Nazca geoglyphs of Peru. Nazca geoglyphs

What are Nazca paintings?

The giant images on the Nazca Plain in Peru (South America) are the mystical sights of planet Earth. They look like lines on the earth's surface with an area of ​​approximately 500 square meters. m, which are made in the form of recesses. The elm has approximate dimensions of 140x50 cm, its color turns white on a dark rock surface.

At close range it is noticeable: this shade of “scratches” was obtained by cleaning tons of volcanic rock. As a result, the desert base was exposed - a sandy clay base with a yellowish tint. Surprisingly Nazca drawings have smooth and continuous contours, regardless of the landscape they pass through - hilly or flat.

At the same time, many geoglyphs are drawn with lines, over 10 thousand of which are stripes, more than 700 are geometric textures in the form of trapezoids, triangles and spirals, up to 30 are frontispieces of birds and animals, insects, etc.

History of drawings

The first mention of geoglyphs appeared in 1553 in the book of Pedro de Cieza de Leon (Spanish historian). I saw the part first drawings in the Nazca desert archaeologist from Peru Mejia Xessle, who stood on the slope of a mountain one day in 1927.

Discover all the mysterious patterns and install Nazca drawing coordinates It was succeeded only in 1939 by the American archaeologist Paul Kosok, who was flying over the plateau. Since in the desert they look like ordinary depressions, being on the ground, they cannot be seen, but from above the outlines of all the figures are clearly visible.

The history of the drawings seems obvious. They were made in Southern Peru by local people who, for several centuries, decorated desert areas along the coast. The ancient Peruvians painted mysterious signs on the ground using the same method as the ancient Indians, using the dark shade of the soil as a “canvas”.

But to the question: “Why?” no answer has been found yet. Scientists have also not yet established the exact age of the images. Local residents claim that the drawings were made by demigods - Viracochas. They say that they imprinted their presence in the Andes mountain range many thousands of years ago.

But scientists have already proven that everything drawings on the Nazca plateau were done at different time periods. The most ancient ones appeared in the 6th century. BC, the youngest are considered to be those painted in the 1st century. AD

Location and size of drawings

Geoglyphs are scattered throughout the Nazca rock desert between the cities of Nazca and Palpa. A significant number of them are located above the dry land of the Ingenio River. These ancient drawings are illustrated by another mystical drawing in the form of a giant trident, which was carved into a cliff near the town of Paracas.

Among the giant images there are no figures of Homo sapiens or anything related to him. The largest by unknown artists were: a spider with a length of 46 m, a hummingbird with a length of 50 m, a monkey with a length of 55 m, a condor with its wings spread over 120 m, a lizard with a length of 188 m, and a pelican with a length of 285 m.

Almost all images have huge parameters and are made with a continuous border. Lines stretching to the horizon intersect and overlap each other, forming mysterious drawings by their combination. Because of this Nazca desert took on the features of a huge drawing board.

Scientists' assumptions about Nazca drawings

The mystery of the appearance of the images has not yet been studied. Scientists have come up with many versions and hypotheses concerning, among other things, the answer to who and when completed the Nazca drawings. Some researchers believe that the drawings appeared in 750-100 BC. during the heyday of the Paracas Culture.

Others argue that the images were executed between the 2nd century. BC. and VI century. AD, when the Nazca Civilization ruled in this area. The third group of experts is inclined to believe that the geoglyphs were placed on the plateau in the 11th – 16th centuries. during the Inca Empire. The fourth has its own point of view: the drawings were “painted” by extraterrestrial beings in the period 12960 – 10450 BC.

As a result, various assumptions arose about the origin of geoglyphs.

— These drawings were considered ritual, therefore they were used in ancient times in occult ceremonies.

— Geoglyphs - a gigantic astronomical calendar: displayed Nazca drawings on the map very reminiscent of the month book.

“They helped the ancient inhabitants of Nazca contact the deity Viracocha.

— The outlines are airfield runways.

— The Nazca Plateau served as a spaceport for takeoff and landing of interplanetary rockets.

