Hey there, tiktakers!
Have you ever heard about the Nazca Lines?
They are a set of geoglyphs drawn on the Nazca and Palpa desert, located at the Ica Province
in southern Peru.
However, what is a geoglyph?
They are inscriptions made over huge extensions of terrain, whether on the ground or a mountainside.
They are usually made with stones, soil, or other elements.
The Nazca lines were discovered in 1927 by the Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejía
Xesspe, who saw them from a hill.
However, these became popular after commercial flights started to operate over that area.
From then on, these geoglyphs became a huge enigma to the experts, who haven't been able
to track down their precise origin to this day.
These inscriptions span more than 400 square kilometers, and thus, they are the biggest
geoglyphs in the entire world.
It is believed they were made between the years 500 BC and 500 AD.
The longitude of the lines, as well as their depth, are different from line to line.
And some lines are more than 270 meters long!
Can you believe it, tiktakers?
If you were to fly over the terrain, you'd be surprised by the many different figures
you could distinguish, most of them, very recognizable.
We can see animals such as a hummingbird, a monkey, a condor and a spider, and we can
also see geometrical elements, straight lines, and many different shapes that have been well
conserved thanks to the arid climate of that area.
It barely rains in there, and the hot air makes the wind change its trajectory, protecting
the lines from erosion.
You are probably wondering, how is it possible that so many years ago, without the tools
we have available now, they were able to make those inscriptions?
Well, it was done through a subtraction process – that is, they extracted a series of oxidized
rocks from the terrain, uncovering much clearer rocks which stood out next to the darker ones.
It is believed they used wooden grids and ropes to transfer the figures to scale.
Moreover, these inscriptions can be seen from very high altitudes, which is the main enigma
about them.
After World War II, a teacher of German origin named Maria Reiche carried out the first formal
studies of those geoglyphs.
For half a century, until her death in 1998, Reiche played a fundamental role in conserving
the Nazca lines – a job which was then carried out by the local communities.
Her main objective was to discover the goal of those inscriptions – a mission that was
undertaken by dozens of other professionals later on.
During all those years, many different theories came up about their purpose.
Some experts, such as Rechie, believed that the Nazca lines represented an astronomical
calendar that took into account the sun, the moon, and the stars.
Other theories include: That it could be a landing field for aliens, or an area where
the pre-hispanic Olympic games were carried out, or roads used for different ceremonies
and rites, or just symbols to worship the gods.
And precisely, what they asked the gods most about was water, which gives us yet another
theory: That the geoglyphs could be used as a map to find different water sources.
Modern research about the Nazca lines has concluded that they weren't made with a single
purpose in mind, but that they are the result of a multitude of different purposes.
In any case, the mystery that surrounds the Nazca geoglyphs is part of their charm, and
they are considered so important that in 1994 they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage
Site.
The Nazca lines are still being studied to this day, and in 2018 several Japanese experts
discovered, through the use of state-of-the-art technology, a different group of geoglyphs
that had not been discovered yet.
However, humans in general are also doing a lot of damage to this area tiktakers, and
in the latest years, this place has suffered the consequences.
It's important for us to understand its enormous value, and keep it safe.
What other historical treasures do you know about?
Let us know in the comments!