What miracles does ancient history contain? How many mysteries have not yet been solved, and how many of them will never be solved! However, as people step into the future, they understand the past more and more deeply and replace guesses and myths with real history. Thus, it is believed that archaeologists have already finally solved the mystery that the Nazca Desert concealed. The outskirts of Peru became famous back in 1947, when the first scientific publications about strange lines and mysterious drawings appeared. Later the idea arose that these were alien runways. Many inhabitants of the planet perceived this idea with interest. This is how the myth was born.
The Mystery of the Geoglyphs
For decades, scientists and amateurs have tried to explain the origin of geometric patterns in the desert, which occupy an area of almost 500 square kilometers. Although at first glance the history of their origin in Southern Peru is quite clear. For several centuries, the Nazca Desert served as a canvas for the ancient Indians, on which for some reason they painted mysterious signs. There are dark stones on the surface, and if they are removed, light sedimentary rocks will be exposed. This sharp contrast of colors was used by the Peruvians to create geoglyph drawings: the background for the images was the dark color of the soil. They decorated desert areas with straight lines, trapezoids, spirals and huge animal figures.
Nazca Desert. Coordinates of the drawings
These signs are so huge that they can only be seen from an airplane. However, anyone today can admire the mysterious symbols without leaving home; just run any program on your computer that displays satellite images of the Earth. The coordinates of the desert are 14°41"18.31"S 75°07"23.01"W.
In 1994, the unusual drawings were included in the list of monuments that constitute the World Cultural Heritage. And then the whole world knew where the Nazca Desert was. People wondered who the mysterious gallery was intended for. To the gods in heaven who read human souls? Or maybe in this ancient country aliens once built a cosmodrome, and so the markings remain? Or is this the first astronomy textbook where the course of the planet Venus represents the wing of some bird? Or maybe these are family signs that clans used to mark the territories they inhabited? It was even suggested that in this way the Indians designated the flow of underground streams, supposedly this was a secret map of water sources. In general, there were a great many hypotheses, the best minds competed to interpret the meaning of what was written, but no one was in a hurry to select the facts. Almost all assumptions were made speculatively - rarely anyone dared to go to the utter distance. So the Nazca Desert (photo below) remained one of the most mysterious places on the planet, and its ancient inhabitants remained one of the most interesting cultures of pre-Columbian America.
The path to the solution
From 1997 to 2006, scientists from a variety of disciplines conducted extensive research in the Peruvian desert. The facts that they collected completely debunked all the explanations of the esotericists. There are no cosmic secrets left! The Nazca desert turned out to be quite earthly. Her drawings also speak of the earthly, even too earthly. But first things first.
Expedition to Peru
In 1997, an expedition organized by the German Archaeological Institute began to study geoglyphs and the culture of the Nazca inhabitants in the vicinity of the village of Palpa. The place was chosen based on the fact that it is located in close proximity to the villages where the ancient Indians lived. “To understand the meaning of the drawings, you need to look closely at the people who created them,” the scientists said.
Landscape exploration
As part of the project, the climatic features of the area were studied. This clarified the origin of the symbols. Previously, in the place where the Nazca Desert now lies, there was a flat steppe area. It was formed from a basin separating the Andes and the Coastal Cordillera (another mountain range). During the Pleistocene, it was filled with sedimentary rocks and pebbles. Here is the ideal “canvas” for applying all kinds of drawings.
A couple of thousand years ago, palm trees grew here, llamas grazed, and people lived as if in the Garden of Eden. Where the Nazca Desert stretches today, there used to be even heavy rains and floods. But around 1800 BC. e. The climate became much drier. The drought burned the grassy steppe, so people had to settle in river valleys - natural oases. But the desert continued its advance and came close to the mountain ranges. Its eastern edge moved 20 kilometers towards the Andes, and the Indians were forced to leave for mountain valleys located at an altitude of 400-800 meters above sea level. And when the climate became even drier (around 600 AD), the Nazca culture disappeared completely. All that remained of her were the mysterious signs inscribed on the ground. Thanks to the extremely dry climate, they survived for thousands of years.
Nazca Desert. Drawings
Having studied the living environment of the creators of the mysterious geoglyphs, the researchers were able to interpret them. The earliest lineages appeared about 3800 years ago, when the first settlements arose in the area of the city of Palpa. Southern Peruvians created their “art gallery” in the open air, among the rocks. They carved and scratched various patterns on the brown-red stones, chimeras of both people and animals. The “Revolution in Art” took place in the Peruvian desert around 200 BC. e. Artists, who previously covered only rocks with paintings, began to paint the largest canvas given to them by nature itself - the plateau stretching before their eyes. Here the masters had room to expand. But instead of figurative compositions, artists now gave preference to lines and geometric shapes.
Geoglyphs - part of the ritual
So why were these signs created? Certainly not for us to admire them today. Scientists believe that the drawings were part of the “sanctuary”; these are so-called ceremonial figures that have a purely mystical meaning. Geophysicists examined the soil along the lines (their depth is almost 30 centimeters) and found that it was highly compacted. 70 geoglyphs depicting some creatures and animals are significantly trampled, as if crowds of people had been walking here for centuries. In fact, various festivals related to the cult of water and fertility were held here. The drier the plateau became, the more often the priests performed magical ceremonies in order to call for rain. Of the ten trapezoids and lines, nine are facing the mountains, where the saving precipitation came from. Magic helped for a long time, and the clouds carrying moisture returned. However, in 600 AD the gods became completely angry with the people who settled in this region.
Debunking the myth
The largest paintings in the Nazca Desert appeared at a time when the rains almost stopped. Most likely, people thus asked the stern Indian god to heed their suffering; they hoped that at least he would notice such signals. But God remained deaf and blind to the prayers. It didn't rain. In the end, the Indians left their native land and went to look for a prosperous country. And after a couple of centuries, when the climate became milder, the Nazca desert regained its inhabitants. People settled here who knew nothing about the previous owners of these lands. Only the lines on the ground stretching into the distance reminded us that once here a man tried to speak to the gods. However, the meaning of the drawings had already been forgotten. Now only scientists are beginning to understand the reason for the appearance of these writings - huge signs that seem ready to survive eternity.
The Nazca Plateau today is a lifeless desert, covered with stones darkened by heat and sun and cut by the beds of long-dried water streams; one of the driest places on Earth. It is located 450 km south of Lima, the capital of Peru, 40 km from the Pacific coast, at an altitude of approximately 450 m. Rains fall here on average once every two years and last no more than half an hour.
In the twenties, with the beginning of air travel from Lima to Arequipa, strange lines began to be noticed on the plateau. Lots of lines. Straight as an arrow, sometimes stretching to the very horizon, wide and narrow, intersecting and overlapping, combining into unimaginable patterns and scattering from centers, the lines made the desert look like a giant drawing board:
Since the middle of the last century, serious study of the lineages and cultures that inhabited this region began, but the geoglyphs still kept their secrets; Versions began to appear that explain the phenomenon outside the mainstream of academic science, the topic took its rightful place among the unsolved mysteries of ancient civilizations, and now almost everyone knows about the Nazca geoglyphs.
Representatives of official science have repeatedly stated that everything has been solved and deciphered, that these are nothing more than traces of religious ceremonies, or, in extreme cases, traces of the search for water sources or the remains of astronomical indicators. But just look at pictures from an airplane, or better yet from space, and fair doubts and questions arise - what kind of rituals were these that forced the Indians, whose society was in the earliest stages of development, to live in small villages and hamlets, forced to constantly fight for survival, to delineate hundreds of square kilometers of desert with geometric shapes, many kilometers of straight lines and giant design images that can only be seen from a great height?
Maria Reiche, who devoted more than 50 years to the study of geoglyphs, notes in her book that, given the colossal amount of work carried out, the creation of lines should have been the central task of the society inhabiting this area at that time...
Although it is worth noting that in more specialized works, archaeologists do not adhere to such categorical conclusions about the complete solution to the lines, mentioning religious ceremonies only as the most likely version that requires further research.
And I propose to touch this amazing mystery again, but maybe just a little more closely, as if from another dimension; do something similar to what P. Kosok did in 1939, when he first hired an airplane specifically to fly over the desert.
So, a little necessary information.
1927 Official discovery of the lines by Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Meia Xespe.
1939 Research into geoglyphs begins by historian Paul Kosok of Long Island University in New York.
1946 – 1998 Study of geoglyphs by German mathematician and archaeologist Maria Reiche. Arriving for the first time with Paul Kosok as a translator, Maria Reiche continued her research into lines, which became the main work of her life. Largely thanks to this courageous woman, the lines continue to exist and are available for research.
1960 Beginning of intensive study of geoglyphs by various expeditions and researchers.
1968 Publication of the book “Chariots of the Gods” by Erich Von Denikin, where a version of the traces of extraterrestrial civilizations is expressed. The beginning of the widespread popularity of the Nazca geoglyphs and the tourist boom on the plateau.
1973 Expedition of the English astronomer Gerald Hawkins (author of a monograph on Stonehenge), the results of which showed the inconsistency of the astronomical version proposed by P. Kosak and M. Reiche.
1994 Thanks to the efforts of Maria Reiche, the Nazca geoglyphs are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Since 1997, the Nazca-Palpa project, led by Peruvian archaeologist Joni Isla and Prof. Markus Reindel from the German Archaeological Institute with the support of the Swiss-Liechtenstein Foundation for Foreign Archaeological Research. The main version based on the results of work since 1997 is the already mentioned ritual actions associated with the cult of water and fertility.
Currently, a GIS-geographic information system (digital 3-dimensional display of geoglyphs combined with archaeological and geological information) is being created with the participation of the Zurich Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry.
A little about the versions. The two most popular have already been mentioned (rituals of the Indians and traces of extraterrestrial civilizations):
First, let’s clarify a little the meaning of the term “geoglyphs.” According to Wikipedia, “a geoglyph is a geometric or shaped pattern applied to the ground, usually over 4 meters long. There are two ways to create geoglyphs - by removing the top layer of soil along the perimeter of the pattern or, conversely, pouring crushed stone where the pattern line should go. Many geoglyphs are so large that they can only be seen from the air." It is worth adding that the overwhelming majority of geoglyphs are completely unambiguously interpreted drawings or signs, and from ancient times to this day people have applied and apply geoglyphs for specific purposes - religious, ideological, technical, entertainment, advertising. Nowadays, thanks to technological progress, application methods have significantly improved, and, ultimately, both the illuminated runway and the artificial islands in the United Arab Emirates can be considered modern geoglyphs:
According to the above, it is not entirely correct to consider the Nazca lines (the number of giant drawings is only a fraction of a percent of the number of lines and geometric figures) as geoglyphs, due to the unknown purposes for which they were drawn. After all, no one would think of considering, say, agricultural activities or a transport system as geoglyphs, which from a great height also look like geometric patterns. But it so happened that in official archeology and in popular literature the Nazca lines and drawings are called geoglyphs. We will not break traditions either.
1. LINES
Geoglyphs are found throughout almost the entire west coast of South America. In this chapter we will look in detail at the geoglyphs in the Nazca region, and information about other regions can be found in the appendix.
The following map shows in blue areas where the lines are clearly visible in Google Earth and have a similar structure; the red rectangle is a “tourist place” where the density of lines is maximum and most of the drawings are concentrated; The purple area is the area of distribution of lines considered in most studies, when they say “Nazca-Palpa geoglyphs” they mean this particular area. The purple icon in the upper left corner is the famous geoglyph "Paracas Candelabra":
Red rectangle area:
Purple area:
The geoglyphs themselves are a rather simple thing - stones covered with a dark desert tan (oxides of manganese and iron) were removed to the side, thereby exposing a light layer of subsoil consisting of a mixture of sand, clay and gypsum:
But often geoglyphs have a more complex design - a recess, an ordered boundary, stone structures, or simply piles of stones at the ends of lines, which is why in some works they are called earth structures.
Where the geoglyphs reach the mountains, a lighter layer of rubble was exposed:
In this chapter we will mainly consider that large part of geoglyphs, which includes lines and geometric figures.
Based on their form, they are usually divided as follows:
Lines and stripes ranging in width from 15 cm to 10 meters or more, which can stretch for many kilometers (1-3 km are quite common, some sources mention 18 km or more). Most of the drawings are drawn with thin lines. The stripes sometimes smoothly expand along the entire length:
Truncated and elongated triangles (the most common type of geometric shapes on the plateau after lines) of various sizes (from 3 m to more than 1 km) - they are usually called trapezoids:
Large areas of rectangular and irregular shape:
Often lines and platforms are recessed, according to M. Reiche, up to 30 cm or more; recesses near the lines often have an arched profile:
This is clearly visible on almost buried trapezoids:
Or in a photo taken by a member of the LAI expedition:
The shoot place:
Lines almost always have clearly defined boundaries - basically it is something like a border, very precisely maintained along the entire length of the line. But boundaries can also be heaps of stones (for large trapezoids and rectangles, as in Fig. 15) or heaps of stones with varying degrees of order:
Let us note the feature due to which the Nazca geoglyphs have become widely known - straightness. In 1973, J. Hawkins wrote that some multi-kilometer straight lines were made at the limit of photogrammetric capabilities. I don’t know how things are now, but you have to admit, it’s not bad at all for the Indians. It should be added that often the lines follow the relief, as if without noticing it.
Examples that have become classics:
View from the plane:
The centers are clearly visible on map 6. Map of the centers compiled by Maria Reiche (small dots):
American researcher Anthony Eveny in his book "Between lines" mentions 62 centers in the Nazca-Palpa region.
Often the lines are connected to each other and combined in various combinations. It is also noticeable that the work proceeded in several stages, often lines and figures overlap each other:
It is worth noting the location of the trapezoids. The bases usually face river valleys, the narrow part is almost always higher than the base. Although where the elevation difference is small (on flat hilltops or in the desert) this does not work:
A few words need to be said about the age and number of lines. It is generally accepted by official science that the lines were created in the period between 400 BC. e. and 600 AD This is based on fragments of ceramics from different phases of the Nazca culture, which are found in dumps and piles of stones on the lines, as well as radiocarbon dating of the remains of wooden posts considered to be markers. Thermoluminescence dating is also used, which shows similar results. We will touch on this topic further below.
As for the number of lines - Maria Reiche registered about 9,000 of them, currently the figure is mentioned from 13,000 to 30,000 (and this is only on the purple part of map 5; no one counted similar lines at Ica and Pisco, although there are obviously them there far less). But we must take into account that we see only what the time and care of Maria Reiche (now the Nazca Plateau is a nature reserve) left us, who mentioned in her book that before her eyes, areas with interesting lines and spirals are being planted under cotton crops. Obviously, most of them were buried by erosion, sand and human activity, and the lines themselves sometimes cover each other in several layers, and their true number may differ by at least an order of magnitude. It makes sense to talk not about the number, but about the density of lines. But here it is worth noting the following.
Considering that the climate, as archaeologists indicate, was wetter during this period (and in Google Earth it is clear that the ruins and remains of irrigation structures go much deeper into the desert), the maximum density of geoglyphs is observed near river valleys and settlements (Map 7). But you can find individual lines in the mountains and far in the desert:
At an altitude of 2000 m, 50 km west of Nazca:
Trapezoid from a group of lines in the desert 25 km from Ica:
And further. When compiling a GIS of some areas of Palpa and Nazca, it was concluded that, in general, all lines are built in places accessible to humans and what is happening on the lines (but not the lines themselves) can be seen from remote observation points. I don’t know about the second, but the first seems to be true for the vast majority of lines (there are inconvenient places, but I haven’t encountered any impassable ones), especially since Google Earth allows you to rotate the image this way and that (purple area on map 5):
The list of obvious features could be continued, but perhaps it’s time to move on to the details.
The first thing I would like to start with is a significant amount of work done, to put it mildly, not very well:
The bulk of the photographs were taken within the purple area on map 5, which was most exposed to the invasion of tourists and various kinds of experimenters; According to Reiche, there were even military maneuvers here. I tried as much as possible to avoid clearly modern traces, especially since it is not difficult - they are lighter, go on top of ancient lines and do not have signs of erosion.
