Nazca Lines

About Nazca Lines:

• Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs, or large designs made on the ground by creators using elements of the landscape such as stones, gravel, dirt or lumber.
• Location: These are located in the arid Peruvian coastal plain, some 400 km south of Lima.
• The Nazca Lines were discovered by hikers in the mid 1920s and later on Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejia Xesspe studied them systematically in 1926. 
• These are believed to be the greatest known archaeological enigma, owing to their size, continuity, nature and quality.
• They depict creatures from both the natural world and the human imagination.
  • qThey include animals such as the spider, hummingbird, monkey, lizard, pelican and even a killer whale. Ancient artisans also depicted plants, trees, flowers and oddly shaped fantastic figures, as well as geometric motifs, such as wavy lines, triangles, spirals and rectangles.
• The vast majority of the lines date from 200 B.C. to A.D. 500, to a time when a people referred to as the Nazca inhabited the region.
• The earliest lines, created with piled up stones, date as far back as 500 B.C.
• The Lines were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994.

What are Geoglyphs?

• Geoglyphs are motifs created on the ground by manipulating surface stones, soil, or gravel. 

Q1: What is a World Heritage site?

A World Heritage site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 

News: How AI has helped discover hundreds of mysterious Nazca geoglyphs in Peru

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