5/1/2015 20 Facts About The Nazca Lines

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20 Facts About The Nazca Lines

BY IVAN PETRICEVIC · 29/12/2014

Nazca lines, tree (seen from the observation tower). Image Credit:

Wik imedia Commons

It was in 1927, when Airlines started flying over Peru and the

Nazca region that passengers reported strange lines, figures

and shapes on the ground.

Airplanes filled with tourists from all over the world quickly

conquered the Nazca skies and hundreds of different designs

were discovered in the region. These geoglyphs depict

animals, intriguing geometrical designs and humanoid figures,

but what is perhaps one of the most interesting things about

Nazca is that these drawings are scattered over two hundred

square miles. Here we bring you some 20 facts about the

Nazca lines.

1. There are over 800 straight lines, 300 geometric figures

and 70 animal and plant designs, also called biomorphs.

2. The largest figure found at Nazca stretches about 200

meters across.

3. The Longest glyph found at Nazca goes for 9 miles.

4. According to archaeologists these mysterious drawings

were created by the Nazca people.

5. The Nazca people flourished in the region

between the 1st and 8th century A.D.

6. The lines were formed by the careful removal of the

5/1/2015 20 Facts About The Nazca Lines

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reddish iron oxide pebbles that make up the desert

surface.

7. The reason the Nazca lines survived so long is because

of the weather conditions in the region, there is little rain

and wind is almost nonexistent.

8. According to legend, the mysterious Inca creator

god Viracocha, commissioned the Nazca Lines and

glyphs in the past.

9. Viracocha was one of the most important deities in the

Inca pantheon and seen as the creator of all things, or the

substance from which all things are created, and

intimately associated with the sea.

10. There are some scholars that have discovered curious

patterns in the numerous designs and they suggest that

the Nazca might be one of the earliest known

examples of applied geometry.

11. One of the most intriguing designs of Nazca is the one

which represents a Spider. Phyllis Pitluga, senior

astronomer at the Adler Planetarium and a protégé of

Reiche, performed computer-aided studies of star

alignments. She asserted the giant spider figure is an

anamorphic diagram of theconstellation Orion.

12. In 1985, the archaeologist Johan Reinhard theorized the

lines and figures were part of religious practices involving

the worship of deities associated with the availability of

water, which directly related to the success and

productivity of crops

13. According to some claims, scientists from the University

of Dresden researched the Nazca lines, measuring the

magnetic field and electric conductivity.

14. According to these claims, the results of the research

performed by scholars of the University of

Dresden showed that electric conductivity was

8000 higher on the Nazca lines than next to them.

15. The region where the Nazca lines are located is a mineral

rich environment where Nitrates have been found in

abundant quantities.

16. It is a fact that the Nazca lines can only be truly

appreciated from the air, when seen from the ground it is

nearly impossible to make out the figures and geometric

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patterns.

17. The most famous of the Nazca glyphs are: The

Hummingbird, The Condor, The Heron, The

Astronaut, The Spider, The Pelican, The Dog, The Hands

and The Monkey.

18. Most of the Nazca lines are between 10 to 30 cm deep.

19. The rapid change in weather conditions around the world

could cause extreme damage to the Nazca lines as only

small amount of water is needed for the Nazca lines to be

washed away.

20. In a December 2014 publicity stunt, Greenpeace placed a

series of large cloth letters visible from the air reading

“Time for change! The future is renewable

GREENPEACE” in the area next to “The Hummingbird”,

leaving footprints in the ground in the area around the

lines.

Here is our image gallery of the Nazca Lines:

5/1/2015 20 Facts About The Nazca Lines

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We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see

something that doesn’t look right please contact us.

Source:

Wikipedia

Ancient Code, The Nazca connection.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons