"Geo" in translation from Greek, as we know, is "earth". And "glyph" is "a concave line". The geoglyphs of Nazca are huge, beautiful and mysterious. They are surrounded by a seemingly chaotic network of lines and contours. Regarding the fact that these images and lines appeared in the pre-Columbian era, scientists have no doubts. Their clear time barrier was also determined - until the 12th century, when the Incas, who had a completely different culture, entered the territory of present-day Peru. But regarding the framework of the beginning and end of the period in which the main geoglyphs of Nazca were created, there are different points vision. Archaeologists, knowing that the same geometric elements, as on earth, and the heyday of this civilization - from the 100s. BC e. to the 700s n. e., insist on these dates. To this, their opponents object that the images were not necessarily created during this entire period. The objections are based on the analysis of manganese and iron oxides at the edges of the lines. These oxides in Nazca, in conditions of almost complete anhydrous conditions, form the so-called desert tan of sandy soil, a kind of crust that took shape over thousands of years. Beneath it is sandstone. Therefore, the Nazca lines are so clearly visible: the dark crust and light sandstone contrast sharply and clearly with each other. And they are nothing but witnesses of time. According to this concept, geoglyphs of Nazca by geologists belong mainly to the 1st century BC. n. e., and the latest - to the VI century. n. e. However, neither a purely archaeological nor a purely geological approach can be considered exhaustively reliable; there are still too many unanswered questions in each of the versions.
The history of the discovery of Nazca geoglyphs began only in the 20th century, because they can only be seen in their entirety from a bird's eye view. Until planes appeared here, Nazca remained "terra incognita" for the world. Although the shepherds, and then the travelers, of course, saw and understood that the lines on the ground were clearly of man-made origin: the trenches were even, lined with pebbles along the edges. In 1553 Ciesade León (1518/1520-1554), a Spanish priest, geographer and historian, described them thus: big road Incas, and in some places among the sands signs are seen to guess the path that has been laid. Archaeologists Alfred Krebe and Toribio Mejia Xesspe suggested in 1927 that this was an irrigation system, although Xesspe later changed his mind, agreeing with Leon. Even then it was noticed that the furrow lines were laid strictly in a straight line, they did not bypass any elevations or dry riverbeds. But the very scale of the drawings remained unknown. Until the American archaeologist Paul Kosok (1896-1959) flew over them in an airplane in 1939. And when, from 1941, the German Maria Reiche (1902-1998), a mathematician by profession, began to cooperate with him, new meaning, and even what. She believed, and Kosok agreed with her, that all these contours and lines are nothing but an astronomical calendar: straight and spiral figures symbolize the constellations, and symbolic figures animals - the position of the planets. Movement in the firmament of planets and constellations could be associated with calculations of the rainy period. And also have sacred meaning- a message to the heavenly rulers of the forces of nature with a request to send down life-giving moisture or, who knows, not only about that. About something purely spiritual, judging by the truly artistic inspiration with which the images were created. If we remember that their creators could not rise into the air on anything, and the contours were drawn in continuous lines, then one cannot help bowing their heads respectfully before the power of their imagination and the accuracy of their plans.
In 1994, the geoglyphs of the Nazca Desert were included in the List world heritage UNESCO.
The Nazca Plateau is a sandy arid plain in the southern part of Peru, in the province of the same name in the Ica region, which lies approximately in the center of the country's Pacific coast and 40 km from the ocean, 380-440 km southeast of the country's capital city. In this region, they recede from the coast, and the relief here is predominantly flat and even, uplifts are insignificant. The plateau extends between small towns Palpa in the north and Nazca in the south, nearly 60 km from north to south and 5 to 7 km wide from west to east. The spurs of the Andes approach it from the east. Through the Pampa de Nasca, as the plateau is called in Peru, the Pan-American Highway passes.
Hypotheses about the origin and purpose of the Nazca geoglyphs, from mathematical to ufological, have long acquired the character of an avalanche of disputes in which no one has yet been able to put a weighty and irrefutable end.
But there are still counterpoints in this thread.
Geological and hydrological studies have established that 62 "beam centers" are located on elevations from which riverbeds (mostly dry today) are visible. Many lines pass exactly over the faults and hence the aquifers, especially in the east of the pampas, closer to the Andes. That is, in the complex it could well be a map of the distribution of groundwater.
