Desire Bravo
Professor Zambran
SPC 1600
August 5th, 2015 The Mystery of the Nazca Lines The Nazca Lines are distinguished as one of the greatest mysteries the Latin America culture has. They are a series of geometrical shapes, and animal figures, none of which are repeated. Some are as long as two hundred meters in length, occupying about 500 square kilometers in the Nazca desert along the coastal plain, approximately four hundred kilometers south of the capital city of Lima, Peru .
Formerly, the knowledge of these lines came into being accidentally from an aero plane in 1927. Each of these figures, even sophisticated ones like the hummingbird, spider and the monkey, are executed through a single continuous line, in most cases created by clearing away the hard stones and brush of the plain to divulge the fine dust underneath. The Nazca Lines are believed to have been created between 500B.C. and 500 A.D. by the residents from the Nazca dessert who are believed to have been farmers and gatherers and that the lines are among the most sophisticated archaeological features due to their size, continuity, magnitude and nature.
It is also suggested that these lines depict imaginary beings, geometrical figures, stylized plants and living creatures coving several miles long. Various explanations have been put forward to explain these mysterious lines. These figures might have been some kind of agricultural calendar to assist the harvesting and planting of crops, whereas perhaps at the same time some the straight lines might have served as ancient sacred paths connecting the power spots.
Going further into research, Maria Reiche, who worked at Nazca from 1946 till her demise in 1998, is probably the greatest expert on the Lines. Maria was of believe that the Lines were an astronomical calendar that connected to the setting and rising points of the celestial bodies on the west and east horizons. According to Maria’s own theory, the whole complex was designed to assist organize harvesting and planting a round seasonal changes as opposed to fickle shifts of weather.
Moreover, in the majority of developed South and Central America cultures, there was great emphasis on knowledge of desert areas like Nazca and heavens hence these lines might have been drawn in that context. In most cases, the Nazca lines connect with low hills on the foothills or on the plain of the Andes along its edge. Fragments of Nazca pottery discovered around these hills indicate that they may