Nazca+Lines

Some general info from Wikipedia about [|Nazca lines]: The **Nazca lines** are a series of [|geoglyphs] located in the [|Nazca Desert], a high arid plateau that stretches 53 miles or more than 80 kilometers between the towns of [|Nazca] and [|Palpa] on the Pampas de Jumana in [|Peru]. They are believed to have been created by the [|Nazca culture] between [|200 BC] and AD [|700]. There are hundreds of individual figures, ranging in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks, llamas and lizards. This picture shows the different Nazca lines as they are seen from above.

The Nazca lines consist of very straight lines that are intersecting, parallel, and altogether create geometric shapes and also figures of animals and people. The geometric shapes are called geoglyphs and the figures of animals and people are called biomorphs. Archaeologists think that the biomorphs were made at about 200 BC, with the geoglyphs coming about 500 years later. There are about 70 biomorphs and 900 geoglyphs, and the longest straight line goes for nine miles across the desert.

The lines are made by moving iron oxide pebbles that are on the top of the desert. The dirt that is under the pebbles is a lot lighter than the pebbles, so the lines stand out really well.

Some people think that the Nazca lines could not have been made by people and were made by aliens and such, but "researchers such as [|Joe Nickell] of the [|University of Kentucky], have reproduced, without aerial supervision, the figures using the technology available to the Nazca people of the time. With careful planning and simple technologies, a small team of individuals could recreate even the largest figures within days. Contrary to the claims of several commentators, the figures can be observed from the ground by standing on top of nearby foothills.[|[1]]" (pasted from Wikipedia)

[|Here]is a really good website that has a photo gallery of pictures of the Nazca lines from an airplane.

This is a map of some of the Nazca lines.

The [|Nazca culture] built the Nazca lines. They were from about 300 BC to 800 AD in northern Peru. Along with the lines, they had a lot of underground aqueducts for transporting water that can still be used today. Also around the same area as the Nazca were the Moche, and later were the Inca. We know about the Nazca from studying a city called Cahuachi. The Nazca also had a lot of pottery and sculptures of animals. They are normally red, white and black. (Wikipedia: Nazca Culture) These are some pictures of typical Nazca pottery.

-Rachel (all of the above)

A little background on these magnificent lines are that they were some what of a religious thing for the Nazca people. It is said that they were designs that could seen by the gods. Another theory of how they formed is thinking that it is where dead bodies have risen under the ground. This was a theory made by [|Gerald Hawkins] and [|Anthony Aveni]. Some more information about why the lines are always shown are becasue the Nazca desert is a very dry part or one of the driest parts on the Earth. It keeps a steady temperature of about 77°F the entire year. Also it doesnt have much wind which helps keep the lines uncovered and preserved still from such a long time ago. this is a picture example of the nazca lines [below] (taelor rubin)

^(taelor rubin) The location of the Nazca lines are in the Nazca Desert. This desert is a high plateau that goes from Nazca to Palpa (which is a large flat area in southern Peru). The approximate area that it covers is about 450 km2 and is mostly desert. In this area there are about 300 figures that have been made and are clearly visible in the air. These lines are made with geometric shapes and straight lines. (taelor rubin)

^(taelor rubin) ^(posted by: taelor rubin/ found by kara goray)

It is actually unknown who made these lines exactly, but it is mainly believed that the Nazca People created them since they are in the Nazca desert. The lines were made by removing the iron oxide coated pebbles which cover the surface of the Nazca desert. When the gravel is removed, the lines contrast sharply with the surroundings because of the light-colored earth underneath. There are several hundred simple lines and geometric patterns on the Nazca plateau, as well as over seventy curvilinear animal, insect, and human figures. The area encompassing the lines is nearly 500 square kilometers (200 square miles), and the largest figures can be nearly 900 feet (270 meters) long. The lines persist due to the extremely dry, windless, and constant climate of the Nazca region. The Nazca desert is one of the driest on Earth and maintains a temperature around 25°C (77°F) all year round, and the lack of wind has helped keep the lines uncovered to the present day. ([|wikipedia]). Also I think that it is interesting that there are only unknown reasonings on why these were created. (Sam Andrews)

I found this on the Wikipedia article for Nazca Lines.