Maria Reiche, who devoted more than 40 years to studying the geoglyphs of Nazca, also found their reduced copies, sketches. And therefore, she concludes, the ancient artists were able to scale the image, that is, they understood the laws of mathematics and physics (optics), if not in theory, but in the way they manifest themselves in nature. These conjectures of Reiche are shared by the Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Orefici (b. 1946), today the most authoritative specialist in the world on the Nazca, as well as the adjacent pyramidal structures of the city of Cahuachi. And not just separates, he checks them with computer programs. He also has his own impressive hypothesis. Studying Cahuachi since 1982, he came to the conclusion that the Nazca civilization was generally much more highly developed than is commonly thought, and put forward a hypothesis about the existence until about the middle of the 1st century BC. n. e. on the plateau big city called Suashi. He modeled this city in 3D based on multispectral soil analysis and archaeological finds, in particular in the necropolises of Nazca. All the people buried there, without weapons, therefore, lived peacefully. And when a person lives in the world, he develops his intellect and talents. The Nazca did not know writing, but they calculated their pyramids perfectly, erected them up to 20 m high, they even had a water supply system with multi-level wells, like karezes in Central Asia about which we write in this issue. (An amazing coincidence - evidence that human intelligence develops according to general laws.) On the monitor of Orefichi, a city built up with temples and pyramids appeared, which went underground as a result of two natural Disasters immediately - earthquakes and floods: in that era, Nazca was not as dry as it is now. Orefici's calculations showed that only 20% of the geoglyphs could be related to observations of the starry sky, and that is hypothetical. And miscalculations among the builders of the pyramids, although rare, did happen, because it is human to err. But aliens from other planets, who, according to some versions, are the true authors of geoglyphs, would hardly be mistaken, their level of knowledge, by definition, should have been much higher.
Nevertheless, no scientific conclusions can compare in popularity with the general public with the flight of fancy of supporters of the theory of participation here. extraterrestrial civilizations. Based on the book by the Swiss ufologist Erich Däniken (b. 1935) "Chariots of the Gods", Harald Reinl made the film "Memories of the Future" in 1970, a documentary in form, but distinguished by an extremely arbitrary interpretation of the filmed material and conjectures arising from it. This film is widely known in the world. He made millions of people seriously believe that the Nazca geoglyphs are runways for aliens from other planets and were most likely created by them (like the Egyptian pyramids, and the statues of Easter Island, and other famous grandiose and mysterious structures on the planet ). Many times these conclusions have been challenged by serious and responsible scientists, but this film and other ufological writings are still taken on faith.
One thing is certain: the Nazca desert will open up many more unexpected and extremely interesting things for all of us.
general information
Images on the Nazca plateau in Peru.Administrative affiliation: Ica region, Nazca province.
Official language in Peru: spanish.
Monetary unit of Peru: new salt.
The US dollar also has the widest circulation.
The largest river of the Nazca plateau: El Ingenio (drying).
Nearest airport: Jorge Chavez (international) in Lima, the capital of Peru.
Numbers
Area of the Nazca Plateau: about 500 km2.Population of the Nazca Plateau: about 20,000 people
Population density: 40 people/km2.
Trench line width- up to 135 cm, depth - up to 50 cm, on average - 35 cm.
Climate and weather
Subtropical dry, semi-desert.Average annual temperature: +22°С.
Average annual rainfall: about 180 mm.
Economy
Tourism.Transport services(Pan American Highway).
Attractions
■ Over 30 images, the most famous of which are "Astronaut" (a man in clothes similar to a spacesuit) - 30 m long, "Hummingbird" - 50 m, "Spider" - 46 m, "Monkey" - 50 m high and more than 100 m wide , "Condor" - 120 m, "Lizard" - 188 m, "Heron" - 285 m. Other images - flowers, trees, real and fantastic animals.■ Straight, long and short lines(about 13 thousand, long stretch for a distance of several kilometers).
■ About 780 geometrically correct figures - triangles, spirals, trapezoids, located both separately and in various combinations with other figures and lines (zigzags, "radial centers").
■ Research Center. Maria Reiche(her former house).
■ Archaeological Museum Antonini(finds by J. Orefici).
