The Nazca Lines - Peru
The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. Discovered in 1927, these geoglyphs are the work of the Nazca civilization, a pre-Inca culture that developed between 300 BC and 800 AD. They were realized for the most part between -200 and 6001. Most lines run straight across the landscape, but there are also figurative designs of animals and plants. The individual figurative geoglyph designs measure between 400 and 1,100 metres (440–1,200 yd) across. The combined length of all the lines is over 1,300 km (800 mi), and the group covers an area of about 50 km (19 sq mi). The lines are typically 10 to 15 cm (4–6 in) deep.
The figures have been associated with shamanism. Most of them are found near prehistoric rock art sites that show similar images, but on a smaller scale. Shamans took hallucinogens that allowed them to see their power animal, a common practice in South America and particularly in the Amazon. Some of the drugs used during ritual ceremonies give the sensation of flying in the air; this would be the reason why geoglyphs were created to be seen from the sky.
We can find nearly 800 geometric figures: straight lines, spirals, ellipses, trapezoids and triangles; 70 drawings, engraved on the surface of the pampa, are biomorphic, taking the form of stylized plants and animals (zoomorphic drawings): monkey, hummingbird, condor, jaguar, spider, orca, heron, pelican. In total, more than 350 representations have been studied. They cross ravines, climb hills without affecting their shape or the apparent straightness of their lines. Most of the figures are made up of a single line that never intersects.
The geoglyphs of the hummingbird and the spider, for example, are respectively 47 m long and 50 m long by aerial view.
According to some interpretations, there would also be a link between these geoglyphs and a ritual context. According to others, there would be a relationship between the outlines and astronomy.
For some geologists, the geoglyphs would form an immense astronomical calendar, whose lines point towards remarkable stars or constellations and correspond to important dates in the agrarian calendar (sowing, harvest). The zoomorphic drawings correspond to a zodiacal representation of the cosmos. The entanglement of the lines of sight can be explained by the many changes made over the centuries to adjust to the precession of the equinoxes.