20.19

Paracas and Nasca figurines like these were created as nudes with minimal surface decoration. Like Inca votives, such figurines may have been intended to be used clothed in small textiles, rather than nude. Both figurines are solid, unlike effigy vessels, which are hollow. (a) Unslipped Paracas Cavernas figurine with incised decoration on the face and emphasizing the pubic area and vaginal slit. Small breasts are applied to the chest (drawn from photo of American Museum of Natural History accession 641.0/8484). (b) Two views of a slipped Nasca 4 figurine, redrawn from Proulx (2006).