Nazca lines

The Nazca lines are a massive collection of geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert of southern Peru. Geoglyphs are large designs made directly into the ground. These ancient markings cover a vast area of approximately 450 square kilometers. Most of the lines are straight and stretch across the desert landscape. However, many other designs are figurative, meaning they depict living things. These include animals, plants, and even human shapes.

To create these lines, the ancient people used a specific method of soil manipulation. The surface of the desert is covered in dark, reddish-brown pebbles. These pebbles are coated in a substance called ferric oxide, which is a type of iron oxide. By removing this top layer, the creators exposed a lighter yellow-grey subsoil underneath. This subsoil is a clay-rich earth that contains high amounts of lime. When morning mist provides moisture to this clay, it hardens into a protective layer. This natural process shields the lines from wind erosion and helps preserve them for centuries.

The construction of these geoglyphs occurred in two distinct historical stages. The first was the Paracas phase, which lasted from 400 BC to 200 BC. The second was the Nazca phase, occurring from 200 BC to 500 AD. While the lines are most clearly visible from the air at heights of about 500 meters, they can also be seen from surrounding foothills. The shapes are usually formed from one continuous line. The width of these lines varies, but more than half are slightly more than one meter wide. Some are as narrow as 10 centimeters, while others reach up to 10 meters.

History shows that humans have been noticing these lines for a very long time. In 1553, the Spanish conquistador Pedro Cieza de León described them as trail markers. Later, in 1569, Luis Monzón reported seeing ancient ruins that looked like roads. In 1927, the Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejía Xesspe spotted them while hiking in the foothills. In the 1940s, American historian Paul Kosok became the first scholar to study them in depth. While flying over the desert, he realized one design was shaped like a bird. He was later joined by the mathematician Maria Reiche and archaeologist Richard P. Schaedel.

Scholars have debated the purpose of the lines for many decades. Many researchers ascribe religious significance to the designs. Paul Kosok and Maria Reiche proposed that the lines served as astronomical markers. They believed the lines pointed to where celestial bodies rose on significant dates, such as the winter solstice. Maria Reiche even suggested that the animal figures represented constellations in the sky. Other experts, like Gerald Hawkins and Anthony Aveni, argued that the evidence for an astronomical purpose was insufficient. Despite these disagreements, the sheer scale of the project is undeniable. The combined length of all the lines exceeds 1,000 kilometers.

The variety of figures found in the desert is quite remarkable. There are more than 70 zoomorphic designs, which are shapes modeled after animals. These include a hummingbird, an arachnid, a fish, a condor, a heron, a monkey, a lizard, a dog, and a cat. Some specific figures have been measured for their massive size. The hummingbird is 96 meters long, the condor is 130 meters, the monkey is 110 meters, and the spider is 47 meters. The largest geoglyphs can span nearly 370 meters.

Today, modern technology is helping archaeologists find many more geoglyphs. In 2019, a team used machine learning to find 143 new shapes. In 2024, a collaboration between Yamagata University and IBM Research used artificial intelligence to identify 303 new geoglyphs. These new finds included parrots, cats, monkeys, killer whales, and even severed heads. Researchers also use drones to assist in their work, as these flying machines can see details that are difficult to find on foot. Because of their immense importance, the Nazca lines were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.