The Paracas culture (from 800 to 100 BCE) immediately preceded and heavily influenced the Nazca culture.
The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru.
In the absence of a writing system, markings on ceramics were a method of communication for the Nazca culture.
The art of the Paracas culture has mainly been preserved in tombs and on mummies.
The Nazca, like all other Pre-Columbian societies in South America including the Inca, had no writing system, in contrast to the contemporary Maya of Mesoamerica. The iconography or symbols on their ceramics served as a means of communication.
Source: Boundless. “Paracas and Nasca.” Boundless Art History. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Retrieved 05 Feb. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/art-history/textbooks/boundless-art-history-textbook/native-american-art-before-1300-ce-16/south-america-111/paracas-and-nasca-492-1513/