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Nicola Masini (born 1965) is an Italian scientist with CNR, [1] noted for his work on exploring traces of Andean civilizations in Peru and Bolivia using spatial technologies and Remote Sensing. [2] [3]
He graduated in Engineering in 1990. He became Researcher with the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche in 1995, Senior scientist at CNR-IBAM in 2003, Research Director of CNR-Institute of heritage Science in 2020, Professor of Fundamentals of Restoration at the University of Basilicata since 2002, Editor in Chief of Heritage. His dominant scientific interest is the application and the development of new approaches to archaeological research by integrating satellite remote sensing, LiDAR and geophysical prospecting.
He has been directing Italian Conservation heritage and Archaeogeophysics Mission in Peru since 2007. [4] From 2007 to 2015, he has been directing several scientific investigations at the Nasca ceremonial center of Cahuachi, Pachacamac, Tiwanaku, Machu Picchu, [5] Chankillo, Kuelap, and a number of archaeological sites in the Nasca Province and Lambayeque region. [6] [7]
The most remarkable achievements of the ITACA Mission [8] are the discovery of a settlement on the riverbed of the Nasca (2008), [9] a number of findings in some of the Cahuachi temples (2008-10), [10] the monitoring of archaeological looting in South and North Peru (2011), [11] and study of the ancient channeling in Pachacamac (2012-14). Nicola Masini, investigating some geoglyphs in Pampa de Atarco near the Ceremonial center of Cahuachi contributed to providing a new hypothesis on the Nasca lines. The research conducted between 2013 and 2015, using remote sensing, along with Giuseppe Orefici and Rosa Lasaponara, put in evidence a spatial, functional, and religious relationship between these geoglyphs and the temples of Cahuachi. [12] Since 2013, he has been chief advisor of a research project with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Henan (China) focusing on the use of digital space technologies for archaeological investigations and the management of cultural resources. [13] [14] He is currently conducting investigations using satellite imagery, including SAR, [15] [16] to identify unknown sites and routes along the old Silk Road. Since 2005, in Southern Italy, he has been conducting some remote sensing-based investigations on medieval settlements abandoned in the Late Middle Ages. In 2018 using LiDAR he enabled to discover a fortified settlement under the canopy in North of Basilicata. [17] Finally, between 2017 and 2019, investigations carried out at Machu Picchu allowed the reconstruction of the landscape before the construction of the Inca monumental complex. [18]
His scientific interest centers on the application and development of methodologies for the conservation of cultural heritage and archaeological research. [19] His interdisciplinary approach draws on spatial technologies, non invasive diagnostics, and geophysics in a holistic vision that brings together history, archaeology, and conservation [20]
Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a 2,430-meter (7,970 ft) mountain ridge. Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of the Inca Empire. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which is 80 kilometers (50 mi) northwest of Cusco. The Urubamba River flows past it, cutting through the Cordillera and creating a canyon with a tropical mountain climate. In reference to the site's name, for most English or Spanish speakers, the first 'c' in Picchu is silent. In English, the name is pronounced MAH-choo PEE-choo or MATCH-oo PEAK-choo, in Spanish as or, and in Quechua as.
The Nazca lines are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were created between 500 BC and 500 AD by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and leaving different-colored dirt exposed. There are two major phases of the Nazca lines, Paracas phase, from 400 to 200 BC, and Nazca phase, from 200 BC to 500 AD. In the years leading up to 2020, between 80 and 100 new figures had been found with the use of drones, and archaeologists believe that there are more to be found.
Hiram Bingham III was an American academic, explorer and politician. In 1911, he publicized the existence of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu which he rediscovered with the guidance of local indigenous farmers. Later, Bingham served as the 69th Governor of Connecticut for a single day in 1925—the shortest term in history. He had been elected in 1924 as governor, but was also elected to the Senate and chose that position. He served as a member of the United States Senate until 1933.
Cahuachi, in Peru, was a major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture, based from 1 AD to about 500 AD in the coastal area of the Central Andes. It overlooked some of the Nazca lines. The Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Orefici has been excavating at the site for the past few decades. The site contains over 40 mounds topped with adobe structures. The huge architectural complex covers 0.6 sq. miles (1.5 km2) at 365 meters above sea level. The American archeologist Helaine Silverman has also conducted long term, multi-stage research and written about the full context of Nazca society at Cahuachi, published in a lengthy study in 1993.
The Nazca culture was the archaeological culture that flourished from c. 100 BC to 800 AD beside the arid, southern coast of Peru in the river valleys of the Rio Grande de Nazca drainage and the Ica Valley. Strongly influenced by the preceding Paracas culture, which was known for extremely complex textiles, the Nazca produced an array of crafts and technologies such as ceramics, textiles, and geoglyphs.
