In the arid Nasca Valley, researchers have mapped a series of ceremonial platforms located at the entrances to Puquios (underground aqueducts). These sites show evidence of intense ritual activity, including the breaking of fine ceramic panpipes and the offering of Spondylus shells, which were believed to call forth water from the mountains. This points to an annual 'Water Opening' festival where the community gathered to clean the tunnels and appease the spirits of the earth.
The stratigraphic evidence suggests these festivals were most frequent during periods of prolonged drought, acting as a communal stress-relief mechanism and a way to redistribute labor for the maintenance of critical infrastructure. The discovery emphasizes that the famous Nazca Lines were only one part of a much larger landscape of seasonal water-based religious heritage.