Nazca
Nazca Lines
If you do not know, the Nazca Lines consist of many geoglyphs (big designs inscribed on the ground through earth and rocks) close to Nazca in Peru which have puzzled mathematicians, historians, and archaeologists for almost a century. The landscape that surrounds this site is extremely dry and appears post-apocalyptic. Here's my list of 17 amazing facts about Nazca Lines:
1. The Nazca Lines have more than 800 straight lines and 300 geometric figures. There are also 70 biomorphs, designs depicting plants and animals
2. Some straight lines extend as much as 30 miles in length!
3. The biggest biomorphs expand nearly 1200 feet.
4. The lines were created through the removal of iron-oxide coated stones from the earth, which left a lighter clay tone that contrasted with surrounding terrain. And this clay-layer has plenty of lime that does much in protecting the designs from eroding.
5. The Nazca Desert, which is located in Southern Peru, is home to the Nazca Lines, is one of the planet's driest places, having relatively little wind, and the temperature is about 25 degrees all-year-round, almost the ideal conditions for preservation.
6. The Nazca Lines' total area is approximately 500 square kilometers.
7. The majority of these lines are a hollow trench ranging from 10 to 15 centimeters deep.
8. The lines could be observed from the foothills and from the air.
9. The very first written record of these lines appeared in a book in 1553; the author, Pedro Cieza de León, mistook the Nazca Lines for trail markers.
10. In 1926, Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejia Xesspe was the first known person to study the lines thoroughly.
11. The general public became aware of the Nazca Lines in the 1930s after the initial commercial airline flights over Peru.
12. Scholar Joe Nickell recreated the designs utilizing ancient technology that the Nazca people must have used anywhere between 1 and 700 Ad. His work received high praise. Scientific American extolled: "Remarkable in its exactness."
13. American adventurer Jim Woodman declared that the designs cannot have been created without flight. Thus, he constructed a hot-air balloon using materials and methods he thought the Nazca people had access to at the time. His balloon did fly but for a couple of minutes.
14. In 1994, the Nazca Lines received a UNESCO World Heritage designation.
15. In 2014, Greenpeace put big letters close to the site, observable from the air that spelled, "Time for change! The future is renewable GREENPEACE."
16. During Greenpeace's "project" at the ancient site, they left footprints near the hummingbird design, causing Peru's government to begin a lawsuit against the organization. Greenpeace apologized later.
17. Although it's usually deduced the designs are associated with rituals involving fertility/water, nobody knows the geoglyphs' real meaning.
