Lines of Nazca Peru

The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. 

The shallow etchings were made well over 2,000 years ago by Indians who cleared the stony surface, exposing the whitish soil underneath. Scientists continue to debate their purpose, offering such theories as a calendar, a map of underground water supplies, ancient "message in the bottle" for the future generations - even landing strips for space aliens. 

Nazca is a city and a system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru, and the name of the region's largest existing town in the Nazca Province. It is also the name applied to the Nazca culture that flourished in the area between 300 BC and AD 800.

 The high, arid plateau stretches more than 80 kilometres (50 mi) between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana about 400 km south of Lima. Although some local geoglyphs resemble Paracas motifs, scholars believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture between 400 and 650 AD. The hundreds of individual figures range in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks, orcas, and lizards.

Nazca, Perú: Nazca is known primarily for the "lines" or "geoglyphs" in the desert, large depictions of animals and other designs etched into the surface by an ancient culture for reasons that continue to baffle scholars. Adding to the mystery is the fact that these designs can only be fully appreciated from the air (and except for a few amateur archeologists and UFO fanatics, no one believes this lost culture had developed flying machines). The Nazca lines are one of nine areas in Perú to receive World Heritage Site designation.

Nazca Lines seen from SPOT Satellite

Satellite picture of an area containing lines. North is to the right. (Coordinates: 14°43′S 75°08′W)

The Nazca lines, which are found in a thirty-mile area of the desert, truly are a remarkable sight. The hummingbird, for example, is approximately 250 feet long. Some of the straight lines run for miles. Other designs include a dog, a 300-foot monkey, various other birds, and a collection of spirals, triangles and trapezoids. Seeing the Nazca lines in person only deepens the mystery of how and why they were constructed. It is believed they were created between 900 BCE and 630 CE by three different groups of the Paracas people. They were drawn by moving surface stones and gravel aside to reveal the lighter soil underneath. But how the designers were able to create such complex figures and perfectly straight lines without aerial reconnaissance remains a mystery. No one really knows why the lines and figures were created. Speculation has included rituals related to astronomy, as well as elaborate tracks for terrestrial foot races

Another interesting sight near Nazca is the cemetery. Human bones are scattered all about, cast aside by grave robbers (huaqueros) who have looted the graves for the artifacts they once contained and discarded everything else. In the graves, the mummified remains of the ancient residents are remarkably well preserved, given that they are exposed to the open air. In many cases, textiles and lengths of human hair (up to six feet long) have survived. The climate is so dry (less than a quarter of an inch of rain per year) that moisture is not a problem. Although the area can be quite windy, the heat reflecting off the desert floor creates a "cushion" of stagnant air that shields the surface from the winds

The Hummingbird

The Condor

The Heron 

The "Giant"

The Spider

The Pelican

The Dog 

The Hands 

The Monkey 

 Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejia Xesspe was the first to systematically study the lines in 1926. However, since the lines are virtually impossible to identify from ground level, they were only first brought to public awareness with the advent of flight—by pilots flying commercial planes over Peru in the 1930s. American professor Paul Kosok investigated and found himself at the foot of a line on June 22, 1941—just one day after the winter solstice. At the end of a full day studying the lines, Kosok looked up from his work to catch the sunset in direct alignment with the line. Kosok called the 310 square mile stretch of high desert “the largest astronomy book in the world”.

Kosok was followed by the German Maria Reiche who became known as the Lady of the Lines. Reiche studied the lines for 40 years and fought unyieldingly for her theories on the lines’ astronomical and calendrical purpose (she received a National Geographic grant in 1974 for her work). Reiche battled single-handedly to protect the site; she even lived in a small house near the desert so she could personally protect the lines from reckless visitors.

 

Maria Reiche, the most famous Nazca-Researcher, prefers the astronomical theory. She theorizes that the lines could point in the direction of the rising of important stars or planets and events like sun solstices. Formations like the spider and the monkey could show star constellations like Orion and Ursa Mayor.

Clay pottery and debris has been found along the lines, suggesting food or water was carried to the location either for its construction, ceremonial use, or perhaps both. Radiocarbon dates, based on ceramic and wood remains which were left at the Lines by the Nazcan people has been dated to an era between 300 BC and AD 800. The pottery shards of the style and type of the Nazca culture, further establishing these recent dates as most probable.

Bray Warwick also tried to determine the site's age by examining the stones along the figures. In the heat, the upper exposed side of the stones form a patina of manganese oxide, traces of iron and clay minerals. Below, the stones are covered with mushrooms, lichens and cyanobacterias. Stones in proximity to the lines were used to analyze this organic matter by C-14-Method. Analysis revealed values between 190 B.C. and 600 A.D. 

The second piece of evidence is the alleged resemblance of the Nazca geoglyphs to certain features found on Nazcan pottery. This is an important issue because it potentially offers proof that the Nazcans had either designed the images or at least viewed them from the air, since the exact shapes could not otherwise have been known.

Erich von Däniken - Cargo-Cult

Erich von Däniken's theory is the most famous approach to solve the mystery of Nazca. He had the idea that long time ago visitors from other stars visited the earth and naturally Nazca. At this place they landed, during the landing stones was blown away by the power of rocket propulsion. By approaching more the power was increasing and the cleaned band broader. In this way the first trapezes emerged. Later the Aliens disappeared and left confused people. Like in the modern cargo cults they tried to call the Gods back by drawing lines, figures and trapezes. Never Däniken said the formations was made by Aliens. He discovered the GGF/Mandala/Zodiac and the mirror - Formation and compares them with modern VASIS or PAPI-Signs. 

more reference:
http://sciencedoing.blogspot.in/2013/01/high-civilizations-of-former-times.html

#share courtesy: wikipedia.org, nationalgeographic.com, google.com