— Images – fires on the original platform for balloons.

— Geoglyphs appeared as a result of the energetic influence of UFOs.

— Photos of Nazca drawings shows that they are a map of the astral sky placed on the earth’s surface, and the figure of the spider is the coordinate system of a gigantic stellar concentration in the constellation Orion.

— The image entitled contains information about the star HD42807 in the constellation Orion.

— Figures related to flora and fauna are drawn as a reminder of the Flood.

— Outlines and images are the most ancient Zodiac.

— The outlines speak of the worship of the deity of the Mountain. For the ritual, the Indians took plants that caused hallucinations and carried out “witch doctor flights” over the valley.

— Drawings are an indispensable attribute of ceremonial dances in honor of the cult of Water, and straight lines denoted the water supply and sewerage systems.

— Nazca geometry is a theory of numbers and measurements, a cipher with the encoded number “pi”.

– Geoglyphs represent ancestral signs with which different families marked the territories they captured.

– Figures and images on the plateau – a gigantic map of the well system, which is placed along the outlines of the mysterious drawings.

Among scientists there are also those who believe: the answer to those located in Peru Nazca drawings lies in the giant geoglyph “Trident of El Candelabro” (its parameters are 128X74 m), known under the pseudonym “Candelabra”. It is located on a rock in Pisco Bay on Cape Paracas at an altitude of 150 meters, and can only be seen from the sea.

It is worth drawing an imaginary line from the middle prong of the “Candelabra” and making sure that it points to the Nazca Plateau. Experts believe that the Paracas Candelabra symbolizes Atlantis and contains important information about Mother Earth.

Based on numerous expeditions to Peru, some scientists have the impression that the Nazca Plateau was created by a petrified mudflow in the form of “tongues” descending from the peaks.

Moreover, the “tongues” froze between the rocks already on the return path of the tsunami that happened then into the Pacific Ocean. This is also evidenced by the flora and fauna found in the high-mountain Lake Titicaca (4 km above the sea line), which live in the salt water of the sea, and not in a freshwater reservoir.

The giant ground drawings of the Peruvian Nazca plateau are deservedly considered one of the most mysterious attractions not only of South America, but of the entire planet.

Mysterious lines folding into bizarre shapes cover about 500 square meters of the plateau. The lines that form the Nazca drawings are applied to the surface of the earth in a unique way - by excavating the soil, as a result of which trenches are formed up to 1.5 meters wide and up to 30-50 centimeters deep.

The lines form a huge number of geoglyphs - geometric and shaped patterns: over 10,000 stripes, more than 700 geometric shapes (mainly trapezoids, triangles and spirals), about 30 images of birds, animals, insects and flowers.

The Nazca paintings are impressive in their size. For example, the figures of a spider and a hummingbird are about 50 meters long, the figure of a condor extends to 120 meters, the image of a pelican - almost 290 meters. It is amazing that with such a gigantic size, the contours of the figures are continuous and surprisingly accurate. Almost perfectly smooth stripes cross the beds of dry rivers, climb high hills and descend from them, but do not deviate from the required direction. Modern science is not able to explain such a phenomenon.

These amazing ancient figures were first discovered by pilots only in the 30s of the last century.

This is explained by the fact that from the ground it is almost impossible to recognize figures stretching tens and hundreds of meters in length.

Despite decades of research, it remains a mystery how, by whom and for what purpose these drawings were made. The estimated “age” of the images is from fifteen to twenty centuries.

Today, about 30 designs, about 13 thousand lines and stripes, about 700 geometric figures (primarily triangles and trapezoids, as well as about a hundred spirals) are known.

Most researchers attribute the authorship of the drawings to representatives of the Nazca civilization, who inhabited the plateau before the appearance of the Incas. The level of development of the Nazca civilization has not been sufficiently studied, so it is impossible to say with certainty that its representatives possessed technologies that allowed them to create such drawings.

