Nazca Lines The Nazca Lines are ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. The high, arid plateau on which the lines are located stretches more than 50 miles between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana south of Lima, Peru. Although some local geoglyphs resemble motifs of the Paracas culture (800 BCE to 100 BCE), archeologists believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture between 400 and 650 AD. The designs are shallow lines made in the ground by removing the reddish colored surface pebbles to uncover the gray colored ground beneath. The glyphs are hundreds of individual figures ranging in complexity from simple lines to complicated renderings of hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks and lizards. The largest figures are 660 feet across. Due to the dry, windless climate of the isolated plateau the lines have been preserved. In recent years, the lines have been deteriorating due to squatters entering the area. The Nazca figures are believed to have religious or astronomical significance. It has been theorized that the Nazca lines could not have been made without some form of manned flight to allow the figures to be seen from aloft. With the available technology of approximately 500 A.D., a hot-air balloon could have been constructed.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 23:14:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015