This text offers Alfred Kroeber's report on his 1926 expedition to the ruins of the Nazca region. Kroeber's report contains a complete analysis and seriation of the beautiful painted pottery of Nazca.

With careful editing by Collier and Carmichael, Kroeber's work is far ahead of its time methodologically and is still an important source document for contemporary archaeology and art history of South America. A final chapter by Katharina J. Schreiber puts Kroeber's work in the context of contemporary Nazca studies, including a reassessment of the sites discovered in the 1926 expedition. Important for both professional and avocational anthropologists, archaeologists, art historians, and those interested in the history of anthropology. Published in cooperation with The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois.