Thousands of miles into the desert the small town of Nazca exists for only one reason, to provide a place for visitors to the mysterious Nazca lines to sleep, eat, and leave.
Spread across over 500 kilometers of desert, with over 800 straight lines, 300 geometric figures, and 70 plant and animal drawings the lines encompass a huge area. So many of the lines overlap, intersect, and are of such huge proportion, they cannot be viewed from the ground. Only when seen from above can one interpret the striking network of shapes, animals, channels, and figures that all seem to radiate from a central starting point. The animal and humanoid shapes are sketched into the sand using one continuous line, as though th
e artist never picked up their pencil from the desert floor, despite the fact that some of the designs are kilometers long, and the triangles and shapes make perfect right angled triangles, rectangles, or perfect straight lines running kilometers through the desert.
e artist never picked up their pencil from the desert floor, despite the fact that some of the designs are kilometers long, and the triangles and shapes make perfect right angled triangles, rectangles, or perfect straight lines running kilometers through the desert.Questions are abundant, where as agreed up explanations are harder to come by.
Why would a culture go through such extravagant means to create such intricate designs when they could not see them to appreciate them and, they could not see what they were doing. Without being able to look down on you´re canvass, it seems impossible to make such perfect creations.
When were they created? Estimates range from 900 B.C. to who knows. Radiocarbon dating proves the Nazca people lived at the same time the lines existed, but provides no prove they actually constructed them. Many theorists suggest the Nazca people were as baffled as present day scholars.
Why were they created? Theories range from an advanced astronomical implication, to offerings to the God´s, to even a landing strip for Extraterrestrials. (Notice the drawing on the rock. Alien, or just a dude with a big head?)
In any event, they remain one of the greatest archaeological mysteries in the world.
Many of the Andean peoples myths and legends suggest an ancient civilization, pre Inca, pre everything, that lived in what is now Peru and Bolivia thousands of years ago. This was a civilization made up of giants, which one finds oneself believing after viewing the massive rocks and stones used for construction of ruins littered all over Peru and Bolivia. No ordinary person, or even persons could move such huge stones such large distances. Could they? Does a civilization of giants explain the Nazca lines?
Proof for an ancient civilization much older than leading theories suggest is said to lie in a desert isolated high in the mountains. I was on the next bus...
I got off the bus in a very small town, compass and map handy and began walking away from what little civilization the town provided. Armed with sunscreen, water, and insect repellent I began hiking into the desert. 30 minutes later I was above the town looking down at endless fields of rice and corn. I turned back and continued hiking further into the desert, eventually reaching a stone structure indicating the path had ended. I was confused, where were the special stones. Had I come all this way for nothing? In fact, what was I even looking for. I surveyed my surroundings, I was in a bit of a valley between small mountains, with rocks, of all sizes, as far as I could I see.
I took a closer look at a large rock before me. Amazed at what I saw, I looked again at my surroundings, but this time with bewilderment. Everyone of these thousands of rocks, spread over several kilometers, some as small as a soccer ball, others as large as houses, were covered with petroglyphs! Carved drawings of people, animals, plants, birds.
Best guesses date the site at 1200 years old. In reality, no one knows who or why the site was constructed. As I walked ar
ound exploring the carvings, I couldn't help but be reminded of the lines in Nazca. The carvings were small ( especially for giants) but what was really interesting was the scale of the humans with the animals, suggesting humans were as large or larger than the animals. Speaking of animals, dinosaurs and other currently extinct animals were drawn! Does this suggest the culture that created this site lived at the time of these animals, or equally as far fetched, somehow they had knowledge of animals thousands of years extinct.
ound exploring the carvings, I couldn't help but be reminded of the lines in Nazca. The carvings were small ( especially for giants) but what was really interesting was the scale of the humans with the animals, suggesting humans were as large or larger than the animals. Speaking of animals, dinosaurs and other currently extinct animals were drawn! Does this suggest the culture that created this site lived at the time of these animals, or equally as far fetched, somehow they had knowledge of animals thousands of years extinct.
Hmm. Interesting, no?