■ nearby: geoglyphs of the Palpa plateau, the ruins of Cahuachi - big temple and other buildings (II century BC - VIII century AD), Kantaiok aqueducts - spiral wells (IV-VII centuries AD), Chauchilya necropolis, open graves, mummies (presumably III- IX centuries).
Curious facts
■ In 2011, Japanese scientists from Yamagata University announced that they had discovered previously unnoticed images on the Nazca plateau, created presumably from 400 BC. BC e. to 200 BC e. These are two figures in which "faces" are clearly visible, that is, the points of the eyes and mouth. The left one has a size of 13x7 m, the right one - 9x8.5 m. The head of the right figure is separated from the body. Masato Sakai, professor of cultural anthropology at Yamagata University, suggested that this scene depicts a ritual execution.■ A slender mathematical combination is found in the "Monkey" image. Two long axes drawn near it form an oblique cross similar to X. The axis of symmetry drawn through the intersection point passes exactly between the legs of the monkey. The angle between the oblique lines is 36°. And if exactly on the same scale the figure of the monkey relative to the point X is repeated, then we get 10 monkeys that make up a vicious circle without any exaggeration. Moreover, the center of the spiral of the tail of each monkey coincides with the center of the head of its next double.
■ Early in the morning, Maria Reiche, the first explorer of geoglyphs, often found various fruits and nuts in baskets on the ground near the tent or adobe hut where she lived. They were brought in at night by the Indians. They treated her with irony, mixed with reverence and sympathy, and nicknamed Maria "Mad Gringa".
■ Nazca geoglyphs have analogues. The most famous of them are located nearby - on the Peruvian Palpa plateau. They are not as big, but there are more of them. They are located mainly on the flat tops of the hills, and these peaks give the impression of being cut horizontally on purpose, while the adjacent hills have a natural cone shape. On the slopes of the hills in Palpa, humanoid figures are often found. In Peru, near the city of Pisco, there is a single geoglyph "Andean Candelabra". Landmark of the Atacama Desert in Chile - "Giant", the image of a man (86 m). There are also several Peruvian geoglyphs near the city of Blythe in California (USA). Terrestrial images have also been found in Ohio; in England ("White Horse", "Giant"); on the Ustyurt plateau in Kazakhstan; on Southern Urals("Moose Zyuratkul"); in Africa (south of Lake Victoria and in Ethiopia); in Australia ("Murry Man", the largest geoglyph on Earth with a length of 4.2 km).
■ If we continue the clearest straight lines of the Nazca, it will turn out, according to some researchers who are prone to the so-called paranormal versions, that they point to the capital ancient egypt Thebes, ancient city in Mexico, period greatest flourishing which falls on 250-600 years. n. e. And here and there, as you know, there are pyramids. The third line is directed to pyramid-shaped burial mounds... in China, in the Shaanxi province, and another one is directed to pyramid-like natural mountainous formations of flatarons in Europe, in Bosnia. With equal success, on imaginary lines, you can find any other objects you like, between which there is a lot in common.
Plateau Nazca located in the south of the state of Peru. Due to the dry climate and lack of water and vegetation, the area is also called the Nazca Desert. The name of the plateau is associated with
pre-Columbian civilization,
that existed in these places in the time interval of 500 BC. BC . and 500 g. n.e. His plateau fame Nazca received thanks to geoglyphs - huge drawings drawn on the ground, which can only be seen from the air.
Discovery of the Nazca geoglyphs.
The mysterious drawings in the desert plateau became known back in 1553 from the Spanish priest Pedro Cieza de Leon. Traveling through the territory of the modern state of Peru, he wrote in his notes about the many lines drawn on the ground, which he called the "road of the Incas" and about some signs also drawn on the sand. The first to see these signs from the air was the American archaeologist Paul Kosok , who flew over the vast plateau in 1939 . A great contribution to the study of Nazca drawings was made by the German archaeologist Maria Reiche. In 1947, she flew over the plateau in an airplane photographed geoglyphs from the air.
