Nazca Lines, Peru
Nazca Lines
The Nazca lines are a series of geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches more than 80 km (50 miles) between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana in Peru. They are believed to have been created by the Nazca culture between 200 BC and AD 700. There are hundreds of individual figures, ranging in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks, llamas and lizards.
The lines were made by removing the iron oxide coated pebbles which cover the surface of the Nazca desert. When the gravel is removed, the lines contrast sharply with the surroundings because of the light-colored earth underneath. There are several hundred simple lines and geometric patterns on the Nazca plateau, as well as over seventy curvilinear animal and human figures. The area encompassing the lines is nearly 500 square kilometers (193 square miles), and the largest figures can be nearly 270 m long (886 feet). The lines persist due to the extremely dry, windless, and constant climate of the Nazca region. The Nazca desert is one of the driest on Earth and maintains a temperature around 25°C (77°F) all year round, and the lack of wind has helped keep the lines uncovered to the present day.
The drawings and their meaning are even more mysterious than their origin. It is not even known how long it took to create them, nor how the creators were able to measure them with such perfection, since there were no aircraft in those days.
This mystery inspires many theories. In terms of science, these lines have a series of characteristics potentially aimed at astronomy or agriculture. Or perhaps they were created to direct extraterrestrial, as the lines are related to the earth’s magnetic field, the horoscope, and may other mysteries, which in the final years of the 20th century have not yet been deciphered.
Its a place in the desert where the ancient Pre-Incas drew beautiful, specifically designed, giant forms, a work that would be impossible to carry out in current times without sophisticate observation methods.
Here is the size of some of the most famous Nasca geoglyphs:
- The Spider, approximately 46m long,
- The Monkey, 55m long,
- The Guanay (guano bird), 280m long,
- The Lizzard 180m,
- The Hummingbird, 50m long,
- The Killer Whale, 65m long or
- The Pelican – the largest of them all – at 285m long.
The Nazca Lines are the most outstanding group of geoglyphs in the world. There are also huge geoglyphs in Egypt, Malta, United States (Mississippi and California), Chile, Bolivia and in other countries. But the Nasca geoglyphs, because of their numbers, characteristics, dimensions and cultural continuity as they were made and remade through out the whole prehispanic period, form the most impressive as well as enigmatic archeological group.
Tags: LatinAmerica4less Travel blog, Nazca, nazca geoglyphs, Nazca Lines, Travel Peru
September 10th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
[...] Nazca Lines, Peru – Nazca Lines The Nazca lines are a series of geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches more than 80 km (50 miles) between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana in Peru. … [...]
September 10th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
[...] Nazca Lines, Peru – Nazca Lines The Nazca lines are a series of geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert, a high arid plateau that stretches more than 80 km (50 miles) between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana in Peru. … [...]