Nazca Lines

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This article should be translated (or additional material should be added) from material at es:Líneas_y_geoglifos_de_Nazca_y_de_Pampas_de_Jumana.

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The Nazca Lines are geoglyphs (drawings on the ground) located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches 53 miles between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana (a large flat area of southern Peru). The drawings include a hummingbird, monkey, spider and lizard, to name only a few of the over 300 drawings. They were created during the Nazca culture in the area, between 200 BC and 600 AD.

The Lines were first spotted when commercial airlines began flying across the Peruvian desert in the 1920s. Passengers reported seeing ‘primitive landing strips’ on the ground below. The Lines were made by removing the iron-oxide coated pebbles which cover the surface of the desert. When the gravel is removed, they contrast with the light color underneath. In this way the lines were drawn as furrows of a lighter color. Off the Pampa, south of the Nazca Lines, archaeologists have now uncovered the lost city of the line-builders, Cahuachi. It was built nearly 2,000 years ago and mysteriously abandoned 500 years later.

Toribio Mejia Xespe, a Peruvian doctor and anthropologist was the first scientist, in 1927, to show interest in what he called "great Incan ceremonial artifacts".

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1 Theories
2 Preservation
3 References
4 External links

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Theories

Since their discovery, various theories have been proposed regarding the lines construction. It has been proposed by some (for example Jim Woodmann) that the Nazcan lines presuppose some form of manned flight (in order to see them) and that a hot air balloon was the only possible available technology. Woodmann actually made a hot air balloon from materials and using techniques that would have been available to people at the time in order to test this hypothesis. The balloon flew (after a fashion) demonstrating that this hypothesis was possible, but there is no hard evidence either way.

Perhaps the most famous (and controversial) theory was put forward by Erich von Däniken, who proposed that the lines were, in fact, landing strips for alien spacecraft. His argument is similar to Woodman's, claiming that the designs are so large and complex that they could only have been constructed using flying machines.

In contrast, Joe Nickell has reproduced one of the figures using technology available to the Nazca Indians of the time, and without aerial supervision. With careful planning and simple technologies, a small team of individuals could re-create even the largest figures within a 48 hour period.

Another theory contends that the lines are the remains of "walking temples," where a large group of worshipers walked along a preset pattern dedicated to a particular holy entity. Over time, the constant tred of feet would have worn away the top layer of soil, revealing the lighter undersoil.

Residents of the local villages say the ancient Indians conducted rituals on these giant drawings to thank the gods, and to ensure that water would continue to flow from the Andes. This take on the Nazca lines' purpose and importance is far more likely, as it correlates with the purposes of other North American geoglyphs. It also ties in with the extensive network of underground canals and waterways found dating from the same period.

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Preservation

Nazca is one of the driest regions on the planet and it maintains a temperature around 25°C (77°F). The conditions have helped to preserve the works to the present day. The noted German-born archaeologist Maria Reiche worked from 1946 until her death in 1998 to protect the geoglyphs from encroachment and accidental destructionthe preservation of the lines. Thanks in a large part to her work, UNESCO declared the lines a World Heritage Site in 1995.

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References

Aveni, Anthony F. (ed.) (1990). The Lines of Nazca. American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia. ISBN 0871691833
Bauer, Susan Wise (2001). The Story of the World, Vol. 1. Peace Hill Press. ISBN 0971412901
Lambers, Karsten (2006). The Geoglyphs of Palpa, Peru: Documentation, Analysis, and Interpretation. Lindensoft Verlag, Aichwald/Germany. ISBN 3929290324

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