"Pollution and erosion caused by deforestation threaten the continued existence of the Nazca lines .... The Lines...are only 10 to 30cm deep and could be washed away. Nazca has only ever received a small amount of rain. But now there are great changes to the weather all over the world. The Lines cannot resist heavy rain without being damaged."

[|At the discovery channel] I found some other info about the Nazca Lines: "The Nazca lines aren't the only geoglyphs in the world ... The drawings at Nazca, however, are unique because they are so large and so densely packed within a 500 square kilometre area in southwest Peru. Straight lines that go on for hundreds of kilometres, only swerving out by a few degrees, huge trapezoids and spirals, and animal figures, some of which can be seen in their entirety from the air - have been puzzling archeologists since the 1920s. How did the Nazcans make them so precise? For whom? And why? As it turns out, how they got their drawings so precise is the one question on which scientists can agree. The Peruvian desert provided a perfect tableau for the Nazcan 'artists'. Covered by fist-sized volcanic rocks, blackened and varnished from exposure to the atmosphere, the desert or pampa surface makes a sharp contrast to the soft yellow soil only inches underneath the stones. By simply removing the overlying stones and piling them on each side, the Nazcans were able to sketch their drawings onto what may be the greatest scratch pad in the world. In another climate, the drawings would have been obliterated in months, but Nazca is one of the driest and most windless regions on Earth. Climate and geology conspired to create an ideal medium for the Nazcans - leaving their distinctive images to be admired and pondered over thousands of years later. But how were the Nazcans able to get the hundreds of kilometres-long lines so straight, and their figures in such perfect proportions? Since many of the drawings must be viewed from the air to be seen in their entirety, the task of getting such large figures so perfectly proportioned and the lines so straight was thought to have required an observer from above to guide the drawings. This led some to hypothesize that the Nazcans may have been capable of flight! But Dr. Persis B. Clarkson, an archeologist and geoglyph expert at the University of Winnipeg says the technology required was very easy and straightforward. "It was not a difficult technology... all you need is the will." As Clarkson explains, all it took was careful and diligent attention to sight lines. For the straight lines, two wooden stakes could be used to guide the placement of a third stake along the line. One person 'sights along' the first two stakes and instructs a second person where to place the third stake. Strings could also have been used to help ensure the lines were straight. This process could be repeated for hundreds of kilometres with due diligence."


 * Why were the Nazca Lines so precise?
 * The environment created a perfect tableau for the Nazca Lines. It was like a giant sketch pad. Fist-sized volcanic rocks were removed and piled on the side. The soft yellow soil made it easy for drawing.
 * Why were the proportions of the Nazca Lines so perfect?
 * At first, some thought that these people might have had the capability to fly. This is because it would require someone to be overhead to observe these lines in order to make them so perfect proportionally. Dr. Clarkson assumes that all these people needed was will. Just using 3 stakes to make a straight like would work perfectly. Strings could also assure lines were straight.

-Caroline

(posted by Hannah)This is a [|site] that has many different pictures of the lines. Most of the ones that you see when you search on google or something are animals but it seems that there were all kinds of shapes. I also found a map that is similar to Rachel's. Here is the [|link] because it is bigger and hard to see when it is small.

The Nazca Lines were created in the time of the Nazca Indians, who flourished in the area from 200 BC to about 600 AD. Graves and ruins of their settlement have been found near the lines.

The lines would have taken a long time to create, perhaps several generations, and many people contributed to their creation. As to the **purpose** of the Nazca Lines, see below for some of the theories.

The area of the Peruvian desert in which the Nazca Lines were drawn is called the **Pampa Colorada** (Red Plain). It is 15 miles wide and runs some 37 miles parallel to the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. The desert is not sandy, but made of dark red surface stones and soil with lighter-colored subsoil beneath. The Lines were created by clearing away the darker upper layer to reveal the lighter subsoil. It seems incredible that such simply-made drawings have **survived** for so many hundreds of years, and some have seen a mysterious element to this. But there is also a natural explanation: the surface is made of stone, not sand, and the climate of the area is such that there is practically no erosion. The Nazca peoples chose an excellent place for an enduring monument.