Vilcabamba or Willkapampa, often called the Lost City of the Incas, is a lost city in the Echarate District of La Convención Province in the Cuzco Region of Peru. Vilcabamba means "sacred plain" in Quechua. The modern name for the Inca ruins of Vilcabamba is Espíritu Pampa.
The Sacred Valley of the Incas, or the Urubamba Valley, is a valley in the Andes of Peru, north of the Inca capital of Cusco. It is located in the present-day Peruvian region of Cusco. In colonial documents it was referred to as the "Valley of Yucay." The Sacred Valley was incorporated slowly into the incipient Inca Empire during the period from 1000 to 1400.
A geoglyph is a large design or motif – generally longer than 4 metres (13 ft) – produced on the ground by durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth. A positive geoglyph is formed by the arrangement and alignment of materials on the ground in a manner akin to petroforms, while a negative geoglyph is formed by removing part of the natural ground surface to create differently coloured or textured ground in a manner akin to petroglyphs.
Peruvian architecture is the architecture carried out during any time in what is now Peru, and by Peruvian architects worldwide. Its diversity and long history spans from ancient Peru, the Inca Empire, Colonial Peru to the present day.
Remote sensing techniques in archaeology are an increasingly important component of the technical and methodological tool set available in archaeological research. The use of remote sensing techniques allows archaeologists to uncover unique data that is unobtainable using traditional archaeological excavation techniques.
Puquios are ancient systems of subterranean aqueducts which allow water to be transported over long distances in hot dry climates without loss of much of the water to evaporation. Puquios are found in the coastal deserts of southern Peru, especially in the Nazca region, and northern Chile. Forty-three puquios in the Nazca region were still in use in the early 21st century and relied upon to bring fresh water for irrigation and domestic use into desert settlements. The origin and dating of the Nazca puquios is disputed, although some archaeologists have estimated that their construction began about 500 CE by indigenous people of the Nazca culture.
Luigi Piacenza was an Italian botanist, with expertise in ethnobotany and paleobotany.
Marcahuamachuco is an archeological site of Pre-Incan ruins in the La Libertad Region of Peru. Although less well-known than other sites, it is considered significant and has been referred to by archaeologists as "Machu Picchu of the North" and "The Jewel of La Libertad."
Prof. em. Dr. Armin Gruen is, since 1984, professor and head of the Chair of photogrammetry at the Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry (IGP), Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland. Since 1 August 2009, he is retired and is now with the Chair of Information Architecture, ETH Zurich Faculty of Architecture. He is currently acting as a principal investigator on the Simulation Platform of the SEC-FCL in Singapore.
Thierry Jamin is a French explorer and pseudohistorian known for his research about Paititi and the presence of the Incas and pre-Inca civilization in the Amazonian rainforest.
The Peru–Yale University dispute was a century-long conflict between the government of Peru and Yale University about the rightful ownership of Inca human remains and artifacts from Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca site high in the Peruvian Andes active c. 1420–1532. In the several years following his re-discovery of Machu Picchu in 1911, Yale explorer Hiram Bingham III removed thousands of objects – including pottery, stone tools, and human bones – from the archaeological site and brought them to New Haven, Connecticut. The circumstances of these transfers were disputed, with some, including Bingham, claiming that Yale agreed to borrow the artifacts for a period of 18 months to conduct studies. Peru attempted to regain the collection in the 1920s, but Yale resisted. Tensions rose between 2006 and 2010 with a lawsuit, activism by Peruvians and Yale alumni, and a plea to then–U.S. President Barack Obama by then–Peruvian President Alan Garcia. On November 19, 2010, Peru and Yale reached an agreement that the remains and artifacts would be returned. In early 2011, Yale and University of Cusco (UNSAAC) signed a further agreement that the two institutions would partner to create a museum and research center in Cusco. The museum, the Museo Machu Picchu, was opened to the public in November 2011. The collection is regarded by experts to be among the most valuable collections of Inca artifacts.
Archaeological looting is the illicit removal of artifacts from an archaeological site. Such looting is the major source of artifacts for the antiquities market. Looting typically involves either the illegal exportation of artifacts from their country of origin or the domestic distribution of looted goods. Looting has been linked to the economic and political stability of the possessing nation, with levels of looting increasing during times of crisis, but it has been known to occur during peacetimes and some looters take part in the practice as a means of income, referred to as subsistence looting. However, looting is also endemic in so-called "archaeological countries" like Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and other areas of the Mediterranean Basin, as well as many areas of Africa, South East Asia and Central and South America, which have a rich heritage of archaeological sites, a large proportion of which are still unknown to formal archaeological science. Many countries have antique looting laws which state that the removal of the cultural object without formal permission is illegal and considered theft. Looting is not only illegal; the practice may also threaten access to cultural heritage. Cultural heritage is knowledge about a heritage that is passed down from generation to generation.
Giuseppe Orefici is an Italian archaeologist noted for his studies of the Pre-Hispanic civilizations of the Nazca and Rapa Nui cultures.
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