The secrets behind the enigmatic Nazca Lines

The secrets behind the enigmatic Nazca Lines - The Nazca Lines are one of the greatest mysteries of our planet. For years, humanity has been puzzled by these huge geometric drawings in the shape of animals and plants that can be found in the middle of the Nazca Desert in Peru.
Many theories emerged about the meaning of these figures, including links to religion, astrology, or even aliens.

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Location - These mysterious lines can be found in the Nazca Desert, south of Peru.

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Geoglyphs - The lines are known as geoglyphs - drawings on the ground made through the removal of rocks and soil to create an image - as National Geographic explains.

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Figures - There are about 500 images depicting different animals, plants, humans, and geometrical shapes.

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Extension - These images are spread throughout hundreds of square kilometers in the desert.

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Bird's eye view - Due to their size, you can only have a full view of these drawings from above.

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Ancient civilization - These figures were supposedly created by the Nazca civilization, who lived in southern Peru for about 800 years, according to National Geographic.

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Rediscovery - The lines were rediscovered around 1930, after airplanes started being used as a means of transport.

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The pilot - According to National Geographic, Peruvian pilot and archaeologist Toribio Mejia Xesspe spotted them as he flew over the region. He was the first to study the lines on a regular basis.

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Heritage - The Nazca Lines were listed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

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Studies - After discovering the lines, researchers began studying the site and the Nazca culture in depth.

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Depth - Researchers concluded that the Nazca Lines were made by hundreds of workers, who dug the soil to carve the images.

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Materials - The workers marked the lines using wood logs, cotton ropes, and stones.

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Conservation - But how exactly have these figures remained practically intact for more than 2,500 years? The answer is simple: the climate.

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Climate - The steady climate, with no wind or rain, allowed the drawings to remain well-preserved.

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Speculations - Over the years, many theories surrounding the Nazca lines have been introduced.

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Religion - Some scholars believe the drawings were made for religious reasons.

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Astrology - Others say that some of the drawings match visible constellations during specific times of the year.

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Constellations - According to this theory, the monkey, for instance, would be the representation of the Ursa Major, and the dolphin and the spider would represent Orion.

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Alien base - Swiss writer Erich Von Däniken believed that these drawings were used as a landing site for alien spaceships.

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Extraterrestrials - Some went even further and put forward the theory that the figures were made by the aliens themselves.

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Water - US researcher David Johnson believed the lines marked where water could be found underground.

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Offerings - Archaeologists Markus Reindel of the German Archaeological Institute and Johny Isla of the Institute of Andean Studies went a step further and raised the hypothesis that the figures would be offerings to the gods, as reported by Ancient Origins.

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Specific meaning - Each drawing would have a specific meaning, including fertility, health, and water.

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Labyrinth - In 2012, Professor Clive Ruggles of the University of Leicester said that one of the spiral forms would have been a labyrinth, created as a 'spiritual path,' the Daily Mail reports.

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Evidence - Despite all the theories, evidence points to the Nazca people as the authors of the drawings.

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Ceramic - Ceramic art found in the region had the same drawings found in the desert, including the monkey and the spider.

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A great mystery - The truth is that the Nazca Lines continue to be one of humanity's greatest enigmas.

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UNESCO - As UNESCO puts it, the Nazca Lines 'are the most outstanding group of geoglyphs anywhere in the world and are unmatched in its extent, magnitude, quantity, size, diversity and ancient tradition to any similar work in the world.'

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