A few more illustrative examples:
The ancients had strange rituals - would it be worth doing so much work on marking and clearing that you would then give up everything halfway or even at the final part? It is interesting that sometimes on completely finished trapezoids there are often heaps of stones, as if abandoned or forgotten by the builders:
According to archaeologists, work on the construction and reconstruction of the lines was carried out constantly. I will add that this rather concerns only certain groups of lines located near Palpa and in the valley of the Ingenio River. All kinds of activity did not stop there, perhaps even during the time of the Incas, judging by the numerous stone structures around the bases of the trapezoids:
Some such places are sometimes marked by anthropomorphic and rather primitive images-geoglyphs, reminiscent of ordinary cave paintings (historians attribute them to the style of the Paracas culture, 400-100 BC, the predecessor of the Nazca culture). It is clearly visible that quite a few people trampled there (including modern tourists):
It must be said that archaeologists generally prefer to study such places.
Here we come to one extremely interesting detail.
You have noticed that I constantly mention piles and structures made of stone - they were used to make borders, left them arbitrarily on the lines. But there is another type of similar elements, as if included in the design of a significant number of trapezoids. Notice two elements at the narrow end and one at the wide end:
This is an important detail, so here are some more examples:
In this image from Google, several trapezoids have similar elements:
These elements are not recent additions - they are present on some unfinished trapezoids, and are also found in all 5 regions indicated on the map. Here are examples from opposite ends - the first from the Pisco region, and two from the mountainous area east of Nazca. Interestingly, on the latter these elements are also present inside the trapezoid:
Archaeologists have recently become interested in these elements, and here are descriptions of these structures on one of the trapezoids in the Palpa area (1):
Stone platforms with walls made of stones held together with mud mortar, sometimes double (the outer wall was made of the flat sides of the stone, giving it a grand appearance), filled with rock, among which there are fragments of ceramics and food remains; there was a raised floor made of compacted clay and stone inlays. It has been suggested that wooden beams were laid on top of these structures and used as platforms.
The diagram shows pits between the platforms, where the remains of wooden (willow) pillars, presumably massive, were found. Radiocarbon analysis of one of the pillars showed an age of 340-425 AD, a piece of a stick from a stone platform (another trapezoid) - 420-540 AD. e. Also, pits with the remains of pillars were found at the boundaries of trapezoids.
Here is a description of a ring structure found near the trapezoid, which archaeologists believe is similar to those found at the base of trapezoids:
The method of construction is similar to the platforms described above, with the difference that the interior of the wall was also given ostentation. It was shaped like the letter D, with a gap on the flat side. A flat stone placed after the reconstruction is visible, but it is noted that there was a second one, both used as supports for the stairs to the platform.
In most cases, these elements did not have such a complex structure and were simply heaps or ring structures of stones, and a single element at the base of a trapezoid could not be read at all.
And more examples:
We dwelled on this point in a little more detail, because it is quite obvious that the platforms were built together with trapezoids. They can be seen very often on Google Earth, and the ring structures are very clearly visible. And it is unlikely that the Indians specifically looked for trapezoids in order to build platforms on them. Sometimes even a trapezoid is barely discernible, but these elements are clearly visible (for example, in
desert 20 km from Ica):
Large rectangular platforms have a slightly different set of elements - two large piles of stones, one located on each edge. Perhaps one of them is shown in the National Geographic documentary "Nazca Lines: Deciphered":
Well, a definite point in favor of rituals.
Based on our orthodox version, it is logical to assume that there must be some kind of markup. There really is something similar and is very often used - a thin central line running through the center of the trapezoid and sometimes extending far beyond. In some works of archaeologists it is sometimes called the centerline of the trapezoid. It is usually tied to the platforms described above
(begins or passes next to the platform at the base, and always exactly comes out in the middle between the platforms at the narrow end), the trapezoid may not be symmetrical relative to it (and the platforms, respectively):
This is true for all selected areas of map 5. The trapezoid from Ica Fig. is indicative in this regard. 28, the center line of which seems to shoot a line from piles of stones.
Examples of different types of markings of trapezoids and stripes, as well as different types of work on them in the purple area (we called them mattresses and punched tape):
The marking in some of the examples shown is no longer a simple delineation of the main axes and contours. There are elements here, as it were, of scanning the entire area of the future geoglyph.
This is especially noticeable on the markings for large rectangular areas from the “tourist site” near the Ingenio River:
Under the platform:
And here, next to the existing site, another one was marked:
Similar markings for future sites on M. Reiche’s layout are clearly readable:
Let’s take note of the “scanning markings” and move on.
Interestingly, the markers and those who carried out the clearing work sometimes seemed unable to coordinate their actions sufficiently:
And an example of two large trapezoids. I wonder if it was intended that way, or if someone got something wrong:
Given all of the above, it was difficult not to try to get a closer look at the actions of the markers.
And here we have a few more extremely interesting details waiting for us.
To begin with, I will say that it is very indicative to compare the behavior of modern transport and ancient markers using a thin line. The tracks of cars and motorcycles run unevenly along one direction, and it is difficult to find straight sections of more than a couple of hundred meters. At the same time, the ancient line is always practically straight, often moves inexorably for many kilometers (checked in Google with a ruler), at times disappearing, as if coming off the ground, and reappearing in the same direction; occasionally can make a slight turn, change direction abruptly or not so much; and in the end either rests on the center of the intersections, or smoothly disappears, dissolving into a trapezoid, intersecting lines or with a change in relief.
Often the markers seem to lean on piles of stones located next to the lines, and less often on the lines themselves:
Or this example:
I have already spoken about straightforwardness, but I will note the following.
Some lines and trapezoids, even distorted by the relief, become straight from a certain point of observation from the air, as has already been noted in some studies. For example. The line walking slightly in the satellite image looks almost straight from a viewing point located a little to the side (still from the documentary "Nazca Lines. Deciphered"):
I am not an expert in the field of geodesy, but, in my opinion, drawing a line on rough terrain along which an inclined plane intersects the relief is a rather difficult task.
Another similar example. On the left is a photo from an airplane, on the right from a satellite. In the center is a fragment of an old photo of Paul Kosok (taken from the lower right corner of the original photograph from the book by M. Reiche). We see that the entire combination of lines and trapezoids is drawn from a point close to the point from which the central photograph was taken.
And the next photo is better viewed in good resolution (here - Fig. 63).
First, let's pay attention to the under-cleared area in the center. The methods of working manually are very clearly presented - there are both large piles and small ones, a dump of gravel at the borders, an irregular border, not very organized work - they collected here and there and left. In short, everything that we saw in the section on manual work.
Now let's look at the line crossing the left side of the photo from top to bottom. A radically different style of work. The ancient construction aces seem to have decided to imitate the work of a chisel fixed at a certain height. With a jump over a stream. Straight and regular boundaries, leveled bottom; They didn’t even forget to reproduce the subtleties of the breakage of the trace of the upper part of the line. There is a possibility that this
water or wind erosion. But there are plenty of examples of all types of environmental influences in photographs - nothing like one or the other. And it would be noticeable on the surrounding lines. Here there is rather a deliberate interruption of the line by approximately 25 meters. If you add the concave profile of the line, as in old photographs or from the photo in the Palpa area, and tons of rock that needs to be shoveled (the width of the line is about 4 m), then the picture will be complete. Also indicative are four perpendicular thin parallel lines clearly applied on top. If you look closely, you can see that on uneven terrain, the depth of the lines also changes; looks like a mark drawn along a ruler with a metal fork on a piece of plasticine.
For myself, I dubbed such lines t-lines (lines made using technology, i.e., taking into account the use of special methods for marking, performing and monitoring work). Similar features have already been noted by some researchers. Photos of similar lines are on the website (24) and similar behavior of some lines (interruption of lines and interaction with the terrain) is noted in article (1).
A similar example, where you can also compare the level of work (two “rough” lines are marked with arrows):
Which is remarkable. The unfinished rough line (the one in the center) has a thin marking line. But I have never seen markings for t-lines. As well as unfinished t-lines.
Here are some more examples:
According to the “ritual” version, they were supposed to walk along the lines. In one Discovery documentary, they showed the internal compacted structure of the lines, presumably resulting from intensive walking along them (the compaction of the rock explains the magnetic anomalies recorded on the lines):
And in order to trample like that, they had to walk a lot. Not just a lot, but a lot. It is only interesting how the ancients determined the routes in Fig. 67 to trample the lines approximately evenly? And how did you jump 25 meters?
It’s a pity that the photos with sufficient resolution cover only the “tourist” part of our map. So for other areas we will be content with maps from Google Earth.