There are many versions explaining the purpose of the Nazca geoglyphs. The most common of them is astronomical. Its supporters consider the Nazca Lines to be a kind of astronomical calendar. The ritual version is also popular, according to which the giant drawings are intended to communicate with the heavenly Deity.

Multiple repetitions of the same lines and figures, as well as the identified mathematical patterns in their proportions and relative positions, give the right to assume that the Nazca drawings represent a kind of encrypted text. According to the most fantastic hypotheses, the figures on the plateau function as landmarks for the landing of alien ships.

Unfortunately, targeted and regular study of Nazca geoglyphs is not carried out in our time. The centuries-old mysteries of the famous Peruvian drawings are still waiting for their researchers.

Geoglyphs Nazca and Palpa from a copter. Peru 2014 hd

Satellite drawings of Nazca

Looking at the huge drawings on the surface of the Earth, photographs of which were taken from the air, the question arises: could people have done this? The most mysterious place on the planet is considered the Nazca Plateau, which surprised scientists 100 years ago with its mysterious drawings. Until now, scientists have put forward various theories about the appearance of these drawings, but none of them gave an exact answer about the origin of these masterpieces.

Let's follow the scientists' research a little and try to find some explanation for these drawings.

The Nazca plateau or pampa, as it is called, is located 450 km from the capital of Peru - Lima. Its length is 60 km and 500 sq. meters is covered with various mysterious lines that make up mysterious drawings. The drawings present in this area are images of geometric shapes, animals, insects and people of amazing appearance. The drawings can only be seen from the air, as they are huge images.

When examining the area, it was found that the drawings were dug into sandy soil to a depth of 10-30 cm, and the width of some lines could be up to 100 meters (!). The lines of the drawings can be several kilometers long, while literally not changing from the influence of the shape of the terrain. The lines rise and fall from the hills, but their continuity and perfect evenness are not broken. The question immediately arises: who is the creator of such a picture in the desert - peoples unknown to us or aliens from distant space? But scientists have not yet been able to find an answer to this question.

To date, scientists have been able to accurately determine the age of this “painting.” Scientists carefully examined the remains of plant and organic origin found in the places of the drawings and found that the drawings were created in a period of time starting from 350 BC. to 600 BC

But this fact is not an accurate proof of the date of appearance of the drawings, since these objects could have come here after the creation of the drawings. There is also another scientific theory that says that the drawings are the work of the Nazca Indians, who could have inhabited this region of Peru (even before the arrival of the Incas). After the disappearance of this people, not a single historical mention of them remained on Earth, except for burials. And therefore, scientists cannot say for sure about the involvement of this people in the drawings.

Let's look at historical sources that mention Nazca drawings. They were first mentioned by Spanish researchers in their manuscripts, which date back to the 15th – 17th centuries. In our time, these information sources have attracted the attention of modern scientists, but the most interesting discoveries became available during the creation of the first aircraft, since the lines of the drawings form a single whole and reveal their secret only from a bird's eye view.

The first scientist to discover the Nazca paintings themselves was the Peruvian archaeologist Mejia Xesspe, who saw part of them from an elephant in one of the mountains in 1927. They began to really explore Nazca in the 40s, when the first photographs of drawings taken from an airplane appeared. These studies were led by the American historian Paul Kosok. But in fact, in anticipation of the first photographs of the Nazca drawings, they were discovered by pilots who were searching for water sources in the desert. We were looking for water, but we found the most mysterious mystery of our planet.

Kosok at one time put forward one of the many theories that suggested that the drawings were nothing more than a huge astronomical calendar. For clarity, he cited similar drawings from the starry sky. It turned out that some lines show the direction of the constellations and indicate the point of sunrise and sunset. Kosok's theory was developed in the work of mathematician and astronomer Maria Reiche, who devoted more than 40 years to systematizing and studying the Nazca paintings. She managed to find out that the drawings in the Nazca desert were made by hand.

