The Nazca’s of Peru Mysterious Lines

Until commercial air travel began flying between Lima and Arequipa (a southern Peruvian city) in the late 1920’s, one of the Nazca most beautiful mysteries was still completely in the dark. Nazca lines have puzzled virtually anyone who has taken interest in their true meaning. Archeologists, anthropologists, scientists, and historians have still to this day never figured out the exact reason for these huge desert-drawings, but there are some very promising theories. When I first saw the pictures of the geolyphys (lines and figures in the sand) my initial thought was: who could see these? They didn’t have planes when these were first made (around 200 B.C)? Because of the lack of technology then, I figured it must have been for their ‘God’ or ‘Deity’ to see and enjoy. What I did not realize is the topography of Peru is very mountainous, and each drawing is done in an area where viewing from a mountain is sufficiently high enough. Academics have theorized and tried to explain the Nazca lines in multiple ways. Some explanations are reasonable, such as; Inca roads, irrigation plans, and to be enjoyed from primitive hot air balloons. Some of the “less” reasonable theories are drawn from virtually no evidence and have gone as far as saying that the lines are actually landing strips for aliens spaceships.

As we know for many indigenous groups- the Nazca’s included- water has always been something crucial to life. The northern region of Chile and the coastal region of southern Peru are actually some of the driest places on earth. Fortunately, the Nazca culture is said to have began in a ‘protected basin’ of sorts. The reason this area was able to house an up-and-coming civilization is all thanks to the mountains and the lush river system...

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...ame scarce in the area, which may have also been a contributing factor that ultimately led to the Nazca’s demise. I think it is clear that we may never know the exact reason the Nazca lines were created, but it is definitely an anomaly that people have enjoyed studying ever since the lines were discovered. It is also possible that these ancient lines may have influenced modern forms of ‘art’, such as crop circles and earth art.

Works Cited

Hall, Stephen S. "Spirits in the Sand: The ancient Nasca lines of Peru shed their secrets." National Geographic Mar. 2010: 8. National Geographic Magazine. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.

Krystek, Lee . "The UnMuseum - The Lines of Nazca." The UnMuseum - The Lines of Nazca. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. .

"Líneas de Nasca." Travel to Nasca Per RSS. http://www.nascaperu.com (accessed January 16, 2014).