The huge drawings and lines on the Nazca plateau in Peru remain one of history's most fascinating mysteries, despite numerous attempts to unravel them.
Who created them and why? How could you make such accurate, large-scale drawings on the ground without using an airplane to check them from above? These key questions remain unanswered.
More than 13,000 lines form 800 figures, many in the form of animals, but the most enigmatic feature of the Nazca is that they are only visible from the air. These drawings were discovered in 1927 when the pilot Toribio Mejia Xespe flew over the Nazca plateau in an airplane and saw various huge figures.
Geoglyph parrot in Nazca
Nazca geoglyphs, including a hummingbird (top left) and a monkey (bottom left).
In the years that followed, many hypotheses were put forward. For example, Erich von Daniken believes that the Nazca lines were a kind of landing lights that only gods high in the sky could see. Some researchers believe that the lines represent landing strips for extraterrestrial aircraft. But there are also more serious hypotheses.
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Various theories: gods, aliens and astrological markers
German archaeologist, mathematician and technical translator Maria Reiche hypothesized that the lines have astrological significance. Some of the figures correspond directly to the constellations visible in certain seasons of the year.
For example, the figure of a monkey directly correlates with the constellation Ursa Major, Dolphin and Spider - with the constellation Orion.
Independent American researcher David Johnson, who worked in collaboration with researchers from the University of Massachusetts, presented the hypothesis of archaeologists Markua Reindel (German Archaeological Institute) and Johnny Isla (Andean Institute for Archaeological Research) that there is a direct link between geoglyphs and reservoirs on the Nazca plateau. …
This could help solve the mystery of the Peruvian deserts. Johnson believes that the Nazca lines are markers of underground flowing waters, forming a huge map of underground water resources, indicating the location of wells and canals.
For example, a trapezoid symbol means that there is a well under the ground. The circles were drawn next to underground springs. A hummingbird (often represented in drawings with its beautiful pointed beak) points to a large well.
David Johnson's theory, of course, is interesting, but it is not able to unravel all the secrets of Nazca and does not apply to all drawings and lines. Perhaps the ancient inhabitants of Nazca had more advanced knowledge than we imagined.
Nazca Lines: An Unexpected Depiction of a Whale in the Desert
Scientists from the German Archaeological Institute and the Andean Institute for Archaeological Research have found religious offerings in small depressions near geoglyphs, possibly to ensure fertility, a good harvest and a supply of water.
The most food for thought among the enigmatic Nazca figures is the spider. Entomologists have discovered that it is a spider from the genus Ricinulei, one of the rarest spiders in the world.
Spider Nazca
This species does not belong to the insects of Peru, but lives only in the most inaccessible places in the Amazon forests, located at a distance of 1500 kilometers from the Nazca plateau. However, the accuracy of the image of the spider is amazing.
The reproductive organs of this insect are located at the end of one of its legs, and this can only be seen under a microscope, so the question of how they learned about such microscopic details remains unanswered.
Spider Ricinulei (Cryptocellus goodnighti)
In addition, the method for constructing the lines remains unclear, they stretch for huge distances (some more than eight kilometers, others 65 kilometers), and the images can only be seen from the air.
And why was the location of the wells so important? Were they used as paths for the gods, or as astronomical markers?
To answer these questions, we will have to wait for new archaeological finds.
