When Alfred Kroeber left Lima, Peru for the ruins of the Nazca region in July 1926, he could have no inkling of the importance of what he would uncover. Nor would he have guessed that his excavation report would not appear until the end of the century. The life history of Kroeber's excavation report, left unfinished upon his death in 1960 and completed by Donald Collier and Patrick Carmichael, is a story of its own.

But The Archaeology and Pottery of Nazca, Peru is not just a historical curiosity for those interested in the life and work of one of the founders of Americanist anthropology. Kroeber's report contains what is still the only complete analysis and seriation of the beautiful painted pottery of Nazca, complete with over 400 photographs and drawings of objects uncovered in the excavations, and an additional 32 in full color.

His report is also notable for its rare discussion of Nazca architecture, its description of cloth, hair bundles and other artifact groups, its accurate analysis of Nazca human remains, and even for one of the earliest descriptions and photographs of the famous Nazca lines. In all, The Archaeology and Pottery of Nazca, Peru is an important information source on South American prehistory and an historic last work of one of the giants of anthropology.