The Mysterious Nazca Lines of Peru

By Earl Hunsinger

Do you like mysteries? If so, then perhaps you would enjoy a trip to Peru to see the famous Nazca lines. These are enormous pictures drawn on the Nazca plains, a desert drier than the Sahara. These drawings include both biomorphs and geoglyphs. The biomorphs are stylized pictures of plants and animals. In all there are around 50 of these, including a spider, whale, monkey, hummingbird, and a 1,000 foot long pelican. The geoglyphs are geometric shapes that include about 800 straight lines and around 300 triangles, spirals, circles, trapezoids, etc. Some of these drawings are even bigger than the animal pictures, such as a perfectly straight line nine miles long.

One of the interesting things about these drawings is that each figure is drawn with a single continuous line, which never crosses over itself. This has led some to believe that they were used as walking paths.

Although estimates of the age of the Nazca drawings vary, some say that they may be over 2,000 years old. They were drawn by members of the Nazca/Paracas civilization, which is said to have flourished along the Peruvian coast from about 300 B.C.E. to about 900 C.E. The mystery is why? Why were such enormous pictures drawn? These drawings are so large, and the Nazca plain is so flat, that no one could actually see them, including their creators. It wasn’t until the invention of the airplane that they could be truly appreciated. Because of this, they were literally forgotten about for centuries. Some were even partially destroyed when roads were built through them. It wasn’t until the 1930’s that they were rediscovered during a search for ancient irrigation canals.

The lines were created by removing the top layer of dark-brown, iron-oxide pebbles and rocks, revealing the lighter, yellowish-colored subsoil beneath. Since some of the patterns resemble landing strips and they can only be seen from a great height, one of the more outlandish theories about them is that they were created with the help of extraterrestrials as landing strips for UFOs. Although no one knows for sure why they were created, there is really no need for UFOs to be involved. Laying out the designs would not have been that hard for a people with a basic knowledge of geometry. The Nazca/Paracas civilization was certainly advanced enough to have had such knowledge. For example, after discovering that there was water flowing underground, even when a riverbed was dried up, they built underground tunnels to collect this water and distribute it to their fields for irrigation. This was an important piece of engineering in the dry, inhospitable environment in which they lived. They were also advanced in other areas, so drawing the lines would not have been a problem for them.

Some scientists have speculated that the lines had some connection with astronomical observations. It may be a coincidence, but some of the figures do seem to indicate this possibility. For example, the beak of one bird figure points to where the sun rises on the 24th of June, which was the date of an Incan religious celebration honoring the sun.

We may never know why their creators put so much effort into drawing these giant pictures on the Nazca plain. Still, it’s fascinating to look at their enormous works of art and ponder over what they could have been thinking. If you’re not able to go there on vacation, websites like Lost Civilizations, and Labyrinthina have some nice pictures. The Discovery Channel website has more information on the lines.

Peru is a beautiful country with a rich culture. The Nazca lines are only one of the many attractions to be seen. The website Peru Travel News has information on traveling to and around Peru. If you are able to go there on vacation, there are a multitude of travel agencies that have packages available for flying over the lines, as well as information on other sites that are worth seeing. Here are a few references, in no particular order: Peru Gateway Travel, Enjoy Peru Travel Agency, Sunny Land Tours, and Kuoda Tours

Whether you are able to go there in person or just visit by means of pictures, it is worth learning about the fascinating mystery of the Nazca lines of Peru.