The Nazca Lines include straight lines and geometric shapes as well as stylized depictions of animals, humans and plants. The figures include: This information is from [|sacred destinations]I also found what the nazca lines look like close up. I wasn't sure what was meant when it was said that the iron-oxide pebbles were removed from the ground. Here is a [|picture] if you scroll down.
 * a monkey
 * a condor
 * a round-headed, rather friendly-looking human (known as "the astronaut")
 * another human figure
 * a spider
 * a hummingbird
 * hands

here is a map of the area around where the nazca lines are (Posted by Hannah)

This is a little description of how these lines might have been made and how simple they are (found from [|Skeptics Dictionary]) " In any case, one does not need a very sophisticated technology to create large figures, geometrical shapes, and straight lines, as has been shown by the creators of so-called [|crop circles]. The Nazca probably used [|grids] for their giant geoglyphs, as their [|weavers] did for their elaborate designs and patterns. The most difficult part of the project would have been moving all the stones and earth to reveal the lighter subsoil. There really is nothing mysterious about //how// the Nazca created their lines and figures." I found that one of the line figures is shaped like an Astronaut which i thought was extremely strange for people of their time. Here is a picture: ([|http://volker.umpfenbach.de/bilder/reisen/2006peru/high/Peru_Nazca_Astronaut.jpg)] It's not exactly an astronaut but all the skeptics and even professionals that study the lines call it the Astronaut. I decided to look more into the Nazca religion to see what could have been the cause of these lines. [|Meta Religions] stated that these drawings were made as a tribute to the mountain gods because they controlled the weather and fertility of the land. The straight lines were used as a type of outlet for water to flow through and are still used today for those reasons. Also there are ceremonies held around these 'water lines'. The Video below shows all of the line forms. media type="youtube" key="26OnaeDS9EM&hl=en" height="355" width="425" Some other famous Geoglyphs Posted by Kramer

__Nazca Culture__

The Nazca culture's period of strength lasted from 300 BC to AD 800. They are most widely known for the Nazca lines (in depth about these above), but were also responsible for a series of impressive underground aqueducts, such as [|this one], which is in Cantalloc, Peru. The photo is of the entrance to the aqueduct. These still function today, and there is an observation point on a hill near some of them.

Overlooking the pampa, where the Nazca lines were created, is the city of Cahuachi. Cahuachi was a "major ceremonial center" (Wikipedia) to the Nazca people. It overlooks some of the Nazca lines. An Italian archaeologist named Giuseppe Orefici has spent the last few decades bringing teams down every year to excavate it. There are over 40 mounds found within the city walls, each topped with an adobe structure. Apparently, the permanent population of the city was actually not all that large, but it was supposedly a huge center for pilgrimage. This is supported by the fact that the Nazca lines depict animals like an orca and a monkey, which are not found natively in the Nazca area. Of course, this could also be due to trade or travel.

The Nazca are also known for their [|polychrome] pottery: shapes such as double-spout bottles, bowls, cups, and vases painted in as many as twelve different colors. Early on, it was not as colorful, but in the middle to late stages of the Nazca culture, the pottery was often buff or red with three to eight colors on any one piece. The most popular colors were red, black, white, brown, yellow, grey, and violet with black outlines. It is believed to have been adapted directly from the Paracas culture, and is divided into nine phases of development. They often depicted mythical figures, such as the [|Killer Whale figurine]. Other times, they depicted normal (sort of) animal or plant figures, such as this [|fish-like figurine] found in Cahuachi.

A couple more pieces of Nazca pottery: > -Erin
 * 1) [|Vase]
 * 2) [|Double-spout]
 * 3) [|Weird pot]

Nazca Pottery has a theme to most of its pots: a double spout. These are some examples:

Other things that were important to portray in Nazca pottery are divine beings and symmetry. As you can see in the pictures above, divine beings appear quite often. Here are some other pots that are not double spouted but worship divine beings even more:

And here is an example of symmetry in Nazca art:



THE ABOVE IS POSTED BY EVAN