Nazca Lines
The Nazca Lines are located 200 miles south of Lima between the Nazca and Inca Valleys. This stretch of land is 37 miles long and one mile wide. There are many straight lines, some parallel, some intersecting. They form geometric shapes such as rectangles, trapezoids, triangles, and parallelograms. Between or intersecting these lines are thinner lines that form a diversity of plants and animals.
Archeologists have classified the lines and shapes into two categories: biomorphs and geoglyphs. The biomorphs are believed to be drawn about 200 BCE, 500 years before the geoglyphs. The biomorphs are the plants and animals and are grouped together in one section of the plain. Some examples of the biomorphs are a humming bird, a condor, a monkey, a spider, and a 1,000-foot pelican. The geoglyphs are the straight lines, triangles, spirals, circles, and trapezoids. The longest straight line is nine miles long. There are about 900 geoglyphs across the plain.
A Peruvian archeologist, Toribio Mejia Xesspe, discovered these giant lines in 1927. The forms or pictures were discovered in the 1930’s when an airplane flew over, mapping and surveying for water. There are many theories to why these lines were built. The most common theory was thought of by a English writer, Tony Morrison. His theory was that the Nazca lines were shrines, on a huge scale, to the Inca people. The lines might have marked areas or shapes for religious ceremonies. Another, more recent theory, was thought of by two researchers, David Johnson and Steve Mabee. Their theory was that the geoglyphs are a giant map of underground water sources and pipes. Archeologists had found ancient aqueducts connected to some of the lines and the plain is an extremely dry place, getting less then an inch of rain per year.
The lines were built by pushing the red, iron oxide pebbles to uncover the white sand below. These lines were preserved because there isn’t much wind, rain, or erosion to ruin the lines. Archeologists believe that the lines were shaped with wooden sticks to create the lines. The biomorphs were drawn by first drawing them on a grid, then using the grid system, would draw each quadrant at full scale.
Archeologists have classified the lines and shapes into two categories: biomorphs and geoglyphs. The biomorphs are believed to be drawn about 200 BCE, 500 years before the geoglyphs. The biomorphs are the plants and animals and are grouped together in one section of the plain. Some examples of the biomorphs are a humming bird, a condor, a monkey, a spider, and a 1,000-foot pelican. The geoglyphs are the straight lines, triangles, spirals, circles, and trapezoids. The longest straight line is nine miles long. There are about 900 geoglyphs across the plain.
A Peruvian archeologist, Toribio Mejia Xesspe, discovered these giant lines in 1927. The forms or pictures were discovered in the 1930’s when an airplane flew over, mapping and surveying for water. There are many theories to why these lines were built. The most common theory was thought of by a English writer, Tony Morrison. His theory was that the Nazca lines were shrines, on a huge scale, to the Inca people. The lines might have marked areas or shapes for religious ceremonies. Another, more recent theory, was thought of by two researchers, David Johnson and Steve Mabee. Their theory was that the geoglyphs are a giant map of underground water sources and pipes. Archeologists had found ancient aqueducts connected to some of the lines and the plain is an extremely dry place, getting less then an inch of rain per year.
The lines were built by pushing the red, iron oxide pebbles to uncover the white sand below. These lines were preserved because there isn’t much wind, rain, or erosion to ruin the lines. Archeologists believe that the lines were shaped with wooden sticks to create the lines. The biomorphs were drawn by first drawing them on a grid, then using the grid system, would draw each quadrant at full scale.