Rough work at the bottom of the photo and the t-line at the top:
And these t-lines stretch in a similar way for about 4 km:
T-lines were also able to make turns:
And such a detail. If we return to the t-line, which we discussed very first, and look at its beginning, we will see a small expansion, reminiscent of a trapezoid, which further develops into a t-line and, very smoothly changing the width and sharply changing direction four times, intersects itself , and dissolves into a large rectangle (the unfinished area is clearly of later origin):
Sometimes there was some kind of malfunction in the work of the markers (curves with stones at the end of the stripes):
There are also large trapezoids, similar to the work of markers. For example. A well-made trapezoid with border-borders seems to grow by pushing the boundaries from the marking line-dent:
Another interesting example. A fairly large trapezoid (about two-thirds of the entire length in the picture), made as if by moving the cutting edges of the “cutter” apart, and in the narrow part one of the edges stops touching the surface:
There are enough oddities like this. The entire area of our map being discussed for the most part seems to represent the creativity of those same markers, well mixed with rough, unskilled work. Archaeologist Haylen Silverman once compared the plateau to a scribbled blackboard at the end of a busy school day. Very well noted. But I would add something about joint activities between the preschool group and graduate students.
There are attempts to make lines by hand in modern times by means available to the ancient Nazcans:
The ancients did something similar, and perhaps in exactly these ways:
But in my opinion, t-lines resemble something else. They are more like the mark of a spatula, with the help of which they imitated the Nazca drawings in one of the documentaries:
And here is a comparison of t-lines and the stack trace on plasticine:
Something like this. Only their spatula or stack was a little larger...
And one last thing. A note about markers. There is a recently opened religious center of the ancient Nazcans - Cahuachi. It is believed that he is directly related to the construction of the lines. And if we compare, on the same scale, this same Cahuachi with a section of desert marked out a kilometer away from it, the question arises: if the desert was drawn by the Nazcan surveyors themselves, then they invited Cahuachi to mark
migrant workers from backward mountain tribes?
It is impossible to draw a clear line between unskilled work and T-lines and draw any conclusions using only photographs of a “tourist” area and Google Earth maps. We need to watch and study on the spot. And since the chapter is devoted to material that claims to be factual, I will refrain from making comments about such sophisticated rituals; and therefore we finish the discussion of t-lines and move on to the final part of the chapter.
Line combinations
The fact that the lines form certain groups and combinations has been noted by many researchers. For example, prof. M. Reindel called them functional units. A few clarifications. Combinations do not mean simply superimposing lines on top of each other, but as if combining into one whole through common boundaries or obvious interaction with each other. And in order to try to understand the logic of creating combinations, I propose to begin by systematizing the set of elements that the builders used. And, as we see, there is not much variety here:
There are only four elements. Trapezoids, rectangles, lines and spirals. There are also drawings, but a whole chapter is devoted to them; here we will consider them a type of spirals.
Let's start from the end.
Spirals. This is a fairly common element, there are about hundreds of them and they are almost always included in combinations of lines. There are very different ones - perfect and not quite, square and intricate, but always double:
The next element is lines. Basically these are our familiar t-lines.
Rectangles - they were also mentioned. Let us note only two things. First. There are relatively few of them and they always try to be oriented perpendicular to the trapezoids and gravitate towards their narrow part, sometimes as if crossing them out (map 6). Second. In the Nazca River valley there is a significant number of large broken rectangles, as if superimposed on the beds of dried up rivers. In the drawings they are indicated mainly in yellow:
The boundary of such a site is clearly visible in Fig. 69 (bottom).
And the last element is the trapezoid. Along with lines, the most common element on the plateau. A few details:
1 - Location relative to stone structures and types of boundaries. As already noted, very often stone structures are difficult to read, or they are not there at all. There is also some functionality of trapezoids. I would not like to militarize the description, but an analogy with small arms comes to mind. The trapezoid, as it were, has a muzzle (narrow) and breech, each of which interacts with other lines in a fairly standard way.
For myself, I divided all combinations of lines into two types - collapsed and expanded. The trapezoid is the main element in all combinations. Collapsed (group 2 in the diagram) is when the line comes out of the narrow end of the trapezoid at an angle of about 90 degrees (or less). This combination is usually compact, with a thin line often returning to the base of the trapezoid, sometimes in a spiral or pattern.
Expanded (group 3) - the outgoing line almost does not change direction. The simplest unfolded one is a trapezoid with a thin line, as if shooting from a narrow part and stretching over a considerable distance.
A couple more important details before we move on to the examples. In folded combinations there are no stone structures on the trapezoid, and the base (wide part) sometimes has a series of lines:
It can be seen that the last row in the last example was laid out by caring restorers. A snapshot of the latest example from the ground:
In those deployed on the contrary, very often there are stone structures, and the base has an additional trapezoid or trapezoids of a much smaller size, joining (sequentially or parallel) to the place of a single platform (possibly moving it beyond the main one):
Maria Reiche was the first to describe a collapsed combination of lines. She called it a "whip":
From the narrow end of the trapezoid at an acute angle in the direction of the base there is a line, which, as if scanning the surrounding space in a zigzag (in this case, features of the relief), curls up into a spiral in the immediate vicinity of the base. Here's a collapsed combination for you. We substitute different variations of these elements and get a very common combination in the Nazca-Palpa region.
Example with another zigzag option:
More examples:
Examples of larger and more complex folded combinations in a characteristic interaction with a rectangular platform:
On the map, multi-colored stars show easy-to-read folded combinations in the Palpa - Nazca area:
A very interesting example of a group of collapsed combinations is shown in the book by M. Reiche:
Attached to the huge folded combination, to the narrow part of the trapezoid, is a micro-combination that has all the attributes of a regular folded one. The more detailed photo shows: white arrows - the kinks of the zigzag, black - the mini-combination itself (the large spiral near the base of the trapezoid in M. Reiche is not shown):
Examples of collapsed combinations with pictures:
Here you can note the order in which the combinations are created. The question is not completely clear, but many examples show that the scanning lines seem to see the mother trapezoid and take it into account with their trajectory. In combination with a monkey, a sawtooth zigzag seems to fit between the existing lines; it would be much more difficult from an artist's point of view to draw it first. And the dynamics of the process - first a trapezoid with a garden of all sorts of details, then a thinning t-line, turning into a spiral or pattern, and then disappearing altogether - in my opinion, is more logical.
I present to you the champion of rolled combinations. The length of only the visible continuous and very well made part (combination of lines near Cahuachi) is more than 6 km:
And here you can see the scale of what is happening - Fig. 81 (drawing by A. Tatukov).
Let's move on to expanded combinations.
There is no such relatively clear construction algorithm here, except for the fact that these combinations cover a significant area. You could even say that these are rather different ways of interaction of lines and groups of lines with each other. Let's look at examples:
Trapezoid 1, which in turn has a small “ignition” trapezoid, with its narrow part rests on a hill, on which an “explosion” occurs, or a connection of lines coming from the narrow ends of other trapezoids (2, 3).
The remote trapezoids seem to be connected to each other. But there is also a serial connection (4). Moreover, sometimes the connecting center line can change its width and direction. Unskilled work is indicated in purple.
Another example. Interaction of an axial line about 9 km long and 3 trapezoids:
1 – upper trapezoid, 2 – middle, 3 – lower. You can see how the axial reacts to the trapezoids, changing direction:
Next example. For greater clarity, it would be better to view it in detail in Google Earth. But I'll try to explain.
Trapezoid 1, very roughly made, into which trapezoid 2 “shoots” at the narrow part, is connected to the base of trapezoid 3 (Fig. 103), which in turn “shoots” with a well-made line into a small hill. This is trapezology.
In general, such shooting at distant low hills (sometimes at distant mountain peaks) is quite common. According to archaeologists, about 7% of the lines are aimed at hills. Here, for example, are trapezoids and their axes in the desert near Ica:
And one last example. Combining a common border using rectangular areas of two large collapsed combinations:
You can see how the trapezoid, which shoots in a straight line, is deliberately ignored.
That, in brief, is all I would like to say about combinations.
It is clear that the list of such compounds can be continued and developed for a very long time. At the same time, in my opinion, it would be wrong to consider that the plateau is one big mega combination. But the conscious and deliberate unification of some geoglyphs into groups according to certain characteristics and the existence of something like a general strategic plan for the entire plateau is undoubtedly. It is worth noting that all of the deployed combinations mentioned above occupy an area of several square kilometers each, and this cannot be built in a day or two. And if we take into account all these t-lines, correct borders and platforms, kilotons of stones and rock, and the fact that the work was carried out according to the same patterns throughout the entire area of the mentioned region (map 5 - more than 7 thousand sq. km), over a long period of time and sometimes in very unfavorable conditions, unpleasant questions arise. It is difficult to judge to what extent the cultural society
Nazca was able to do this, but the fact that this required very specific knowledge, maps, tools, serious organization of work and large human resources is obvious.
