SATURDAY DIGEST: World's greatest unsolved mysteries (Day 6)

Nazca Geoglyphs Lines.."Joins our list of world's greatest unsolved mysteries today"

Series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in Southern Peru, The high arid

Pleateau stretches more than 80 km between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana which lies about 400km south of the capital Lima. The geoglyphs is known as the "NAZCA LINES" Scholars believe the Nazca lines were created by the Nazca culture between 400BC and 500BC. The hundreds of individual figures range in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds. spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks, orcas, and lizards.

The designs are shallow lines made in the ground by removing the reddish pebbles and uncovering the whitish/grayish ground beneath. Hundreds are simple lines or geometric shapes; more than 70 are zoomorphic designs of animals such as birds, fish, llamas, jaguars, monkeys, or human figures. Other designs include phytomorphic shapes such as trees and flowers. The largest figures are over 200 m (660 ft) across. Scholars differ in interpreting the purpose of the designs, but in general, they ascribe religious significance to them.

Due to its isolation and to the dry, windless, and stable climate of the plateau, the lines have mostly been naturally preserved. Extremely rare changes in weather may temporarily alter the general designs. As of recent years, the lines are said to have been deteriorating due to an influx of squatters inhabiting the lands.

History and Theories

The first mention of the Nazca Lines in print was by Pedro Cieza de León in his book of 1553, where he mistook them for trail markers. Interest in them lapsed until the Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejia Xesspe spotted them while he was hiking through the foothills in 1927. He discussed them at a conference in Lima in 1939.

The site was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994,  Though Archeologist, Ethnologists, and Anthropologists have studied the ancient Nazca culture to try to determine the purpose of the lines and figures but nothing concrete had come out of the many theories brought forth...With many saying it serve as an observatory in the study of astronomy and cosmology, others said its a site of religious purpose.

Other theories have been summarized as:

    "The geometric ones could indicate the flow of water or be connected to rituals to summon water. The spiders, birds, and plants could be fertility symbols. Other possible explanations include irrigation schemes or giant astronomical calendars."

Gerald Hawkins and Anthony Aveni, experts in archaeoastronomy, concluded in 1990, the evidence was insufficient to support such an astronomical explanation.

Reference: +Wikipedia