What are the Nazca lines?
The Nazca Lines are located on a surface area of 350 km2 between 419 and 465 kilometers of the South Pan American Motorway in the province of Nazca, Department of Ica, spanning up to four pampas: Palpa, Ingenio, Nazca and Socos These figures are painted on the arid desert floor, and hundreds of figures are more or less difficult. You can find lines with human appearance, and some others like animals, plants and other varied geometries.
They were made by removing the layer of volcanic rock that covers the pampa, leaving only the yellowish color of the surface that forms the silhouette of the figures. The structures on the gravel of the reddish desert were made by lifting the surface of the sand so that a yellowish coloration in the ground would be visible.
According to Dr. Maria Reiche: “The depth of the lines never exceeds 1 foot. and some of them are simple scratches on the surface, but can still be recognized when the sun is low and the relief is accentuated."
Who created them and when?
The construction of the Nazca Line is attributed to the Nazca culture, which inhabited the region between the 1st and 6th centuries AD. The Nazis had a great knowledge of geography and meteorology, and his heritage includes an impressive collection of polychrome ceramics, with figures of people, animals and plants.
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Paul Kosok, an American anthropologist, determined using the carbon-14 technique that the Nazca lines were made in 550 AD.
How can you see them?
The lines are only visible from the air, so you should take a tourist plane that flies over the area. They can also be seen from viewpoints built in the area, but this option offers limited line views.
How were they saved?
There is practically no rain in the area, so the erosion caused by rainwater currents is zero. Geoglyphs are found in one of the driest and hottest regions on earth. Annual precipitation in the Nazca desert does not reach 1 liter per m2.
The deposit contains significant amounts of gypsum. Gypsum, together with water from the dew, agglomerate and maintain a solid graze of stones to the ground, preventing wind from moving or displacing stones or settling land lines.
So why did Nazca make the lines?
There are various hypotheses about the purpose and usefulness of the Nazca lines, we will discuss the most important:
According to the German mathematician Dr. Maria Reiche, the Nazca culture used these lines to mark various points in the astronomical calendar, which allowed them to determine the dates and seasons.
While this is the most common hypothesis, astronomer Gerald Hawkins plagued it by finding that only 30% of the lines correspond to an astronomical event. This is a very low number for a hypothesis to be considered conclusive.
Apart from her theory, we all Peruvians are very grateful to Dr. Maria Reich (1903-1998) for her work and dedication to the line. This exceptional woman has spent 40 years of her life studying the lines and thanks to her, today they are considered a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. Thank you Maria!
Religious offerings
According to historian Maria Rostvoroska, the lines would be a religious offering to God at stake. According to legend, Nazca was a rich and fertile region, with such abundance that the locals stopped giving gifts to their God, who grieved and offended them, punished them, leaving them without water and several rivers. As a sign of repentance, the city decided to paint pictures on the ground that were seen by their God, who had the ability to fly.
This hypothesis is based on tradition and there is still no scientific evidence to support it.
Signals from underground water sources
According to hydrologist Stephen and archaeologist Mabbeh Donald Proulx, the Nazca lines could be signs of groundwater sources. They confirm their hypothesis in at least 5 cases, found with spatial overlap between drawings and groundwater. In addition, the analysis of the water shows to be of high quality and suitable for human consumption.
This research is underway, as it requires big data to verify a direct relationship between drawings, water and its use.
Author: Vyacheslav Klimov
