Signs ‘n’ wonders

The world we live in is full of mysteries and man has been searching answers for them from time immemorial.

However, no matter how advanced science has become, there are still many mysteries that cannot be unravelled by science. They continue to baffle us.

Remember we featured an article on November 2, 2008 under Signs ’n’ wonders about crop circles - strange shapes in crop fields that have puzzled us for centuries? Today we decided to enlighten you about yet another such phenomenon - the strange lines appearing in the desert of Peru in South America.

The famous Nazca lines of Peru, which are associated with the Incan civilization by some scientists, have become a great puzzle; no one has yet come up with an acceptable theory as to why the Nazca Indians who lived in this area between 300 BC and AD 800, have drawn them.

Before we get to the topic of the Nazca lines, let us enlighten you about the place they are found in. The Nazca plain lies between the great Andean Mountain and the Peruvian coast and is about 80 km (50 miles) in extent.

The Nazca desert is one of the driest deserts on Earth, with little rain and wind. In fact, it’s recorded that this area experiences only about 20 minutes of rainfall for the entire year. So, it’s not hard to imagine how dry the place must be.

In addition to its dry weather, the Nazca plain is flat with no sand and no wind. Scientists say this stable climatic condition is responsible for the preservation of the famous Nazca geoglyps (as the scientists call these series of lines) which stretches across the plain encompassing nearly 500 square kilometres.

The plain is like a huge writing pad or canvas for artists who wanted to leave their mark for posterity.

Some say the series of lines are like a giant map or a blueprint left by ancient artists for astronomers or aliens. The plain is popularly referred to as Peru’s scratchpad by many researchers.

Now, let’s check out how these strange lines have been drawn by the ancient people of the area, what they are like and what purpose they may have served.

According to research carried out so far, researchers claim that this montage of geometric formations called geoglyps are merely shallow designs made on the ground by removing the top soil; the iron oxide coated reddish pebbles on the top have been removed to create the necessary lines or designs, exposing the light coloured sub-soil beneath.

The contrasting colours make the lines sharp and visible to onlookers. It is artistry of a different kind, with no painting or carvings involved. And, as the plain is hardly exposed to elements such as wind and rain, the lines have remained undisturbed all this time.

This assortment of simple to stylised geometrical lines comprise perfectly straight lines, (some very narrow and running parallel, others intersecting), spirals, triangles, zigzags, circles and trapezodial zones with strange symbols and images.

Scientists claim that in total there are about 1,300 km (800 miles) of straight lines, with the largest straight line going nearly 16 km across the plain.

The most amazing among these are the blomorphs - the animal and plant figures which are grouped together. It is said that there are about 70 such figures including a killer whale, monkey, spider, flower, dog, astronaut, pelican, tree, hands, lizard, star and birds.

The drawings of the spider, monkey and whale are considered to be fascinating, but what’s most amazing is the huge drawing of a humming bird. Perhaps, it’s the largest drawing found anywhere in the world of the smallest bird on Earth!

But, do you know that these intriguing Nazca geoglyps had not been discovered until the 1930s? Since they were found, many scientists have tried to study their meaning and come up with various theories. One such person is Maria Reich. She spent over 50 years studying these drawings and said “we will never know all the answers...”

As most of these signs could be clearly seen by air even though some scientists say some are visible from closeby hills, two questions crop up; that is, were the Nazca Indians capable of flying and if not, were the drawings done for those who were able to see them from an aerial point - such as aliens?

Many UFO experts believe that these lines and pictograms are landing fields and landmarks for extraterrestrials. However, most scholars give different interpretations to the big mystery - why are they there?

According to some, they may have been drawn as religious rituals. Some say that while the geometrical lines may be connected to rituals to obtain water, the symbols such as the spider, birds and plants may be connected to fertility.

The other theories put forward are that they are giant astronomical calendars, landing strips for spacecraft and signs for aliens or launch sites for hot air balloons. Even though you may not pay much attention to most of the possibilities for the existence of these drawings, the theory of them being launch pads for hot air balloons is sure to draw your attention.

How could they have known about hot air balloons, you may wonder. Well, according to the experts, there is evidence indicating such a possibility.

They state that pottery found in Peru show images of what may have been kites or balloons. There are also some burn marks - blackened rock at the end of the lines, that give weight to this theory.

But some are of the view that the burn marks in the desert may have been caused by spacecraft. We will never know. Perhaps the discovery of the lost city of the line buiders - Cahuachi may throw new light about the Nazca people and unravel the mysteries of these famous Nazca lines.