The first figures drawn were birds and animals, and then various lines were drawn on top of these drawings. The scientist also managed to find sketches, which were later realized in full size. Ancient “artists” used coordinate poles to more accurately navigate the terrain and draw up accurate drawings. These landmarks were located at some points of the figures. If the figures can only be observed from a high altitude, then the conclusion suggests itself that the people who put them on the surface of the earth could fly. Thus a new theory emerged that the creators of the Nazca paintings were an extraterrestrial civilization or created an airfield for aircraft.

It subsequently turned out that Nazca is not the only place that has such images. 10 km from the plateau (near the city of Palpa) there are similar drawings and lines, and at a distance of 1400 km near Mount Solitari there is a huge statue of a man surrounded by lines and drawings similar to the Nazca drawings. On the territory of the Western Cordillera, in the immediate vicinity of Nazca, there are two drawn labyrinths of a spiral shape, with different directions of turns. What’s most amazing is that a cosmic ray hits this area 1-5 times a year and illuminates this area for 20 minutes. There is even a claim by local residents that if you get caught in this beam, you can be cured of various diseases. Similar drawings were found in various countries of the world - Ohio (USA), England, Africa, Altai and the Southern Urals. They are all different, but one thing they have in common is that they are not intended for earthly viewing.

While conducting excavations in the Nazca territory, scientists found new mysteries for themselves. Drawings were found on the shards, which showed evidence that the inhabitants of this area knew about penguins. Scientists could not find another explanation for the found drawing of a penguin on one of the shards. Archaeologists also managed to find many underground passages and tunnels. Part of these structures is an irrigation system, and the other part belongs to the underground city. There are tombs and ruins of underground temples here.

One of the theories is the hypothesis of the origin of the Nazca paintings associated with the activities of alien civilizations. This hypothesis was first put forward by the Swiss writer Erich von Däniken. He claimed that aliens visited our planet in the Nazca region, but he is not sure that the drawings were their work. According to his theory, the drawings are intended to summon aliens who have left our planet. The triangles informed the alien pilots about the presence of crosswinds, and the rectangles informed the landing site.

Straight lines in the form of recesses could be filled with a flammable substance and serve as an indicator of the direction of the landing strips. This theory is fantastic and is not taken seriously in the scientific world, but even the writer managed to sow doubts in the scientific theories of the origin of the Nazca paintings. This is where the theory of energy flows arose, which testifies to the connection between humanity and alien intelligence. One example is a huge image of the “Paracas candelabra,” a design on a mountainside on the Peruvian Paracas Peninsula.

Scientists believe the candelabra is a source of information about our planet. The left side of the picture contains information about the earth's fauna, and the right side about the flora. The general image is made in the form of a human face. Where the top of the drawing is located, the ancient inhabitants of Nazca installed a pointer, which is a scale of civilization development. According to the same theory, there is an opinion that our civilization was created by aliens from the constellation Leo. Perhaps the composition of straight lines was created by aliens to mark the runway for their ships.

There is other evidence for this theory. Scientists from England were able to study the components of the muscle mass of Inca mummies. And the results were simply amazing. The blood of the Incas had no analogues with the blood groups of the inhabitants of the Earth of that historical period. This blood type is a very rare combination...

But of course, the truth is born in a dispute. And that’s why those who reject all alien theories found it. In the early 80s, a group of students, taking wooden shovels with them, created an “elephant” that resembles the Nazca drawings. But their conviction did not have much influence, and in our time there are many supporters of alien participation in the creation of huge drawings.

Options for theories of the appearance of large drawings on Earth:
Animal drawings were created as a memory of the global flood.
Nazca drawings are one of the ancient zodiac calendars.
The drawn figures are created for ritual ceremonies of the water culture, and the lines represent the direction of the aqueducts.
The trajectory of the drawings was used for sprint races (though this is hard to believe).
Nazca lines and drawings are an encrypted message, a kind of code. It contains Pi, radian degrees (360°), decimal number system, etc.
The drawings were drawn by shamans under the influence of strong hallucinogens (admittedly, the theory is funny).