Description of the drawings on the Nazca plateau
Geoglyphs are several tens of meters in size, and the Nazca lines stretch for many kilometers and sometimes even go beyond the horizon, crossing hills and dry riverbeds. Images are applied to the surface by removing the soil. They form furrows about 135 cm wide and 30-50 cm deep. The drawings have survived to the present day due to the dry semi-desert climate. Today it is known about 30 drawings depicting geometric figures, animals, and only one depicts humanoid a creature about 30 meters high, similar to an astronaut. Among animal depictions, the most famous are the spider, hummingbird, whale, condor, and monkey. The geoglyph depicting the condor is one of the largest in the desert. Its length from beak to tail is 120 meters. For comparison: the size of a spider is 46 meters, and a hummingbird is 50 meters.
Mysteries of the geoglyphs of the Nazca desert
The mysterious drawings left many questions for archaeologists and historians. Who created them? How and for what purpose? Geoglyphs cannot be seen from the ground. They are visible only from the air, and there are no mountains nearby from where these lines and drawings could be seen. Another question arises that next to the drawings and lines there are no traces of ancient artists, although if a car passes over the surface, traces will remain. It is noteworthy that the monkey and whale depicted on the geoglyphs do not live in this area.
Exploring the Nazca Plateau
Some scholars believe that the geoglyphs had ritual significance for the ancient inhabitants of the valley. Since they could only be seen from the air, only the gods could see them, to whom people addressed with the help of drawings. Many researchers adhere to the hypothesis that the images of Nazca were created by the civilization of the same name that lived in these places in the 2nd century BC. Explorer geoglyphs Maria Reiche believes that the drawings were first made on small sketches, and only then applied to the surface in full size. As evidence, she provided a sketch found in these places. In addition , at the ends of the lines depicting the drawings , wooden posts driven into the ground were found . They could serve as point coordinates when drawing geoglyphs. The research results showed that the images were created at different times. Intersecting and overlapping lines indicate that ancient painting covered the valley ground in several stages.
Various versions of the origin of Heglyphs
Many historians and archaeologists hold astronomical versions of drawings. The ancient inhabitants of the Nazca desert could be well versed in astronomy. The created gallery is a kind of map of the starry sky. This version was held by the German archaeologist Maria Reiche. The American astronomer Phyllis Pitlugi, in favor of this version, cites the fact that the geoglyph depicting a spider is a drawing showing a cluster of stars in the constellation Orion. However, British researcher Gerald Hawkins is sure that only a small part of the lines and drawings of the Nazca desert are associated with astronomy. Some ufologists suggest that the drawings were a guide for landing alien ships, and the lines of the Nazca plateau served as runways. Skeptics do not agree with this version, if only because alien spacecraft capable of traveling tens of light years do not need acceleration to take off. They can take to the air vertically. Jim Woodman, who studied the Nazca plateau in the 70s of the last century, came to the conclusion that the ancient inhabitants who created these drawings could fly in a balloon. He explains this by the image of this flying object on clay figurines that have survived from ancient times. To prove it, Woodman made a balloon from off-the-shelf materials that could only be obtained in the nearest county. Hot air was fed into the balloon and it was able to fly a fairly long distance. The German archaeologist Maria Reiche, mentioned above, called the geometric figures and lines of the Nazca plateau a ciphertext similar to a set of letters and signs.
There is still no consensus on the origin and purpose of the mysterious geoglyphs. The Nazca plateau remains one of the greatest mysteries on our planet...
Geoglyphs on the Nazca plateau, like the famous lost Inca city of Machu Picchu, are one of the most mysterious sights of Peru. Giant geometric figures depicting triangles, spirals, lines, constellations, as well as a monkey, a spider, flowers, an astronaut and a hummingbird whose wingspan exceeds two hundred meters were created between the 1st and 5th centuries AD. There is still no consensus on the origin of drawings made by deep furrows, and the purpose of their creation, despite many years of research.
The Nazca Lines were first seen in 1939 by American archaeologist Paul Kosok, who flew over the plateau. He saw that the lines fix the phases of the moon and point to some constellations. Finding such parallels from the ground was impossible; To this day, figures can only be distinguished from the air. In the future, Maria Reiche was engaged in their research, and many drawings were discovered with her help. According to Reiche, the geoglyphs in the desert are the largest calendar of the starry sky under open sky in the world. In total, on the Nazca plateau, you can find about thirty drawings, 788 different geometric shapes, including trapezoids, triangles and spirals, and thousands of lines and stripes. In 1994, geoglyphs were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
For a trip to the Nazca plateau, choose light, light-colored clothing and closed shoes with hard soles. Best time for exploring geoglyphs in the desert - from December to March, when you can count on clear sunny weather. The temperature during this period does not fall below +27°C. Even when setting off on a journey in the early morning or at dusk, do not forget about sunscreen and a headdress.
In addition to geoglyphs, there are several other interesting sights on the Nazca plateau. In particular, you can visit the ruins of Cahuachi - the most important and powerful city ancient civilization where excavations are still ongoing. 5 kilometers east of Nazca are the Cantayoc aqueducts, and 30 kilometers south is the Chauchilla necropolis (El cementerio de Chauchilla), most of the burials of which date back to the 5th-6th centuries. Mummies were found in the first half of the last century, however archaeological site the necropolis was recognized only in 1997.
How to get there
The Nazca Plateau is located 380 kilometers southeast of Lima. The path runs along the picturesque Pacific coast, along the 1S highway. It is most convenient to get from the capital to the city of Nazca with a change in Ica; The journey by bus takes an average of seven and a half hours. Tickets must be purchased at least one day in advance. Be careful: from Lima, buses of different transport companies (Oltursa, Cruz del Sur, TEPSA) leave from different terminals; for example, TEPSA flights - from the terminal of the same name, located on Avenida Javier Prado. At the same time, the starting points are not always located in the city center. One way fares range from PEN 65 (~$20.8) to PEN 140 (~$44.8) per person. Buses leave several times a day, including late in the evening and at night.
The best way to see the Nazca geoglyphs is to take one of the small Cessna tours organized by local agencies. In good weather, most patterns and lines can be seen from the air; guides navigate the desert's most famous areas, including those depicting monkeys, spiders, hummingbirds and other animals.
Routes start from the cities of Nazca and Lima. Excursions should be booked in advance: the number of seats on airplanes is limited (as a rule, no more than five passengers), and it is unlikely that it will be possible to organize such a trip on the spot. Their cost from the city of Nazca, for example, starts at $150 per person; the price includes transfer from the hotel to the airport, flight and services of a local guide. Such tours are held daily, mainly in the morning, however, the departure time and duration of the trip depend on the number of flights scheduled for the day and weather conditions. On average, the tour takes a little over half an hour.
Organized excursions from Lima will cost more; their cost starts from $350 per person. This price includes a transfer to the Nazca airfield, a short film about the lines in the desert, a flight, as well as lunch in a traditional restaurant and a visit to the observation deck on the way back.
Helicopter excursions over the Nazca plateau are organized by several specialized travel companies. The cost of such a trip starts from $ 350 per person; flights operate daily. The duration of the tour is 40 minutes, including the time of the flight itself - 25 minutes. The minimum number of passengers is two people.
Another option for viewing the Nazca lines is Observation deck on the Panamericana Highway (El Mirador). The cost of visiting is 2 PEN (~$0.6) per person. In this case, due to the great remoteness of the drawings, it will be possible to see only two of them.
Location
The Nazca Plateau is located in the province of the same name in the Ica region, which lies almost in the center of the Pacific coast.
The Nazca geoglyphs in Peru, created many centuries before the rise of the Inca Empire, are the most important evidence for the existence of a mysterious ancient culture in the territory of Peru. These lines and geoglyphs, drawn in one continuous line, are located on the Nazca plateau and reach tens of meters in length, so they are visible only from the air.
The German scientist Von Daniken, in his book "An Answer to the Gods", claims that these lines were created as signals for the landing of alien spacecraft. And the German doctor of archeology Maria Reiche called these patterns a strange confirmation of the existence of the ancient Peruvian culture:
“The Nazca lines are nothing but the documented history of ancient Peruvian science. The ancient inhabitants of Peru created their own alphabet to describe the most important astronomical events. The Nazca lines are the pages of a book written in this strange alphabet.”
From the air, you can observe various figures such as large giant spiders, lizards, llamas, monkeys, dogs, hummingbirds, etc., not to mention zigzags and geometric designs. There are many unanswered questions regarding these lines. For example, how they remain intact after hundreds of years, or how they managed to be created in such sizes, accurately recreating all proportions.
