![]() Some scholars point to the animal depictions-some of which are symbols for rain, water or fertility and have been found at other ancient Peruvian sites and on pottery-as evidence of this theory. The geoglyphs weren’t used as an irrigation system or a guide to find water, but rather as part of a ritual to the gods-an effort to bring much-needed rain. More recent research suggested that the Nazca Lines’ purpose was related to water, a valuable commodity in the arid lands of the Peruvian coastal plain. They also poked holes in other far-out explanations, such as those relating to aliens or ancient astronauts. ![]() In the late 1960s and early 1970s, however, other researchers, including American astronomer Gerald Hawkins, examined the Nazca Lines and disagreed with the astronomical explanation for the geoglyphs. She further believed that some of the animal geoglyphs were representative of groups of stars in the sky. Soon after, María Reiche, a German archaeologist and translator, also concluded that the designs had an astronomical and calendrical purpose. The Chavin and Paracas cultures, which predate the Nazca, may have also created some of the geoglyphs. 1 to 700, created the majority of the Nazca Lines. How the Nazca Lines Were CreatedĪnthropologists believe the Nazca culture, which began around 100 B.C. In 2016, the same team found another geoglyph, this time one that depicts a 98-foot-long (30-meter-long) mythical creature that has many legs and spotted markings, and is sticking out its tongue.Īnd in 2018, Peruvian archaeologists announced they had discovered more than 50 new geoglyphs in the region, using drone technology to map the landmarks in unprecedented detail. ![]() ![]() The Nazca people were known to collect “trophy heads,” and research in 2009 revealed that the majority of trophy skulls came from the same populations as the people they were buried with (rather than outside cultures). In 2011, a Japanese team discovered a new geoglyph that appears to represent a scene of decapitation, which, at about 4.2 meters long and 3.1 meters wide, is far smaller than other Nazca figures and not easily seen from aerial surveys. The Nazca people also created other forms, such as a humanoid figure (nicknamed “The Astronaut”), hands and some unidentifiable depictions. ![]()
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