No matter how many different theories about the origin and purpose of the Nazca drawings are put forward, the mystery remains unrevealed. In addition, this mysterious plateau presents humanity with new mysteries. New researchers are constantly being sent to this area of ​​Peru. This area is accessible to both scientists and tourists, but will a person be able to open the curtain of mystery that hides the true purpose of the drawings from us?

Lines and images on the Nazca plateau were found in 1920. American scientist P. Kosok, flying over desert, noticed mysterious drawings from the cockpit of the plane. Today, more than 100 “drawn” gigantic geometric figures, perfectly straight lines, plants and animals have been discovered on the plateau.

The lines most interested scientists who studied the plateau. They were perfectly smooth, located absolutely chaotically from each other and “did not pay attention” to the landscape of the area - they passed through valleys and hills, leaving an invariably even trail behind them.

Nazca Plateau is located near the cities of Palpa and Nazca, 60 km long. This area is not irrigated by rain for years. Perhaps this is an ideal area for arranging burials, since it can ensure the incorruptibility of the remains. When P. Kusok studied the lines and drawings from the ground, he noted that they were made using incredibly simple technology. To leave the design, it was only necessary to move the turf and stones, placing them in a row. Considering that the drawings were huge, they would have taken years to complete. But in such an area they could retain their original appearance for thousands of years.

The subjects of images are divided into 2 groups: figures and lines. There are two types of lines: they are either paired, like tram rails, or they form certain figures. After studying the plateau, scientists came to the conclusion that the images were first drawn, and then lines were drawn on top of them. The accuracy of the lines is surprising - they are so straight that they could be used instead of a level. This is surprising, and none of the scientists could explain how, without modern aviation equipment and technology, it was possible to maintain the effect of straight lines over such vast distances.

As soon as these drawings were discovered on the Nazca plateau, the question immediately arose about their purpose and the authorship of the images. Many different theories have been put forward - from alien civilizations to systems for controlling the Earth's population. More and more new researchers are trying to unravel the mystery of the plateau, and almost everyone comes up with their own version of the purpose of the lines. Today, none of the theories has an advantage over others, since in the solution secrets of the Nazca plateau humanity is not one step closer. Modern scientists also have different views on the age of these drawings: some researchers believe that the lines were drawn in 200 BC, others - 1700 BC.

Theories of the purpose of Nazca paintings

One of the first to appear was the astronomical theory. It was suggested by the discoverer of the plateau - P. Kusok. During sunset, he noticed that it was setting exactly at the intersection of one of the lines on the horizon. Further observations convinced the scientist that his guess was correct: he calculated the line of the winter solstice on the plateau. Piece noted that the lines point in the direction of certain space objects (constellations and stars) on important days for astronomy (full moons, etc.).

To confirm P. Kusok's theory, it was necessary to identify all the images on the Nazca plateau with celestial bodies. Such a task required complete dedication, enormous effort and time from researchers. Therefore, P. Kusok enlisted the help of a familiar Spanish translator, who accompanied him on trips to South America. Her name was Maria Reiche. Together they drew up a map and topological plans of the plateau - this took more than 7 years of joint work.

Researchers first received government support only in 1947, when officials from the Ministry of Aviation Peru A service helicopter was allocated for the needs of scientists. From that moment on, Maria was able to take photographs of the plateau from a flying height.

The first time Maria flew, tied herself with ropes, hanging from the side, took pictures, and held the camera in her hands the entire flight. After the first flights, she turned to an engineer she knew, and he designed something like a suspension for the board. In 1956, all the photographs were collected, and on their basis a detailed diagram was drawn up drawings on the Nazca plateau.

In ancient times, the Sun and Moon served as a calendar for people. Their position on the horizon determined the arrival of spring and autumn, the amount of rain, and the timing of the harvesting work. Scientists believe that these lines are a calendar that uses the Moon and the Sun instead of hands like a clock. When studying the drawings on the plateau, scientists were surprised to find that the Nazca drawings repeated the star map and displayed entire constellations on a large scale. But the most important question regarding Nazca Lines remained unanswered until today: who painted these images, and how? After all, ancient people, if you believe official history, did not have the opportunity to fly over the desert and correct the work of builders.

