It is said that, surprising Nazca lines , Set of geoglyphs located in Peru, were discovered by the scientist Maria Reiche, but the origins of its appearance date back many centuries.
Its creation is attributed to the passage of different civilizations during several centuries, specifically the Paracas and the Nazca. Its modern discovery goes back to the twentieth century, which began an endless research and preservation on these figures.
The Nazca lines comprise more than a hundred figures between geometric, anthropomorphic and animal.
Its origin and function has been object of different theories as much scientific as pseudoscientific, being considered one of the first manifestations of extraterrestrial influence in the earth.
The investigations have ruled from the beginning any extraterrestrial or supernatural origin on the conception and function of geoglyphs.
The first in-depth research and preservation of these ancient manifestations are mainly due to the work that led the German-Peruvian scientist María Reiche (1903-1988).
She dedicated her entire life to the study of the lines and their social, astronomical and religious implications, as well as their relationship with the arid environment in which they are located.
In 1994 the Nazca lines were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Discovery and studies of the Nazca lines
The first recorded sighting of the Nazca lines dates back to 1547, by the hand of the conqueror and chronicler Pedro Cieza de Leon (1520-1554), who first described the existence of a"line"in the Nazca desert.
This discovery, which for many years was interpreted as a series of ways, did not lead to greater interest but 380 years later.
In 1927, the arrival of the archaeologist Toribio Mejía Xesspe (1896-1983), as part of the Third Archaeological Expedition of the UNMSM, Would mark the modern discovery of the lines of Nazca, whose impressions would be published 12 years later by the same Toribio, calling the geoglyphs"sacred roads".
In the same way, it is affirmed that during the first half of the XXth century the lines could be observed from the heights by soldiers and civilians that flew over the region.
The opening of commercial flights between Lima and the city of Arequipa allowed to see the millenary figures. By that time, closer interaction was not possible.
Maria Reiche's arrival in the Nazca desert came at the end of World War II, and it was with great will that she molded the historical significance and the investigative and conservation value that the geoglyphs deserved.
He carried out the first formal investigations and supervised every approach made by other groups until the end of his days. He made sure that the Nazca lines did not become a simple place to satisfy curiosity without professionalism.
Origin of the figures
Thousands of drawings adorn the region, including figures such as trapezoids, triangles and spirals, to the most popular animal and human forms: the spider, the hummingbird, the monkey, the condor, the tree, the hands, The flower, the man with the eyes of an owl (also known as"astronaut"), etc.
The origin of these figures goes back to the Nazi civilization, although new evidence has allowed to ensure that some figures could be initiated long before that.
For example during l The Paracas culture, which inhabited the region between 700 BC. And 100 d.C., when the beginning is estimated.
The human figures visible today in the Nazca desert are attributed to the paracas, as well as other 75 geoglyphs, which even show different techniques in their realization, with very slight modifications that could be made by the Nazca centuries later.
Research has shown that lines can not be considered as the result of a single historical moment, but of the combination and continuity of several.
The clearest difference in the geoglyphs made by the Paracas is that they are on slopes, not on the level ground, so that they could be seen more easily from the desert valley; Not just from the heights.
Nazi civilization existed for about eight centuries in a region of difficult conditions.
This drove them to manage their resources very effectively. The Nazca took advantage of the qualities of the soil for the construction of the figures, which, due to the climatic conditions, have been able to preserve themselves over the centuries.
The nazcas constructed the figures by a process in which they stacked great rocks to mark the edges of the lines; Raised the first layer of soil, piling the stones on the edge to generate relief and exposing a much clearer layer of sand, which becomes the inner contour of the figure.
Archaeological theories have discerned the realization of the spirals by a method in which a pole was fitted to a point that would represent the center and circumferences were made around with the help of a rope.
Functions of lines
The Nazca culture was considered a peaceful civilization and mainly ceremonial. Most of his rituals revolved around nature, and above all, water.
Due to the harsh climatic conditions, rituals and offerings to the gods called for the benefit of water during limited times of the year, which gave a sacred character to that resource.
Much of the Nazi geoglyphs were made as places of ceremony, where the lines were traversed as prayers, offerings and even sacrifices were performed.
In several of the geometric geoglifos have been found remnants of altars and vessels that the nazca broke in order to speak to their gods. Being an agricultural civilization, their offerings were based on the products they harvested.
The meteorological manifestations of the ' The boy 'Each year gave the Nazca a time of abundance, bringing not only water through underground channels, but small mollusks that were considered divine gifts by the aborigines.
The population increase and lack of water led the Nazca to begin digging moats in search of it, dividing territories and fomenting rivalries. The arduousness of the environment was one of the main causes of the disappearance of the Nazca culture.
References
- Hall, S. (2010). Spirits in the sand. National Geographic, 2-23.
- Klokoeník, J., Vítek, F., Klokoeníkova, Z., & R., A. R. (2002). The geoglyphs of Nazca, Peru. BIRA, 13-29.
- Reindel, M., Isla, J., & Lambers, K. (2006). Altares in the desert: The stone structures on the geoglifos Nasca in Palpa. Archeology and Society, 179-222.
- Reinhard, J. (2010). The sacred mountains and pre-Inca cultures of the Andes. In J. Reinhard, & C. Ceruti, Inca Rituals and Sacred Mountains: A Study of the World's Highest Archaeological Sites (pp. 51-71). Los Angeles: UCLA-Cotsen Institute of Archeology.
- Vásquez, M.A. (2014). THE LEGACY OF TORIBIO MEJÍA XESSPE. Culture, Science and Technology. ASDOPEN-UNMSM, 31-42.