2. DRAWINGS
Phew, looks like we're done with the lines. For those who can’t fall asleep from boredom, I promise it will be much more fun. Well, there are birds, little animals, all sorts of piquant details... Otherwise, everything is sand - stones, stones - sand...
Well, let's begin.
Nazca drawings. The most insignificant, but the most famous part of the activity of the ancients on the plateau. First, a little explanation of what type of drawings will be discussed below.
According to archaeologists, man appeared in these places (the Nazca-Palpa region) quite a long time ago - several thousand years before the formation of the Nazca and Paracas cultures. And all this time, people left various images that were preserved in the form of petroglyphs, drawings on ceramics, textiles and clearly visible geoglyphs on the slopes of mountains and hills. It is not within my competence to delve into all sorts of chronological and iconographic subtleties, especially since there are now enough works on this topic. We'll just look at what these people drew; and not even what, but how. And as it turned out, everything is quite natural. In Fig. 106, the top group is the earliest and most primitive petroglyphs (rock paintings); lower – images on ceramics and textiles of the Nazca – Paracas cultures. Middle row – geoglyphs. There is a lot of such creativity in this region. The sombrero-like detail on the head is actually a forehead decoration (usually gold Fig. 107), as I understand it, some kind of insignia used in these parts and very often found in many images.
All such geoglyphs are located on slopes, clearly visible from the ground, made in one way (clearing the platforms of stones and using piles of stones as parts) and are quite in the style of the lower and upper rows. In general, there are enough similar activities around the world (1st column of Fig. 4).
We will be interested in other drawings, as we will see below, which differ in many respects from those described above in style and method of creation; which, in fact, are known as the Nazca drawings.
There are a little more than 30 of them. There are no anthropomorphic images among them (the primitive geoglyphs described above overwhelmingly depict people). The sizes of the drawings range from 15 to 400(!) meters. Drawn (Maria Reiche mentions the term “scratched”) with one line (usually a thin marking line), which often does not close, i.e. the drawing has, as it were, an entrance and exit; sometimes included in a combination of lines; Most of the drawings are visible only from a considerable height:
Most of them are located just in the “tourist” place, near the Ingenio River. The purpose and evaluation of these drawings are controversial even among representatives of official science. Maria Reiche, for example, admired the sophistication and harmony of the drawings, and participants in the modern project "Nasca-
Palpa" under the leadership of Prof. Markus Reindel believe that the drawings were not intended as images at all, but were created only as directions for ritual processions. As usual, there is no clarity.
I suggest not to be loaded with introductory information, but to immediately delve into the topic.
In many sources, especially official ones, the question of whether the drawings belong to the Nazca culture is a settled issue. For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that in sources with an alternative focus, this topic is generally silent. Official historians usually refer to a comparative analysis of desert paintings and the iconography of the Nazca culture, made by William Isbell back in 1978. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the work, I had to get involved myself, fortunately it’s not ’78.
There are now enough drawings and photographs of ceramics and textiles from the Nazca and Paracas cultures. I mostly used the excellent collection of drawings made by Dr. K. Klados, posted on the FAMSI website (25). And this is what turned out. This is the case when it is better to look than to talk.
Pisces and Monkey:
Hummingbird and Frigatebird:
Also a hummingbird with a flower and a parrot (as the character depicted is usually called), which may not be a parrot at all:
Well, the remaining birds: condor and harpies:
The fact, as they say, is obvious.
It is obvious that the designs on textiles and ceramics of the Nazca and Paracas cultures and the images in the desert sometimes coincide down to the details. By the way, there was also a plant depicted on the plateau:
This is cassava, or yucca - one of the main foodstuffs in Peru since ancient times. And not only in Peru, but throughout the tropical zone of our planet. Like our potatoes. To taste too.
At the same time, it is worth noting that on the plateau there are drawings that have no analogues in the Nazca and Paracas cultures, but more on that a little later.
Well, let's see how the Indians created these wonderful images of theirs. There are no questions about the first group (primitive geoglyphs). The Indians were quite capable of doing this, given that there is always the opportunity to admire the creation from the outside, and if something happens, to correct it. But with the second (drawings in the desert) some questions arise.
There is an American researcher, Joe Nickell, a member of the Skeptics Society. And one day he decided to reproduce one of the drawings of Nazca - a 130-meter condor - on a field in Kentucky, USA. Joe and his five assistants armed themselves with ropes, pegs and a cross of boards that allowed them to draw a perpendicular line. All these “devices” could well have been among the inhabitants of the plateau.
The "Indians" team began work on the morning of August 7, 1982 and finished it after 9 hours, including a lunch break. During this time, they marked 165 points and connected them to each other. Instead of digging, the testers covered the contours of the figure with lime. Photographs were taken from an airplane flying at an altitude of 300 m.
“It was a success,” Nickell recalled. “The result was so precise and neat that we could easily recreate a much more symmetrical pattern in this way. It seems that the Nazca people marked out many fewer points than we did, or used a more crude method, measuring distances, for example, by steps, not by rope" (11).
Yes, indeed, it turned out very similar. But we agreed to take a closer look. I propose to compare the modern condor with the creation of the ancients in more detail:
It looks like Mr. Nickell (his condor on the left) got a little carried away with his assessment of his own work. The remake is walking around. I marked in yellow the fillets and axes, which the ancients undoubtedly took into account in their work, and Nickell did it as it turned out. And the proportions that have floated a little because of this give the picture on the left some “clumsiness”, which is absent in the ancient image.
And here the next question arises. To reproduce the condor, Nickell apparently used a photograph as a sketch. When enlarging and transferring an image to the surface of the earth, errors will inevitably occur, the magnitude of which depends on the transfer method. These errors will be expressed, accordingly, in all sorts of “clumsies” that we observed in Nickell (which, by the way, are present on some modern geoglyphs from the middle column of Fig. 4). And a question. What sketches and transfer methods did the ancients use to obtain almost perfect images?
It can be seen that the image, in this case of a spider, is deliberately devoid of complete symmetry, but not in the direction of an uncontrolled loss of proportions due to imperfect transfer, as in Nickell’s, but in the direction of giving the drawing life and comfort of perception (which greatly complicates the transfer process). One gets the impression that the ancients had no problems with the quality of transference at all. It should be added that Nickell fulfilled his promise to create a more accurate image, and drew the same spider (footage from the National Geigraphic documentary "Is it Real? Ancient Astronauts"):
But you and I see that he drew his own spider, very similar to the Nazcan one and the same size, but simpler and symmetrical (for some reason the photo from the plane could not be found anywhere), devoid of all the subtleties that are visible in the previous one photos and which Maria Reiche admired so much.
Let's put aside the often discussed question of the method of transferring and enlarging drawings, and let's try to look at the sketches, which ancient artists could hardly have done without.
And then it turned out that the higher-quality drawings that Maria Reiche made by hand in the middle of the last century practically do not exist. All that is there is either stylization, without taking into account the details, or a deliberate distortion of the drawings, showing, according to the artists, the primitive level of the Indians of that time. Well, I had to sit down and try to do it myself. But the matter turned out to be so exciting that I couldn’t tear myself away until I drew all the available images. Looking ahead, I will say that there were a couple of pleasant surprises. But before I invite you to
gallery of "Nascan" graphics, I would like to note the following.
At first I didn’t quite understand what made Maria Reiche so carefully search for a mathematical description of the drawings:
And this is what she wrote in her book: “The length and direction of each segment were carefully measured and recorded. Approximate measurements would not be enough to reproduce such perfect outlines that we see with the help of aerial photography: a deviation of just a few inches would distort the proportions of the drawing. Photographs taken in this way help to imagine how much work it cost the ancient craftsmen. The ancient Peruvians must have had equipment that even we do not have and which, together with ancient knowledge, was carefully hidden from the conquerors as the only treasure that could not be found. kidnap"(2).
I fully understood this when I started drawing. It was no longer a question of sketches, but of getting close enough to what is on the plateau. Any minimal shift in proportions almost always resulted in a “clumsiness” similar to what we saw in Nickell, and the lightness and harmony of the image was immediately lost.