In 1927, Mejia Hespe, a student of the famous Julio Tello, the father of Peruvian archeology, reported mysterious incomprehensible geoglyphs on the territory of the Peruvian plateau. Initially, this was not given any importance, scientists were engaged in research on other more significant areas, such as Machu Picchu
In the same year, a researcher from the United States, Paul Kosok, arrived in Peru, who was very attracted by the ancient history of Peru. On one of his first trips to the south of the country, he stopped at the top of a plateau and saw extensive lines on both sides of the road. After careful examination, he was amazed to find that one of the figures was displayed perfect shape bird flight. Kosok spent almost 20 years studying the Nazca lines, in 1946 he returned home, offering to study the drawings of the Nazca tribes to the German doctor of archeology Maria Reiche. Maria devoted her whole life to this work.
Maria Reiche studied Nazca lines for 50 years. She explained how these lines were used by ancient Peruvian astronomers - they were a giant solar and lunar calendar hidden in the sand, legends and myths of the locals.
The lines themselves are applied to the surface in the form of furrows up to 135 centimeters wide and up to 40-50 centimeters deep, while white stripes form on the black stony surface. The following fact is also noted: since the white surface is heated less than the black one, a pressure and temperature difference is created, which leads to the fact that these lines do not suffer in sandstorms.
The hummingbird has a length of 50 meters, the spider - 46, the condor has stretched from beak to tail feathers for almost 120 meters, and the lizard has a length of up to 188 meters. Such enormous dimensions of the drawings are admirable, almost all the drawings are made in this huge scale in the same manner, when the outline is outlined by one continuous line. The true shape of the images can only be observed from a bird's eye view. Such a natural elevation does not exist nearby, but there are medium size hills. But the higher you rise above the plateau, the smaller these drawings become and turn into incomprehensible scratches.
Other animals captured by the Nazca include a whale, a dog with long legs and tail, two llamas, various birds such as herons, pelican, gull, hummingbird and parrot. Reptiles include the alligator, iguana, and snake.
All geoglyphs are located on the map, with detailed names. Click to enlarge
So who created Nazca geoglyphs? locals or aliens? It's a giant solar and moon calendar or landmarks spaceship? It is impossible to know the answers to these questions, since the Nazca lines are one of the most big secrets in the world.
What kind of miracles does not keep in itself ancient history! How many mysteries have not yet been solved, and how many of them will never be solved! However, stepping into the future, people understand the past more deeply and replace guesses and myths real story. So, it is believed that archaeologists have already finally solved the riddle that the Nazca desert concealed. The outskirts of Peru became famous back in 1947, when the first scientific publications about incomprehensible lines and mysterious drawings appeared. Later, the idea arose that these were alien runways. Many inhabitants of the planet accepted this idea with interest. And so the myth was born.
Mystery of geoglyphs
Scientists and amateurs have for decades tried to explain the origin of geometric patterns in the desert, covering an area of almost 500 square kilometers. Although at first glance the history of their occurrence in Southern Peru is quite clear. For several centuries, the Nazca desert served as a canvas for the ancient Indians, on which they for some reason applied mysterious signs. Dark stones lie on the surface, and if they are removed, light sedimentary rocks are exposed. Such a sharp contrast of colors was used by the Peruvians to create geoglyph drawings: the background for the images was dark color soil. They decorated the desert areas with straight lines, trapeziums, spirals and huge figures of animals.
Desert Nazca. Figure coordinates
These signs are so huge that they can only be seen from an airplane. However, today everyone can admire the mysterious symbols without leaving home, just run any program on the computer that displays satellite images of the Earth. Desert coordinates - 14°41"18.31"S 75°07"23.01"W.
In 1994 unusual drawings were included in the list of monuments that make up the World cultural heritage. And then the whole world found out where the Nazca desert is. People wondered who the mysterious gallery was intended for. To the gods in heaven reading human souls? Or maybe in this ancient country aliens once built a spaceport, so the markings remained? Or is this the first astronomy textbook where the course of the planet Venus represents the wing of some bird? Or maybe these are family signs with which the clans marked the territories inhabited by them? It has even been suggested that in this way the Indians designated the course of underground streams, supposedly this is a secret map of water sources. In general, there were a great many hypotheses, the best minds competed in the interpretation of the meaning of the inscribed, but no one was in a hurry to pick up the facts. Almost all assumptions were built speculatively - rarely anyone dared to go to an utter distance. So the Nazca desert (photo below) remained one of the most mysterious places planet, and its ancient inhabitants - one of the most interesting cultures pre-Columbian America.
