Who
were they created for?
Although some of the lines
can be discerned from nearby hills, the majority can only be seen from the air,
with some of them only visible from specific angles. Erich Von Däniken, who presumably
did not consider any other possibilities, suggested that the figures were signals
for spaceships, which would then land on the plain using the lines as runways.
Taking time to discredit this theory (whereas most academics just laughed) Maria
Reiche pointed out that the underlying ground is rather soft and the poor spacemen
would have got stuck![9]
But why else would the etchings have been made so
large, or even made at all?
 This
is just a small portion of my online book, Survive 2012 - a look into possible
ways our world might end, and how to survive. Available in bookstores sometime
before 2012, fingers-crossed... |
When
studied under a microscope, some fabric from robbed Nazca tombs was found to be
more finely woven than modern day parachute material. This gave an idea to a
group from the International Explorers Society, who decided to construct a balloon
made only from local vegetable fibres and reeds. The hot air was sourced from
a simple fire pit.
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This “Condor I” was launched in November 1975 and took two
balloonists to a height of 180 metres before a gust of wind returned them to the
ground. After they jumped out, Condor I escaped and took off across the desert,
rising to 350 metres, proving that it would have indeed been possible for the
Nazca Indians to see the lines from above.[10]
Jim Woodman (one of the balloonists) thought that the Nazca Indians could have
used similar hot-air balloons for “ceremonial flights”.[11]
( More
details on the Condor I ) |
Unfortunately,
the air is not still above the Nazca lines, with the wind typically reaching 25
knots. A team from the University of Minnesota launched a balloon in June 1984,
and on its very first flight it was wrecked by these strong winds - which implies
that the ancient locals would have encountered similar problems.[12]
The
Nazca Indians may have had their own uses for the lines. So might have an earlier
culture, one that stealthily created them many millennia ago. Or could they have
been left there for humans of a distant future, hoping to inform them of something
very important?
What do they mean?
Almost
everyone that studies this site comes up with a different idea. Some of these
are:
- Astronomical alignments
- Weaving
patterns
- Indicating subterranean water flow, found
via rod dowsing
- Representations of gods, tribal
clans or shamanic spirit animals
- A hieroglyphic
writing system
- Work therapy
- Used
as athletic tracks
- A map of somewhere (Lake Titicaca
has been suggested)
Another suggestion
comes from art historian Alan Sawyer. "Most figures are composed of a single
line that never crosses itself, perhaps the path of a ritual maze. If so, when
the Nazcas walked the line, they could have felt they were absorbing the essence
of whatever the drawing symbolized."[13]
With
the desert being so incredibly dry, water is obviously of great value to anyone
living there. The ancient Nazcan inhabitants created a vast system of waterworks,
consisting of wells 50 feet deep and 40-odd underground aqueducts, which cut across
the Nazca River valley. Water was channelled from a handful of springs to provide
drinking and water and irrigation for crops. Some of the aqueducts are several
miles long and large enough for a person to crawl along. They are deep below
the surface to protect the water from evaporation, with inspection wells every
hundred metres to help the Indians clear away any debris. Despite their great
age, many of these still function properly. One of the old aqueducts was even
extended in 1955 to deliver more drinking water to the town of Nazca.[14]
Anthony
Aveni (Professor of Astronomy and Anthropology at Colgate University) observed
that "most of the line centers are located along the river banks, tributaries,
and bases of the mountains from where the drainage proceeds." The fact that
large geometric shapes either point upstream (60%) or downstream (40%), adds weight
to his argument that the lines are there to mark water tables.[15] But there is no connection between
water and the animal figures. A proven, cohesive theory, covering all
aspects of the lines and figures is yet to emerge.
Maria
Reiche was the first to suggest the astronomical theory. Certain lines could
predict where important stars would rise, on special days. Figures like the spider
and monkey might represent constellations, in a similar fashion to the Zodiac.
Unfortunately, there are just too many lines. If there were a dozen or so, and
most of them had an astronomical alignment, then the point would be proven. But
there are 800 lines, of varying lengths and widths, each pointing in a different
direction. By chance alone some must appear to have astronomical importance.
Professor Gerald Hawkins (author of Stonehenge
Decoded) and his group went to Nazca to investigate the idea. Using special
software, they checked star positions for the last 6900 years, and checked them
against the lines. After weeks of study they concluded that there were alignments,
but no more than could be attributed to chance. To illustrate this, Hawkins checked
out Reiche’s claim that the Great Rectangle aligned with the Pleiades constellation
in 610 AD. She was accurate. But if she had suggested alignment with the rise
of Regulus in 410 AD, or the setting of Antares in 210 AD, she would also have
been correct. Anthony Aveni obtained similar results in 1982. In addition, Reiche
failed to explain why the lines had different lengths and widths.
What
did impress Hawkins was the straightness of the lines; on average they
only deviate by two metres per kilometre, even over hills - as we see here, which
von Daniken appropriately described as a ski jump.
All
except one of the lines radiate from common points, creating star-like patterns.
Many of these “radiating centres” are actually small hills, perhaps fifty feet
in height. This is hard to appreciate from the air, but if one observes them
from ground level, they are obviously an important aspect of the layout.
Drowned
Animals?
By looking at the lines from a
catastrophic viewpoint, a partial solution can be arrived at.
This
is one of the driest spots on the planet.[†] This means that primitive people
were unlikely to live here, and if they did, unlikely to evolve into a technological
culture, which would require the luxuries of free time and abundant essentials.