A little about the process. There is enough photographic material for all the drawings; if some detail was missing, you can always find the desired photo from a different angle. Sometimes there were problems with perspective, but this was solved either using existing renderings or a photo from Google Earth. This is what the working moment looks like when drawing the “anhike” (in this case, 5 photographs were used):
And then, at one fine moment, I suddenly discovered that with a certain skill in working with Bezier curves (developed in the 60s for automotive design and which became one of the main computer graphics tools), the program itself sometimes drew contours quite similarly. At first this was noticeable on the roundings of the spider’s legs, when without my participation these roundings became almost identical to the original ones. Further, with the correct positions of the nodes and when they were combined into a curve, the line sometimes almost exactly followed the contour of the drawing. And the fewer nodes, but the more optimal their position and settings, the greater the similarity with the original.
In general, a spider is practically one Bezier curve (more correctly, a Bezier spline, a sequential connection of Bezier curves), without circles and straight lines. During further work, a feeling arose that grew into confidence that this unique “Nascan” design is a combination of Bezier curves and straight lines. Almost no regular circles or arcs were observed:
Was it not Bezier curves that Maria Reiche, a mathematician by training, tried to describe by making numerous measurements of radii?
But I truly became inspired by the skill of the ancients when drawing large drawings, where there were almost ideal curves of enormous sizes. Let me remind you once again that the purpose of the drawings was an attempt to look at the sketch, at what the ancients had before drawing it on the plateau. I tried to minimize my own creativity, resorting to finishing the damaged areas only where the logic of the ancients was obvious (such as the tail of a condor, the protruding and clearly modern rounding on the body of a spider). It is clear that there is some idealization and improvement of the drawings, but we should also not forget that the originals are gigantic, more than once restored images in the desert, which are at least 1500 years old.
Let's start with the spider and the dog without technical details:
Frigate fish and bird:
A little more about the monkey. This pattern has the most uneven outline. First I drew it the way it looks in the pictures:
But then it became clear that despite all the accuracy of observing the proportions, the artist’s hand seemed to tremble a little, which is also noticeable on the straight lines belonging to the same combination. I don’t know what this is connected with, perhaps with the very uneven terrain in this place; but if the line in the sketch is made a little thicker, then all these irregularities will be hidden inside this thicker line. And the monkey acquires the standard geometry for all drawings. I attached spider monkeys, the prototype of which, according to many researchers, is depicted by the ancients. It is impossible not to note the balance and
accuracy of proportions in the figure:
Further. I think there is no need to introduce the trinity of a lizard, a tree and “nine fingers”. I would like to draw attention to the paws of the lizard - the ancient artist very accurately noticed the anatomical feature of lizards - as if an inverted palm, in comparison with a human one:
Iguana and hummingbird:
Anhinga, pelican and harpy:
A rhinoceros dog and another hummingbird. Pay attention to the grace of the lines:
Condor and parrot:
The parrot has an unusual line. The fact is that this drawing has always confused me with its incompleteness, which is unusual for Nazcan images. Unfortunately, it is very badly damaged, but in some photographs this curve is noticeable (Fig. 131), which is like a continuation of the drawing and balances it. It would be extremely interesting to look at the entire drawing, but, unfortunately, I can’t help. I draw your attention to the masterly execution of the curves on the contours of these rather large images (people are visible in the photograph of the condor). The pathetic attempt of modern “experimenters” to add an extra feather to the condor is clearly visible.
And here we come to some climax of our opening day. On the plateau there is a very interesting image, or rather, a group of drawings, spread over more than 10 hectares. It is clearly visible on Google Earth, in many photographs, but is mentioned in very few places. Let's look:
The size of a large pelican is 280 by 400 meters. Photo from the plane and the working moment of drawing:
And again, a perfectly executed (if you look at Google) curve over 300 meters long. An unusual image, isn't it? It smells like something alien, slightly inhuman...
We’ll definitely talk about all the oddities of this and other images later, but for now let’s continue.
Other drawings, of a slightly different nature:
There are images, sometimes quite complex, with characteristic roundings and requiring markings to maintain proportions, but at the same time devoid of apparent meaning. Something like signing a newly acquired pen:
The “peacock” pattern is interesting because of its combination of the right wing with the line (although this may be the work of restorers). And admire how skillfully the ancient creators inscribed this drawing into the relief:
And so that our review of the drawings is complete, a few words about the undrawn images. Recently, Japanese researchers found more drawings. One of them is in the following picture:
Located in the south of the plateau, near the Nazca River. It is unclear what is depicted, but the handwriting in the form of graceful, regular curves drawn along the rugged terrain with T-lines about one and a half meters wide (judging by the car tracks) is clearly visible.
I have already mentioned the trampled area near Palpa, where the lines are adjacent to primitive geoglyphs. There is also a small, very interesting drawing (marked with an oblique arrow) depicting a creature with a large number of fingers or tentacles, mentioned in studies, but, unfortunately, not entirely visible in the photographs:
A few more drawings, maybe not as high quality, but made in a style different from primitive geoglyphs:
The following drawing is unusual in that it is drawn with a thick (about 3 m) t-line. It is clear that it is a bird, but the details are destroyed by the trapezoid:
And at the end of the review, a diagram that contains some drawings on approximately the same scale:
Many researchers have paid attention to the asymmetry of some drawings, which, logically, should be symmetrical (spider, condor, etc.). There were even suggestions that these distortions were caused by the relief, and there were attempts to straighten these drawings. And indeed, with all the scrupulousness of the ancients to details and proportions, it is somehow not logical to draw the condor’s paws of clearly different sizes (Fig. 131).
Please note that the paws are not copies of each other, but are two completely different patterns, each including a dozen precisely executed roundings. It is difficult to imagine that the work was carried out by two teams speaking different languages and using different drawings. It is quite obvious that the ancients deliberately avoided symmetry, especially since on the plateau there are absolutely symmetrical
images (more on them later). And so, while sketching, I noticed one amazing thing. The ancients, it turns out, drew projections of three-dimensional images. Let's look:
The condor is drawn in two planes intersecting at a slight angle. The pelican appears to be in two perpendicular. Our spider has a very interesting 3-D appearance (1 – original image, 2 – straightened, taking into account the planes in the picture). And this is noticeable in some other drawings. For example - a hummingbird, the size of its wings shows that it is flying above us, a dog, turning its back towards us, a lizard and “nine fingers”, with different sizes of palms (Fig. 144). And look how cleverly the three-dimensional volume is laid out in the tree:
It's like it's made from a piece of paper or foil, I just straightened out one branch.
It would be strange if no one had noticed such obvious things before me. Indeed, I found one work by Brazilian researchers (4). But there, through rather intricate transformations, a certain three-dimensional physicality of the drawings was established:
I agree with the spider, but not quite with the others. And I decided to make my own three-dimensional version of some drawing. Here, for example, is what “nine fingers” made of plasticine look like:
I had to play tricks with the paws; the ancients depicted them in a slightly exaggerated way, and no creature walks on tiptoes. But in general, it turned out right away, I didn’t even have to think about anything - everything is in the drawing (a specific joint, the curvature of the body, the position of the “ears”). What’s interesting is that the figure initially turned out to be balanced (standing on its feet). The question automatically arose, what kind of animal is this? AND
In general, where did the ancients get the subjects for their wonderful exercises on the plateau?
And here, as usual, a few more interesting details await us.
Let's turn to our favorite - the spider. In the works of various researchers, this spider is identified as belonging to the order Ricinulei. The entry-exit lines seemed to some researchers to be a genital organ, and the spider of this particular order of arachnids has a genital organ on its leg. This is not actually where the delusion comes from. Let's take a break from the spider for a minute, look at the next drawing and I
I will ask the reader to answer the question - what are the monkey and the dog doing?
