychrome pottery painted with at least 15 distinct colors. The shift from post-fire resin painting to pre-fire slip painting marked the end of Paracas style pottery and the beginning of Nazca style pottery. The use of pre-fire slip painting meant that a great deal of experimentation took place in order to know which slips produced certain colors. Major pottery shapes include double-spout bottles, bowls, cups, vases and effigy forms. The Nazca are also known for their technically complex textiles. The textiles were most likely made by women at habitation sites from spun cotton and wool. The desert has preserved the textiles of both the Nazca and Paracas cultures and comprises most of what we know about early textiles in the region. Shawls, dresses, tunics, belts, and bags have been found through excavations at Cahuachi and elsewhere.

The geoglyphs of Nazca or "Nazca lines" are a series of geometric shapes, miles of lines, and large drawings of animal figures (some as large as a football field) constructed on the desert floor in the Nazca region. Many theories have surrounded the great geoglyphs in the Nazca desert. While there are some who believe these enormous lines could not have been drawn by man, the truth is that with a large number of people and a large period of time it would have been more than possible to construct the lines. The lines could have been made by extending a rope between two posts and removing the red pebbles on the dessert surface along the rope. The contrast of the red desert pebbles and the lighter earth beneath would make the lines visible from a high altitude. Due to the simplistic construction of the geoglyphs, regular amounts of rainfall would have easily eroded the drawings but the dry desert environment has preserved the lines for hundreds of years. The purpose of the lines also remains debatable. Some interpretations suggest they were created for the Gods to look upon them from above, while others suggest they were some sort of calendar with astronomical alignments that would aid in planting and harvesting of crops. Others have postulated that the purpose of the lines was not to be looked at, but to be walked upon as a sort of ceremonial procession. The lines have been studied by experts of several disciplines. Anthropologists, archaeologists, and astronomers have all studied the lines but no evidence has been found to support any of the above explanations. It remains unlikely that we will ever know the true purpose of the geoglyphs.