The theory of paleocontact and the Nazca plateau

Another most common version is the paleocontact or alien theory. This is what most researchers and scientists around the world support. For the first time, the theory that planet Earth was previously visited by alien civilizations was first put forward by Erich von Däniken. In his work, Däniken indicated that he was confident that these images were in fact runways for interplanetary travel. He claims that drawings of such sizes were intended only for those who could see them in flight, that is, using aircraft. Däniken suggested that this airport was built for the "Gods" who are spoken of in all the local legends.

There is an interesting ancient legend that is passed down from generation to generation by the entire local population. It talks about how a “golden ship” from distant galaxies arrived on our planet. The crew of the ship was controlled by the woman Oryana, who later became the mother of the human race. When she gave birth to 70 children to earthly people, the ship left Earth and all the aliens went to their home galaxy.

Documentary films by Erich von Däniken and can be viewed on our website.

The local legend describes in detail how the “youths of the sun” easily traveled through space on their “golden ships”. Another interesting fact is that the result of an analysis of the muscle tissue of Inca mummies showed that the composition of the blood of ancient remains and modern local residents is radically different from each other. The mummies were found to have a blood type of a surprisingly rare combination. This blood type was encountered by scientists only 2 or 3 times during the entire research period.

Developing the study, scientists noticed that near the main widest lines there were smaller ones that were not related to the main one. These lines did not continue the main drawing in any way and were connected exactly near the end of the contour. They formed a mega-system, which is similar to a kind of electrical circuit in which everything is done with one wire - the patterns do not intersect (there is no short circuit) and are not interrupted (as if the circuit were broken).

What miracles does ancient history contain? How many mysteries have not yet been solved, and how many of them will never be solved! However, as people step into the future, they understand the past more and more deeply and replace guesses and myths with real history. Thus, it is believed that archaeologists have already finally solved the mystery that the Nazca Desert concealed. The outskirts of Peru became famous back in 1947, when the first scientific publications about strange lines and mysterious drawings appeared. Later the idea arose that these were alien runways. Many inhabitants of the planet perceived this idea with interest. This is how the myth was born.

The Mystery of the Geoglyphs

For decades, scientists and amateurs have tried to explain the origin of geometric patterns in the desert, which occupy an area of ​​almost 500 square kilometers. Although at first glance the history of their origin in Southern Peru is quite clear. For several centuries, the Nazca Desert served as a canvas for the ancient Indians, on which for some reason they painted mysterious signs. There are dark stones on the surface, and if they are removed, light sedimentary rocks will be exposed. This sharp contrast of colors was used by the Peruvians to create geoglyph drawings: the background for the images was the dark color of the soil. They decorated desert areas with straight lines, trapezoids, spirals and huge animal figures.

Nazca Desert. Coordinates of the drawings

These signs are so huge that they can only be seen from an airplane. However, anyone today can admire the mysterious symbols without leaving home; just run any program on your computer that displays satellite images of the Earth. The coordinates of the desert are 14°41"18.31"S 75°07"23.01"W.

In 1994, the unusual drawings were included in the list of monuments that constitute the World Cultural Heritage. And then the whole world knew where the Nazca Desert was. People wondered who the mysterious gallery was intended for. To the gods in heaven who read human souls? Or maybe in this ancient country aliens once built a cosmodrome, and so the markings remain? Or is this the first astronomy textbook where the course of the planet Venus represents the wing of some bird? Or maybe these are family signs that clans used to mark the territories they inhabited? It was even suggested that in this way the Indians designated the flow of underground streams, supposedly this was a secret map of water sources. In general, there were a great many hypotheses, the best minds competed to interpret the meaning of what was written, but no one was in a hurry to select the facts. Almost all assumptions were made speculatively - rarely anyone dared to go to the utter distance. So the Nazca Desert (photo below) remained one of the most mysterious places on the planet, and its ancient inhabitants remained one of the most interesting cultures of pre-Columbian America.