I don’t know what seemed to the respected reader, but all my respondents answered that the animals were recovering from natural needs. Moreover, the ancients unambiguously showed the gender of the dog, and the genitals are usually depicted in a different configuration. And, it seems, it’s the same story with the spider - the spider, however, doesn’t fix anything, it just has an entrance and exit on its paw. And if you look closely, it turns out that this is not a spider at all, but something more like an ant:
And certainly not Ricinulei. As someone joked on the “ant” forum, it’s a spider ant. Indeed, the spider has a cephalothorax, and here the ancients clearly identified the head and body with eight legs characteristic of an ant (the ant has six legs and a pair of mustaches). And what’s interesting is that the Indians themselves did not understand what was drawn in the desert. Here are the images on the ceramics:
They knew spiders and drew them (on the right), and on the left, it seems, our spider ant is depicted, only the artist did not coordinate with the number of legs - there are 16 of them on the ceramics. I don’t know what this really means, but if you stand in the middle of the forty-meter drawing, in In principle, you can understand what is depicted on the ground, but you may not notice the roundings at the ends of the paws. But one thing is for sure - there is no such creature on our planet.
Let's move on. Three drawings raise questions. The first is the "nine fingers" shown above. The second is a rhinoceros dog. A small Nazca image, about 50 meters, for some reason unloved and rarely mentioned by researchers:
Unfortunately, I don’t have any thoughts about what this is, so let’s move on to the remaining image.
Big pelican.
The only drawing that, due to its size and ideal lines, looks absolutely the same in the drawing as in the desert (and in the sketches of the ancients, respectively). Calling this image a pelican is not entirely correct. A long beak and something similar to a crop does not mean a pelican. The ancients did not identify the main detail that makes a bird a bird - its wings. And in general this image is non-functional from all sides. You can't walk on it - it's not closed. And how to catch the eye - jump again? Due to the specificity of the parts, it is inconvenient to view from the air. It doesn’t really fit in with the lines either. But, nevertheless, there is no doubt that this object was created intentionally - it looks harmonious, the ideal curve balances the trident (apparently transverse), the beak is balanced by diverging straight lines behind. I couldn’t understand why this drawing left a feeling of something very unusual. And everything is very simple. Small and subtle details are separated over a considerable distance, and in order to understand what is in front of us, we must move our gaze from one small detail to another. If you move a considerable distance away in order to take in the entire picture, then all this small detail seems to merge and the meaning of the image is lost. It seems that this drawing was created for perception by a creature with a different size of the “yellow” spot - the zone of greatest visual acuity in the retina. So if any drawing claims to be unearthly graphics, then our pelican is the first candidate.
The topic, as you noticed, is slippery, you can fantasize as much as you like, and I initially doubted whether to raise it at all or not. But the Nazca Plateau is an interesting place; you never know where a hare will jump out of. And the topic of strange images had to be raised, because quite unexpectedly an unknown drawing was discovered. At least I couldn't find anything about it on the web.
The drawing, however, is not entirely unknown. On the website (24) this drawing is considered lost due to damage and a fragment of it is given. But in my database I found at least four photographs where the lost details can be read. The drawing is indeed very badly damaged, but the location of the remaining parts, fortunately, allows us to assume with a high degree of probability what the original image looked like. Yes
and experience in drawings didn’t hurt.
So, the premiere. Especially for readers of "Some Observations". A new inhabitant of the Nazca plateau. Meet:
The drawing is very unusual, about 60 meters long, a little not in the standard style, but definitely ancient - as if scratched across the surface and covered with lines. All details are readable, with the exception of the lower middle fin, part of the outline and the remaining internal drawing. It can be seen that the drawing was erased in more recent times. But most likely not intentionally, they were simply collecting gravel.
And again the question arises: is this the fantasy of ancient artists, or did they spy a similar fish with a similar arrangement of fins somewhere on vacation on the Pacific coast? Very reminiscent of the recently discovered relict lobe-finned coelacanth. If, of course, coelacanths swam in schools off the coast of South America at that time.
Let's put aside the oddities in the drawings for a moment and consider another, albeit extremely small, but no less interesting group of images. I would call it regular geometric symbols.
Estrella:
Grid and ring of squares:
The image from Google Earth shows another one that has been started, and a larger ring of squares:
Another picture, I call it “Estrella 2”:
All images are made in similar ways - points and lines significant for the ancients are marked with stones, and light areas cleared of stones play a supporting role:
As you can see, in the ring of squares and on “estrella”-2, all significant centers are also lined with stones.
Plateau Nazca is located in the south of the state of Peru. Due to its dry climate and lack of water and vegetation, the area is also called the Nazca Desert. The name of the plateau is associated with
Pre-Columbian civilization,
existed in these places in the time period of 500 years. BC . and 500 g. AD Its fame plateau Nazca received thanks to geoglyphs - huge drawings drawn on the ground, which can only be seen from the air.
Discovery of the Nazca geoglyphs.
Mysterious drawings in the desert plateau became known back in 1553 from the Spanish priest Pedro Cieza de Leon. Traveling through the territory of the modern state of Peru, he wrote in his notes about the many lines drawn on the ground, which he called the “Inca Road,” and about certain signs also drawn on the sand. The first to see these signs from the air was the American archaeologist Paul Kosok, who was flying over the vast plateau in 1939. A major contribution to the study of Nazca paintings was made by the German archaeologist Maria Reiche. In 1947, she flew over the plateau in an airplane took a photo geoglyphs from the air.
Description of the drawings on the Nazca plateau
Geoglyphs measure several tens of meters in size, and the Nazca lines extend for many kilometers and sometimes even go beyond the horizon, crossing hills and dried up river beds. Images are applied to the surface by extracting soil. They form furrows about 135 cm wide and 30 -50 cm deep. The drawings have survived to this day due to the dry semi-desert climate. Today we know about 30 drawings depicting geometric figures, animals, and only one depicts humanoid a creature about 30 meters high, similar to an astronaut. Among the animal images, the most famous are the spider, hummingbird, whale, condor and monkey. The geoglyph depicting a condor is one of the largest in the desert. Its length from beak to tail is 120 meters. For comparison: the size of a spider is 46 meters, and a hummingbird is 50.
Mysteries of the Nazca Desert geoglyphs
The mysterious drawings have left archaeologists and historians with many questions. Who created them? How and for what purpose? It is impossible to see geoglyphs from the ground. They are visible only from the air, and there are no mountains nearby from which these lines and drawings could be seen. Another question that arises is that next to the drawings and lines there are no traces of ancient artists, although if a car passes over the surface, traces will remain. It is noteworthy that the monkey and whale depicted on the geoglyphs do not live in this area.
Exploring the Nazca Plateau
Some scientists believe that geoglyphs had ritual significance for the ancient inhabitants of the valley. Since they could only be seen from the air, only the gods, whom people addressed with the help of drawings, could see them. Many researchers adhere to the hypothesis that the Nazca images were created by the civilization of the same name, which lived in these places in the 2nd century BC. Explorer Maria Reiche believes that geoglyphs were first made on small sketches, and only then applied to the surface in full size. As evidence, she provided a sketch found in these places. In addition, at the ends of the lines depicting the drawings, wooden posts driven into the ground were found. They could serve as coordinates of points when drawing geoglyphs. The research results showed that the images were created at different times. The intersecting and overlapping lines indicate that ancient painting covered the land of the valley in several stages.
Various versions of the origin of Geglyphs
Many historians and archaeologists adhere to astronomical versions of drawings. The ancient inhabitants of the Nazca Desert may have been well versed in astronomy. The created gallery is a kind of star map. This version was supported by the German archaeologist Maria Reiche. American astronomer Phyllis Pitlugi cites in favor of this version the fact that the geoglyph depicting a spider is a drawing showing a cluster of stars in the constellation Orion. However, British researcher Gerald Hawkins is confident that only a small part of the lines and patterns of the Nazca Desert are associated with astronomy. Some ufologists suggest that the drawings were a guide for landing alien alien ships, and the lines of the Nazca Plateau served as runways. Skeptics do not agree with this version, if only because alien spaceships capable of traveling tens of light years do not require acceleration to take off. They can rise into the air vertically. Jim Woodman, who studied the Nazca plateau in the 70s of the last century, came to the conclusion that the ancient inhabitants who created these drawings could fly in a hot air balloon. He explains this by the depiction of this flying object on clay figurines preserved from ancient times. To prove it, Woodman made a balloon from by-products that could only be obtained in the immediate area. Hot air was supplied to the balloon and it was able to fly a fairly long distance. The German archaeologist Maria Reiche, mentioned above, called the geometric figures and lines of the Nazca plateau an encrypted text, similar to a set of letters and signs.
There is still no consensus on the origin and purpose of the mysterious geoglyphs. The Nazca Plateau remains one of the greatest mysteries on our planet...
