What is the Nazca spider?
published on 03 June 2019. A geoglyph showing the Nazca Line Spider. The designs and lines created on the desert floor of southern Peru are known collectively as the ‘Nazca Lines’ and were made over several centuries between 200 BCE and 500 CE. Their exact purpose is not known.
Who studied the Nazca Lines?
Paul Kosok, an American historian from Long Island University in New York, is credited as the first scholar to study the Nazca Lines in depth. While in Peru in 1940–41 to study ancient irrigation systems, he flew over the lines and realized that one was in the shape of a bird.
What is the significance of the Nazca Lines?
More recent research suggested that the Nazca Lines’ purpose was related to water, a valuable commodity in the arid lands of the Peruvian coastal plain. The geoglyphs weren’t used as an irrigation system or a guide to find water, but rather as part of a ritual to the gods—an effort to bring much-needed rain.
How were Nazca Lines created?
The geoglyphs were made in the middle of the desert canvas of the Nazca region. These were made by removing rocks and dirt from the ground and thus creating different images. The desert floor has had natural weathering that has occurred for thousands of years.
What type of technology is used to study new Nazca Lines that have been discovered recently?
First Figure Discovered by AI This deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) was able to review innumerable satellite images, aerial photos and laser data. All of this combined to detect and confirm a new Nazca Line: a humanoid geoglyph, the first uncovered with the help of AI.
What does the decoration tell you about the Nazca?
Decorative Designs Staring eyes – achieved by painting the iris all around the pupil in stark white – are another typical Andean feature which most scholars believe depicts a drug-induced trance state. Sometimes the naval on figures is represented as an eye and may also represent a shamanic blending of the senses.
How old are the Nazca Lines?
2,000 years ago
Aerial view of Nazca Lines, near Nazca, Peru. Most of the Nazca Lines were constructed more than 2,000 years ago by the people of the Nazca culture (c. 200 bce–600 ce), though some clearly predate the Nazca and are considered to be the work of the earlier Paracas culture.
Are the Nazca Lines permanent?
Construction of Nazca lines The lines persist due to the extremely dry, windless, and constant climate of the Nazca region. The Nazca desert is one of the driest on earth and maintains a temperature around 77 °F (25 °C) all year round, and the lack of wind has helped keep the lines uncovered to the present day.