No one really knows why the Nazca people made these figures; there are many theories - and I have one of my own
Over 1,300 years ago, the Nazca people of what is now southern Peru created hundreds of geoglyphs - lines and figures - on a high desert plateau. The region's dry, windless climate has kept the figures more or less intact over these many centuries.
There are about 70 of these figures depicting various animal and plant life indigenous to the area, including trees and flowers, a monkey, birds, fish, reptiles, and a spider.
There is also a human form on a hillside with large eyes and the left arm raised, as if in greeting. They are also quite large; the monkey, for example, measures 310 feet by 190 feet. The largest figure measures some 890 feet. Even more prominent are many dozens of criss-crossing lines - most of them dead straight-and some of which stretch for miles.
HOW THEY WERE MADE
Much has been made about how and why the Nazca created these large pictograms and lines. We know how they were created. The plateau is covered with a reddish-brown layer of oxidized earth. To make the outline of a shape, the Nazca swept away this layer of dirt, exposing the lighter-colored ground beneath. It is often said that because the figures are so large that the Nazca must have had to direct their creation from the air, say from a hot-air balloon (possible) or from a visiting alien's flying saucer (silly). Actually, neither of these aircraft are required as the Nazca were perfectly capable of figuring out, surveying, and engineering the lines using stakes, strings, and other simple methods.
It is also a common misconception that the figures can only be seen from a flying or hovering aircraft. They can, in fact, be seen from the tops of surrounding foothills.
The Nazca-UFO connection was popularized by Erich von Däniken in his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods? in which he noted that the long, straight lines of the plateau resembled modern airport runways and theorized that they served the same function for ancient aliens. This never made sense to my mind as a visiting flying saucer would have no need for a runway of any length.
WHY THEY WERE MADE
More mysterious is why the Nazca created these geoglyphs. There are no records from the Nazca that tell us why. So all we can do is theorize. Here are some of the prevailing theories:
- German mathematician Maria Reiche, one of the foremost experts on the Nazca Lines, suggested they were astronomical markers that indicated the rising and setting locations of the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies.
- Reich also theorized that the animal and plant forms represented constellations they saw in the night sky (the spider somewhat correlates to the Orion constellation).
- Another astronomer, Phyllis B. Pitluga, thought perhaps they were "counter constellations" depicting the darker patches of the Milky Way.
- Archaeologist Johan Reinhard suggested they were created for the purposes of religious practices, mostly connected with the need for water for their crops.
- They were made to communicate with the gods.
MAN-MADE CONSTELLATIONS
I have my own theory as to why the Nazca created both the pictograms and the many lines. It might not be original to me, but I have never seen it expressed in this way.
I think the Nazca lines were an expression of the Nazca people's close connection to the night sky. I think the pictograms represented constellations and a way to communicate with the people (gods?) in the sky.
But they were not copies of the constellations they saw in the sky; they were constellations of their own making. Let me explain.
I think it's very difficult for us in today's world to appreciate the impact of the brilliance of the Milky Way on these ancient cultures. We very rarely see a clear black sky filled with the wonder of the galaxy's stars. Even in remote areas, away from the lights of cities and town, these still is a degree of light pollution as well as the haze created by industrial pollution.
By contrast, the ancient night sky of the Nazca on the high Peruvian plateau must have been quite breathtaking indeed. It must have been enormously important to them, and surely they questioned what all of those points of light were up there.
I think it's possible that, like some other ancient cultures, the Nazca thought perhaps those points of light were created by "Someone" up there - they were campfires perhaps. And that Someone was trying to communicate to the people of Earth by arranging their campfires into recognizable shapes - constellations.
(Virtually every earth culture has attributed different animals and objects to the arrangements of stars.)
In return, the Nazca made their own constellations on the plateau, showing the Someone the kinds of animals and plants found on Earth. I can imagine that once the shapes were carved into the earth, the Nazca placed pots or piles of fire on strategic points of the shapes to create earth constellations for the Someone to see. The human-shaped figure might have been created as a way of saying, "Hi, this is what we look like."
And what are we to make of the many straight lines going in all directions, some thicker than others, some fanning out on one end? What is there similar in the night sky? Meteors - shooting stars that zip across the sky in all directions, some brighter than others, some ending in brilliant flashes as they burn up in Earth's atmosphere. (Remember the remarkable meteor over Russia and caught on camera in February, 2012.)
I think it's possible that the lines either represented significant meteors (and even meteor showers) that the Nazca witnessed and thought of as further communication from the Someone, tracing their paths in the ground. Or they were attempts to create their own earth-based streaks of light to communicate back to the Someone. I can imagine teams of Nazca runners, carrying torches and racing down the length of the lines at night, demonstrating to the Someone that they can likewise create impressive streaks of light in the dark.
I have no way of proving this particular theory, but I think it makes sense and works as an explanation. After all, it would not be the first time or the last that mankind tried to communicate with the mysterious Someone up there.
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