The path to the solution

From 1997 to 2006, scientists from a variety of disciplines conducted extensive research in the Peruvian desert. The facts that they collected completely debunked all the explanations of the esotericists. There are no cosmic secrets left! The Nazca desert turned out to be quite earthly. Her drawings also speak of the earthly, even too earthly. But first things first.

Expedition to Peru

In 1997, an expedition organized by the German Archaeological Institute began to study geoglyphs and the culture of the Nazca inhabitants in the vicinity of the settlement of Palpa. The place was chosen based on the fact that it is located in close proximity to the villages where the ancient Indians lived. “To understand the meaning of the drawings, you need to look closely at the people who created them,” the scientists said.

Landscape exploration

As part of the project, the climatic features of the area were studied. This clarified the origin of the symbols. Previously, in the place where the Nazca Desert now lies, there was a flat steppe area. It was formed from a basin separating the Andes and the Coastal Cordillera (another mountain range). During the Pleistocene, it was filled with sedimentary rocks and pebbles. Here is the ideal “canvas” for applying all kinds of drawings.

A couple of thousand years ago, palm trees grew here, llamas grazed, and people lived as if in the Garden of Eden. Where the Nazca Desert stretches today, there used to be even heavy rains and floods. But around 1800 BC. e. The climate became much drier. The drought burned the grassy steppe, so people had to settle in river valleys - natural oases. But the desert continued its advance and came close to the mountain ranges. Its eastern edge moved 20 kilometers towards the Andes, and the Indians were forced to leave for mountain valleys located at an altitude of 400-800 meters above sea level. And when the climate became even drier (around 600 AD), the Nazca culture disappeared completely. All that remained of her were the mysterious signs inscribed on the ground. Thanks to the extremely dry climate, they survived for thousands of years.

Nazca Desert. Drawings

Having studied the living environment of the creators of the mysterious geoglyphs, the researchers were able to interpret them. The earliest lineages appeared about 3800 years ago, when the first settlements arose in the area of ​​the city of Palpa. Southern Peruvians created their “art gallery” in the open air, among the rocks. They carved and scratched various patterns on the brown-red stones, chimeras of both people and animals. The “Revolution in Art” took place in the Peruvian desert around 200 BC. e. Artists, who previously covered only rocks with paintings, began to paint the largest canvas given to them by nature itself - the plateau stretching before their eyes. Here the masters had room to expand. But instead of figurative compositions, artists now gave preference to lines and geometric shapes.

Geoglyphs - part of the ritual

So why were these signs created? Certainly not for us to admire them today. Scientists believe that the drawings were part of the “sanctuary”; these are so-called ceremonial figures that have a purely mystical meaning. Geophysicists examined the soil along the lines (their depth is almost 30 centimeters) and found that it was highly compacted. 70 geoglyphs depicting some creatures and animals are significantly trampled, as if crowds of people had been walking here for centuries. In fact, various festivals related to the cult of water and fertility were held here. The drier the plateau became, the more often the priests performed magical ceremonies in order to call for rain. Of the ten trapezoids and lines, nine are facing the mountains, where the saving precipitation came from. Magic helped for a long time, and the clouds carrying moisture returned. However, in 600 AD the gods became completely angry with the people who settled in this region.

Debunking the myth

The largest paintings in the Nazca Desert appeared at a time when the rains almost stopped. Most likely, people thus asked the stern Indian god to heed their suffering; they hoped that at least he would notice such signals. But God remained deaf and blind to the prayers. It didn't rain. In the end, the Indians left their native land and went to look for a prosperous country. And after a couple of centuries, when the climate became milder, the Nazca desert regained its inhabitants. People settled here who knew nothing about the previous owners of these lands. Only the lines on the ground stretching into the distance reminded us that once here a man tried to speak to the gods. However, the meaning of the drawings had already been forgotten. Now only scientists are beginning to understand the reason for the appearance of these writings - huge signs that seem ready to survive eternity.