On a high desert plateau in southwestern Peru, only about 230 miles south of the capital Lima, hundreds of massive and mysterious artistic designs are scraped into the arid soil. Technically known as geoglyphs, these figures range from straight lines and geometric shapes to biomorphic caricatures of animals, plants, and a humanoid. Typically composed of single, continuous outlines, the earthworks can vary in size from 440 to 1200 yards across or between 400 and 1100 meters. The lines combined measure more than 800 miles in length or 1290 kilometers. The area containing the geoglyphs is roughly a whopping 170 square miles or 440 square kilometers. Although the lines only measure from about twelve inches to six feet in width and four to six inches deep, many can be seen from space leading to hypotheses about their purpose. The lines are believed to have been created by first the Paracas and then the Nazca cultures over a period from 400 BCE to 500 CE by removing a shallow layer of darker, oxidized topsoil to reveal the lighter clay-like dirt below. So we may know the how of the lines, but what about the why? Alternative researchers wonder about the purpose of the art if most couldn't readily be seen by their creators at ground level. Were the Nazca peoples, like the Paracas culture before them, creating these designs for metaphoric rituals to gain self-control of their subsistence, or were these societies imploring the gods for help? The more popular illustrations include creatures like a spider, a hummingbird, fish, a heron, and a monkey. These could be seen as natural elements that may connect spiritually to symbols for fertility and agriculture seen in other Nazca art. But one humanoid depiction called the "Owl Man" by some and "The Astronaut" by others particularly sparks the imagination of unconventional thinkers. Join us as we begin to scratch the surface of the wonder and meaning of what has become known as the Nazca Lines.
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