This is therefore one of the last places you would expect humans to achieve flight.
So perhaps the lines weren’t meant to be seen until we did manage to fly. This
would ensure that they could remain undisturbed until a modern era, in which we
would probably have the ability to decipher their meaning. Which is now.
The
drawings cover all the important genera – animal, bird, fish, insect and plant.
The story being told here is not unlike that of Noah’s Ark from the Bible. Whereas
Noah managed to rescue two of every species, the Nazca Plain shows us what happened
to all the rest – they drowned. It shows how they have been swept together from
diverse locations and dumped in one spot. They are flat, distorted and bent.
Whoever designed the creatures had the ability to render them accurately, but
they chose not to. Some call them stylised, I call them twisted.
There
are no pairs[‡]. Single
animals represent the end of the line. Pairs (like Adam and Eve) represent fertility
and survival. “They” have created, ironically, a description of the greatest
flood that ever was, upon one of the driest stretches of land on Earth. But what
about the straight lines?
Discuss Survive
2012 at our forumGive the author your thoughts, and discuss any 2012
ideas with others, at 2012 Forum |
Comments from Visitors
wendy:
I saw on discovery channel that the nazca people lived only 60 km away from the pacific. The remnantsthat were found in tombs were examined in Germany, and it was discovered that they were fish eaters. So maybe there was water at that time? Maybe they had boats to go to the seaside? It surprised me this program. The french archeologists found gold mines and equipments (stones) to clear the sand or stone from the gold. But the main conclusion was that they ate fish! The lines were not explained.
(02.04.2004, 21:11)
Josh deeter:
I think that it is pretty cool how thousands of years ago th nazca made these lines.Everyone has there own opinion and theory
- I find the subject quite interesting
(21.05.2004, 14:55)
Amy Williams:
I've recently read that the lines were created as navagation aids to lead the peoples of the surrounding areas to underground water sources. The animal symbols may have been the names of different water sources belonging to different tribes or a way to tell which source was to be used at a certain time of year. No matter what their use I still think they are amazing.
(27.05.2004, 17:25)
Jackie Laferla:
I 've been to the Nazca Valley twice and even met Maria Reiche one late evening out by the lines. I 've heard and read so many different speculation and theories about by who and why the Nazca Lines were made. The energy there by the lines is so intense. I believe that they are large drawings of subjects that we need to respect but have forgotten their importance like the simple things of life, such as the spider who spins such an amazing web, the monkey who is so clever and agile, the tree that represents previous life consciousness and the forests of today, the hummingbird, so small and yet so significant. We need to look at the deeper, spiritual meaning of these symbols. The Nazca had so much respect for nature and that is why they represented these small subjects on such large scale. Modern destructive man has to look at that. Forget aliens and stars that is just scientific verbosity . We have to remember the poetry of the Nazca, Peru and life and conserve it.
(01.11.2004, 12:45)
Fernando Aparicio Bueno:
Dear Sirs:
-
- Congratulations for your web site, we would like
- invite you to visit our's too:www.come.to/nazca
- There you'll discover how the University has resolved the enigma of the famous Nazca Lines.
-
- We are looking for an editorial for the english
- edition, if you are interested please answer us.
-
- Thanks
(20.11.2004, 22:18)
Patrick:
Billboards!
- Aqua ducts, Calendars etc...my foot.
- All these theories would be fine if it were not for the lines that look like a landing strip. What archeology has been done at the end of this strip? That seems like the place to look for for some answers. I have seen signs painted on top of some buildings near airports that remind me of this area.
- I suggest that the other symbols were simply advertisement for services or attractions in the area. The big question of course is for who? It could be as many speculate, for unearthly visitors or simply advanced nations that had some kind of flight capability.
- I also find it interesting that the area seems to be laid out in a fashion presupposing that the visitors are comming in from only one direction. I havent looked at a map yet concerning this issue, but would be willing to bet there were some advanced cultures that were located on a straight line in that direction.
- Also: Considering the massive effort put into these drawings gives further evidence in my mind that they were commercially profitable.
(24.11.2004, 20:35)
Patrick:
Vertical lift and landing aircraft such as the Harriers would have no trouble following the lines in and landing anywhere they chose, even if the ground was soft.
(25.11.2004, 23:57)
Just Some Thoughts:
If you were going to leave a message for people to decipher later on in the future, and you had knowledge of the whole planet... You would want to put the message in a very dry place... Atacama desert, etc. Hmmmmm
(03.01.2005, 23:13)
Friendly Biologist:
(09.03.2005, 23:09)
The comments section is now closed, but you can still email me, or even
better, visit 2012 Forum
Script by Alex
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[9]McIntyre, Loren. 1975. :Mystery of the
Ancient Nazca Lines." National Geographic (May): 716-28.
[10] The Marshall Travel Atlas of Mysterious
Places, Marshall Editions, 1977, p102
[11] Woodman, Jim. 1977. Nazca: Journey
to the Sun. New York: Pocket Books.
[12] Evan Hadingham, Lines to the Mountain
Gods: Nazca and the Mysteries of Peru, Random House 1987 ,page 43
[13]McIntyre, Loren. 1975. :Mystery of
the Ancient Nazca Lines." National Geographic (May): 716-28.
[14] Evan Hadingham, Lines to the Mountain
Gods: Nazca and the Mysteries of Peru, Random House 1987 ,page 189
[15] Possibly from >The Lines of Nazca,
ed. Anthony Aveni (American Philosophical Society, 1990) or Between the Lines