Path to unraveling
From 1997 to 2006, scientists from various fields of knowledge conducted peruvian desert thorough research. The facts that they collected completely debunked all the explanations of the esotericists. No space secrets left! It turned out to be quite the earthly Nazca desert. Her drawings also speak of the earthly, even too earthly. But first things first.
Expedition to Peru
In 1997, an expedition organized by the German Archaeological Institute began to study geoglyphs and the culture of the Nazca inhabitants in the vicinity locality Palp. The place was chosen based on the fact that it is located in close proximity to the villages where the ancient Indians lived. “To understand the meaning of the drawings, you need to peer into the people who created them,” the scientists said.
Landscape exploration
Within the framework of the project, the climatic features of the area were studied. This brought clarity to the origin of the symbols. Previously, in the place where the Nazca desert now stretches, there was a flat steppe area. It was formed from a basin separating the Andes and the Coastal Cordillera (another mountain range). During the Pleistocene, it was filled with sedimentary rocks and pebbles. So there was an ideal "canvas" for applying all kinds of drawings.
A couple of millennia ago, palm trees grew here, llamas grazed, and people lived as in garden of paradise. Where today the Nazca desert stretches, even heavy rains and floods used to happen. But around 1800 BC. e. the climate became much drier. The drought burned the grassy steppe, so people had to settle in the river valleys - natural oases. But the desert continued to advance and crept close to the mountain ranges. Its eastern edge moved 20 kilometers towards the Andes, and the Indians were forced to retreat to mountain valleys located at an altitude of 400-800 meters above sea level. And when the climate became even drier (about 600 BC) new era), the Nazca culture disappeared altogether. Only mysterious signs inscribed on the ground remained from her. Due to the extremely dry climate, they have been preserved for thousands of years.
Desert Nazca. Drawings
Having studied the living environment of the creators of the mysterious geoglyphs, the researchers were able to interpret them. The earliest lines appeared about 3800 years ago, when the first settlements appeared in the area of the city of Palpa. Southern Peruvians their " art gallery» created on outdoors, among the rocks. They cut and scratched on the brown-red stones various patterns, chimeras and people and animals. The "revolution in art" took place in the Peruvian desert sometime around 200 BC. e. Artists, who used to cover only rocks with paintings, undertook to decorate the largest canvas given to them by nature itself - a plateau stretching before their eyes. Here the masters had a place to turn around. But instead of figurative compositions, artificers now preferred lines and geometric shapes.
Geoglyphs - part of the ritual
So why were these signs created? Certainly not for us to admire them today. Scientists believe that the drawings were part of the "sanctuary", these are the so-called ceremonial figures, which have a purely mystical meaning. Geophysicists examined the soil along the lines (their depth is almost 30 centimeters) and found that it is highly compacted. 70 geoglyphs depicting some creatures and animals are significantly trampled down, as if crowds of people have been walking here for centuries. In fact, various festivities associated with the cult of water and fertility were held here. The drier the plateau became, the more often the priests performed magical ceremonies in order to call for rain. Of the ten trapeziums and lines, nine are turned towards the mountains, where the saving rainfall came from. Magic for a long time helped, and the moisture-bearing clouds returned. However, in 600 AD, the gods were completely angry with the people who settled in this region.
Debunking the myth
The largest drawings in the Nazca desert appeared at a time when the rains had almost stopped. Most likely, people thus asked the harsh Indian god to heed their suffering, they hoped that at least he would notice such signals. But God remained deaf and blind to prayers. It didn't rain. Eventually the Indians left motherland and went to look for a flourishing country. And after a couple of centuries, when the climate became milder, the Nazca desert regained its inhabitants. People settled here who did not know anything about the previous owners of these lands. Only the lines on the ground that went into the distance reminded us that once here a man tried to speak with the gods. However, the meaning of the drawings has already been forgotten. Now only scientists are beginning to understand the reason for the appearance of these letters - huge signs, ready, it seems, to survive eternity.
