The mysterious giant figures drawn on the desert strip of the Nazca Plain on the southern coast of Peru are still the subject of extensive research among researchers and archaeologists today.
These geoglyphs were drawn in the period of 500 B.C. to 500 CE by the people of Nazca culture These geoglyphs occupy an area of 320 square miles and include 458 straight lines that are 1–14 miles long, 93 geometric shapes, and 50 biomorphs, of which 38 are animals and 12 are animals and plants.
Some of the most popular designs are the humming bird, monkey, spider, and a figure that looks like an astronautThe lines reach lengths of over 1,200 feet and they are best viewed from an airborne viewpoint; this implies that the nazca people may have had some sort of aerial vision.
To this date, many scientists have come up with the actual dream behind the construction of the Nazca Lines. Some authors think that they were used as astronomical calendars, adjustable to celestial bodies and solstices, while others claim that they were intended for religious or ritual purposes, connected with water cults and ceremonies.
Another theory is that the lines were used as communication with the heavens—that they were to be viewed from above. Due to the dry weather and lack of fluctuations in temperature, the lines may have remained visible for hundreds of years; however, the environment poses a threat to the existence of the lines, with the people also contributing to the threat to the lines.
Presently, the Nazca Lines are one of the World Heritage sites and a site of tourists’ attraction. They still maintain the interest of people, tourists, and archeologists as they provide insights into the innovativeness and philosophies of the ancient people.
The lines are attestation to the high civilization of the people of Nazca and their capability to modify the severe condition of the desert to make impacts that would remain permanently on the earth’s surface over time The issues of why and how the geoglyphs were constructed continue to prompt people, making the Nazca Lines a wonderful site of interest and research.
Mark