Exclusive: Massive Ancient Drawings Found in Peruvian Desert

[Judi Lynn]

Exclusive: Massive Ancient Drawings Found in Peruvian Desert
Armed with satellites and drones, archaeologists discover new Nasca lines and dozens of other enigmatic geoglyphs carved into the earth.

By Michael Greshko
PUBLISHED APRIL 5, 2018

Etched into the high desert of southern Peru more than a millennium ago, the enigmatic Nasca lines continue to capture our imagination. More than a thousand of these geoglyphs (literally, 'ground drawings') sprawl across the sandy soil of Nasca province, the remains of little-understood ritual practices that may have been connected to life-giving rain.

Now, Peruvian archaeologists armed with drones have discovered more than 50 new examples of these mysterious desert monuments in adjacent Palpa province, traced onto the earth's surface in lines almost too fine to see with the human eye. In addition, archaeologists surveyed locally known geoglyphs with drones for the first time—mapping them in never-before-seen detail.

Some of the newfound lines belong to the Nasca culture, which held sway in the area from 200 to 700 A.D. However, archaeologists suspect that the earlier Paracas and Topará cultures carved many of the newfound images between 500 B.C. and 200 A.D.

Unlike the iconic Nasca lines—most of which are only visible from overhead—the older Paracas glyphs were laid down on hillsides, making them visible to villages below. The two cultures also pursued different artistic subjects: Nasca lines most often consist of lines or polygons, but many of the newfound Paracas figures depict humans.

More:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/04/new-nasca-nazca-lines-discovery-peru-archaeology/

Anthropology:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/12293703

[elocs]

1. Oh, I thought it was drawings like a raffle.

But they had Nascar lines, how cool was that?

[Judi Lynn]

2. So much safer, too, so far out in the desert! Lotsa room for everyone.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Newly Discovered Nazca Lines Have Been Hiding in The Desert For Thousands of Years

How did we miss them?

MICHELLE STARR 6 APR 2018

Archaeologists in Peru have made a stunning discovery: over 50 previously unknown Nazca lines - and some of them are centuries older than the most famous of these magnificent desert drawings.

Most of these mysterious geoglyphs were created by the Nazca people, who lived in the area from 200 to 700 CE. But the researchers believe that some of the newfound ones were created even earlier - by the Paracas and Topará people, who lived there around 500 BCE to 200 CE.

The lines have been a source of fascination and wonder for decades. Created by pushing aside the top layer of red desert pebbles to reveal the pale layer underneath, these geoglyphs span vast tracts of the Nazca Desert, between the towns of Nazca and Palpa.

Some of them form geometric shapes, some are simple lines, and some are combined into elaborate depictions of animals and objects.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/over-50-new-nazca-lines-peru-desert-paracas-topara

[Judi Lynn]

4. See Newly Discovered Ancient Drawings in Peru Desert

ARCHAEOLOGISTS GEOGLYPHS DRONES

April 5, 2018 - Researchers surveying in southern Peru with drones have captured images of ancient geoglyphs. More than 50 of the massive ancient drawings are considered new discoveries by archaeologists. Etched in the ground more than 1,000 years ago, many are worn by time and difficult to see with the human eye. Other geoglyphs, previously known only to local researchers and restored, are seen from the air for the first time. “Tupu” a “needle-like” object used to hold pieces of clothing together. This pelican measures 475 x 108 feet and is one of easier-to-see figures. A flying human is tethered to a monkey. The newfound lines, known as Nasca lines and Paracas lines, are already protected within a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Researchers are working to properly document them.

Footage | Diego Ochoa Ghersi
Team: Luis Jaime Castillo, Karla Patroni, Fabrizio Serván and Johny Isla.

Funding for the fieldwork was provided by the National Geographic Society

https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/180405-nasca-lines-birds-eye-view-vin-spd?source=featuredvideo


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Found: Giant Drawings of Warriors, Etched On Peru’s Desert Hillsides
They were discovered with drones.
BY CARA GIAIMO APRIL 06, 2018



“The Condor,” from above. PAUL WILLIAMS/CC BY-SA 2.0

A FEW MONTHS AGO, A team of archaeologists sent a fleet of drones flying over the Peruvian desert. They were looking for something new, but familiar: signs of looting around protected heritage sites. Instead, they found something old and strange: giant images, sketched into the sand by ancient civilizations.

As Michael Greshko reports at National Geographic, the team discovered “more than 50 new examples” of geoglyph art in the region’s Palpa province. Some of them are so-called “Nazca lines,” drawn by the Nazca culture “which held sway in the area from 200 to 700 A.D.,” writes Greshko. “However, archaeologists suspect that the earlier Paracas and Topará cultures carved many of the newfound images between 500 B.C. and 200 A.D.” (You can see images of the new lines over at Nat Geo.)



“The Spider,” an arachnid-shaped set of Nazca lines. MONIKAWL999/PUBLIC DOMAIN

Nazca lines—sometimes styled as “Nasca lines”—are massive desert drawings, visible only from above. Many depict animals, plants, and mythical creatures, and some stretch as long as 890 feet. Very little is known about the culture that created them—or about its predecessors, the Paracas and Topará—including exactly why or how they were drawn. The discovery “opens the door to new hypotheses about [the drawings’] function and meaning,” archaeologist Johny Isla, co-director of the Nasca-Palpa Project, told National Geographic.

Rather than being carved into flat ground, most of these newly discovered lines were drawn into hillsides, suggesting that people in villages below could look up and view them. They’re also focused on a different subject matter: “Most of these figures are warriors,” one archaeologist told the outlet.

More:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/new-nazca-lines-peru

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Archaeologists Used Drones to Find New Ancient Drawings in Peru
About 50 new examples of the Nazca lines had been hiding in plain sight



(Luis Jaime Castillo, Palpa Nasca Lines)
By Julissa Treviño
smithsonian.com
April 6, 2018

In recent years, the use of drones has allowed archaeologists to uncover some of the world’s most interesting history and hidden secrets. In 2017, for example, the technology helped them map 2,000-year-old Venezuelan rock carvings.

Now, with the use of drones, archaeologists in Peru have uncovered more than 50 new examples of Nazca lines in the Palpa province that likely would have been missed by the human eye and even satellites, reports Michael Greshko in a National Geographic exclusive on the discovery.

Unesco has called Nazca lines one of the “greatest enigmas” of archaeology. The works are created by moving stones to remove a top layer of soil and reveal lighter colored soil underneath, and more than a thousand of these ancient geoglyphs populate a 290 square mile span of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. While researchers have known about the lines—which depict plants, creatures and geometric designs—since the 1920s, they first started studying them from the sky in the 1940s.

Most of the newly found lines were created by the Nazca culture, which existed from between 200 to 700 C.E. But researchers believer that earlier civilizations, the Paracas and Topará cultures, carved some of the lines between 500 B.C. and 200 C.E.

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-use-drones-capture-images-ancient-drawings-peru-180968716/#KGwjVwUhHCIgjP7X.99