Who were the Nazca people?
The Nazca lived near the arid southern coast of Peru from 100 BCE to 800 CE. Early Nazca society was made up of local chiefdoms and regional centers of power centered around Cahuachi, a non-urban ceremonial site of earthwork mounds and plazas. These pyramid-like structures and plazas served as important spaces for fertility and agricultural rituals. People from across the Nazca region most likely gathered in Cahuachi during specific times of the year to feast and make offerings.
The Nazca developed underground aqueducts, named puquios, to sustain cities and agriculture in this arid climate. Many of them still function today. They also created complex textiles and ceramics reflecting their agricultural and sacrificial traditions.
It is thought that by 750 CE, the Nazca civilization went into decline due to environmental changes. An El Niño triggered widespread and destructive flooding, leaving the civilization unstable. Evidence also suggests that the Nazca people may have exacerbated the effects of these floods by gradually cutting down Prosopis pallida trees to make room for maize and cotton agriculture.
The Nazca developed underground aqueducts, named puquios, to sustain cities and agriculture in this arid climate. Many of them still function today. They also created complex textiles and ceramics reflecting their agricultural and sacrificial traditions.
It is thought that by 750 CE, the Nazca civilization went into decline due to environmental changes. An El Niño triggered widespread and destructive flooding, leaving the civilization unstable. Evidence also suggests that the Nazca people may have exacerbated the effects of these floods by gradually cutting down Prosopis pallida trees to make room for maize and cotton agriculture.
When were the Nazca geoglyphs discovered?
Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejia Xesspe was the first to systematically study the lines in 1926 after he came upon them while hiking in the foothills. However, since the lines are virtually impossible to identify from ground level, they were only first brought to public awareness with the advent of flight—by pilots flying commercial planes over Peru in the 1930s.
Paul Kosok is credited as the first scholar to study the Nazca Lines at length. He was in Peru in 1940–41 to study ancient irrigation systems. He flew over the lines and realized one was in the shape of a bird. Another chance observation helped him see how lines converged at the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. He began to study how the lines might have been created, as well as to try to determine their purpose. The lines were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. |
How were the Nazca geoglyphs created?
The Nazca Lines are located in one of the driest places on earth. The desert floor is covered in a layer of iron oxide-coated pebbles of a deep rust color. It is thought that the ancient peoples created their designs by removing the top 12 to 15 inches of rock, revealing the lighter-colored sand below. They likely began with small-scale models and carefully increased the models’ proportions to create the large designs. Given the low amount of rain, wind and erosion in the desert, the geoglyphs have remained largely unscathed throughout the centuries.
Given the precision of the Nazca lines shapes and considering their enormous proportions, it is also believed Nazca people used grids made with ropes and stakes to represent the drawings to scale. It is also thought that the construction had to be directed from a high place.
Given the precision of the Nazca lines shapes and considering their enormous proportions, it is also believed Nazca people used grids made with ropes and stakes to represent the drawings to scale. It is also thought that the construction had to be directed from a high place.