The Nazca Lines still cause a lot of controversy regarding who created them and when they appeared. Strange designs, clearly visible from a bird's eye view, resemble geometric shapes, even stripes, and even representatives of fauna. The dimensions of the geoglyphs are so large that it is not possible to understand how these images were drawn.
Nazca Lines: history of discovery
Strange geoglyphs - inscriptions on the surface of the earth, were first discovered in 1939 on the Nazca plateau in Peru. American Paul Kosok, flying over the plateau, noticed strange drawings reminiscent of birds and animals of enormous size. The images were intersected by lines and geometric shapes, but they stood out so clearly that it was impossible to doubt what they saw. 
Later in 1941, Maria Reiche began researching strange marks on the sand surface. However, it was possible to take a photo of the unusual place only in 1947. Maria Reiche devoted more than half a century to deciphering the strange symbols, but a final conclusion was never provided. 
Today, the desert is considered a protected area, and the right to explore it has been transferred to the Peruvian Institute of Culture. Due to the fact that the study of such a vast location requires huge investments, further scientific work on deciphering the Nazca Lines has been suspended for now.
Description of Nazca drawings
When viewed from the air, the lines on the plain are clearly visible, but walking through the desert, it is unlikely that you will be able to understand that there is anything depicted on the ground. For this reason, they were not discovered until aviation became more developed. Small slides on the plateau distort the pictures, which were made by trenches dug across the entire surface. The width of the furrows reaches 135 cm, and their depth is from 40 to 50 cm, while the soil is identical everywhere. It is due to the impressive size of the lines that they are visible from a height, although they are hardly noticeable while walking. 
Among the illustrations are clearly visible:
- birds and animals;
- geometric figures;
- chaotic lines.
The sizes of the printed images are quite large. Thus, the condor stretches over a distance of almost 120 m, and the lizard reaches 188 m in length. There is even a drawing reminiscent of an astronaut, whose height is 30 m. The manner of drawing geoglyphs is identical, and the lines are striking in their evenness, because even with modern technology it is possible to draw such the trench seems impossible.
Hypotheses about the nature of the appearance of lines
Scientists from different countries tried to figure out where the lines point and who laid them. There was a theory that such images were painted by the Incas, but research has proven that they were created much earlier than the existence of the people. The approximate period to which the appearance of the Nazca lines dates back to the 2nd century BC. e. It was at this time that the Nazca tribe lived on the plateau. In a village belonging to the people, sketches were found reminiscent of drawings made in the desert, which once again confirms the scientists’ guesses.
Maria Reiche deciphered some symbols, which allowed her to hypothesize that the drawings reflect a map of the starry sky, and therefore were used for astronomical or astrological purposes. True, this theory was subsequently refuted, since only a quarter of the images matched known astronomical bodies, which seems insufficient for an accurate conclusion. 
At the moment, it is still not known why the Nazca lines were drawn and how a people who did not have writing skills managed to reproduce such marks on an area of 350 square meters. km.
Nazca, a small ancient town in southern Peru, attracts numerous tourists from all over the world. There are no outstanding architectural sights here, but there is something that does not leave even the biggest skeptics indifferent: giant images on the earth's surface that are more than two thousand years old. How these drawings appeared here and what they were used for is still a mystery, despite a large number of hypotheses. But thanks to such objects as the Nazca Lines, Peru has become a “magnet” for researchers, mystics and everyone interested in still unsolved mysteries.
Story
The “discoverers” of amazing drawings were pilots back in 1927, who noticed numerous lines and images on a plateau near the Pacific Ocean. But scientists became interested in this discovery only a decade later, when Paul Kosok, an American historian, published a series of photographs taken from the air.
However, strange images were known much earlier. As early as 1553, the Spanish priest and scientist Pedro Césa de León, writing about the conquest of South America, spoke of “signs among the sands to divine the laid path.” The most remarkable thing is that he did not regard these drawings as something strange or inexplicable. Perhaps more was known about the purpose of geoglyphs in those days? This question also remains open.
Among the scientists who studied the lines in the Nazca Desert, the greatest contribution to the development and popularization of the topic belongs to the German archaeologist Maria Reiche. She worked as an assistant to Paul Kokos, and when he stopped research in 1948, Reiche continued the work. But her contribution is important not only from a scientific point of view. Thanks to the efforts of the researcher, some of the Nazca lines were saved from destruction.
Reiche described her research into the amazing monument of ancient civilization in the book “The Secret of the Desert,” and the fee was spent on preserving the pristine appearance of the area and building an observation tower.
Subsequently, aerial photography of the reserve was carried out repeatedly, but a detailed map included all the drawings. Doesn't exist yet.
Description of the drawings
In the photo of the Nazca Lines in Peru you can see clear images of enormous size. Among them are about 700 regular geometric shapes (trapezoids, quadrangles, triangles, etc.). All these lines retain their geometry even on complex terrain, and the contours remain clear where they overlap each other. Some of the figures are clearly oriented towards the cardinal directions. No less surprising are the clear edges of figures whose size exceeds several kilometers.
But even more amazing are the semantic images. On the plateau there are about three dozen drawings of animals, birds, fish, plants and even humans. All of them are of impressive size. Here you can see:
- a bird almost three hundred meters long;
- a two-hundred-meter lizard;
- a hundred-meter condor;
- eighty-meter spider.
In total, there are approximately one and a half thousand images and figures on the plateau. The largest of them measure about 270 m. But, despite careful study over the years, Nazca continues to delight with discoveries. So in 2017, after restoration work, scientists discovered another drawing - an image of a killer whale. They suggested that this image may be one of the most ancient. Most geoglyphs date back to around 200 BC.
Due to the large size of the images, it is impossible to see them while on the ground - the full picture is revealed only from above. From the observation tower, where tourists can climb, the view is also extremely limited - you can only see two drawings. To admire ancient arts, you need
Origin theories
Since the discovery of the Nazca Lines, hypotheses have been put forward one after another. There are several most popular theories.
Religious
According to this hypothesis, the ancient population of Peru built images of such a large size so that the gods could notice them from space. For example, archaeologist Johan Reinhakd was inclined to this point of view. In 1985, he published research indicating ancient Peruvians worshiped the elements. In particular, the cult of mountains and the cult of water were widespread in these territories. Thus, it was suggested that the drawings on the ground are nothing more than part of religious rituals.
Astronomical
This theory was put forward by the first researchers - Coconut and Reiche. They believed that many of the lines were indicators of the places of sunrise and sunset of the Sun and other celestial bodies. But the version was refuted by the British archaeoastronomer Gerald Hawkins, who back in the 70s of the last century proved that no more than 20% of the Nazca lines can be associated with celestial landmarks. And taking into account the different directions of the lines, the astronomical hypothesis looks unconvincing.
Demonstrative
Astronomer Robin Edgar did not notice any scientific implications in the drawings on the Peruvian plateau. He also leaned towards metaphysical reasons. Pravda believed that the numerous furrows were dug not for the purpose of worship, but as a response to the constant solar eclipses that occurred during this period in Peru.
Technical
Some researchers believe that the lines are associated with the possibility of building aircraft. As proof of this version, there were even attempts to build an airplane from materials available at that time. A similar version is put forward by Russian researcher A. Sklyarov in the book “Nazca. Giant drawings in the margins." He believes that the ancient civilization in Peru was highly developed and possessed not only aircraft, but even used laser technology.
Alien
Finally, there are those who believe that the drawings were used by extraterrestrials - as a way of communication, as a place to land flying objects, etc. Even the strange remains of unknown creatures discovered in these parts are cited as evidence. Others, on the contrary, are sure that Peruvian mummies, like the Nazca Lines, are fakes and fraud.
Nazca Mystery Revealed?
Archaeologists have been trying to find an explanation for the mysterious Naska lines for decades. In 2009, the documentary film “Nazca Lines Deciphered” was shot. Anyone interested in the topic will certainly find it interesting to watch. But the answer to the question remains open, and attempts to unravel the mystery continue. For example, a version has recently been put forward that the Nazca lines form a single whole with the aqueduct system. Puquios, a complex hydraulic system, was built to extract underground water. Part of it has survived to this day. Based on images taken from space, it has been suggested that the lines are part of this “water goon”. Precisely an assumption, because the researchers were never able to explain what functional role the drawings played in the plumbing system. But perhaps one fine day, the answer to the Peruvian miracle will still be found.
