Nazca Lines--Drawn In Geometeric Patterns With Rocks And Sand In Peru Are The Subject Of Mystery

Archaeologists have discovered more than 50 mysterious 'Nazca Lines' in Peru, which were constructed nearly 2,000 years ago by ancient inhabitants who painstakingly arranged pebbles into massive shapes. Some are hundreds of years older than the most famous Nazca Lines previously discovered. The researchers learned that while some of the geolymphs were produced by Nazca people, others date back to a time before they lived in the region where the drawings can be found. The new discovery changes what researchers previously believed about the mysterious designs. Isla, who works at the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, said "This means that it is a tradition of over thousand years that precedes the famous geolymphs of Nazca culture, which opens the door to new hypotheses about its function and meaning. Researchers have been puzzled by Nazca Linesfor decades. They were created by the people who rearranged red pebbles in the desert. Geolymphs span large land tracts located between the towns of Palpa and Nazca. Some geolymphs depict animals, objects or compact shapes, others are only simplistic lines. Most of the lines are formed by a shallow trench with a depth of between four inhes (10 cm) and six inches (15 cm), made by removing the reddish-brown iron oxide-coated pebbles that cover the surface of Nazca desert and exposing the light-colored earth beneath. This sublayer contains high amount of lime which has hardened to form a protective layer that shields the lines from winds and prevents erosion. A research scholar discovered that the lines converged at the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. He proposed the figures were markers on the horizon to show where the sun and other celestial bodies rose. The researchers studied images of the land taken by drones and relied on photography and 30 scans to search for new geolymphs. These technologies revealed to them dozens of previously undiscovered geolymphs that had gone unnotices. Erosion and degradation had taken toll on Nazca Lines , but images from lightweight drones brought them to light. The glyphs that were just recently discoved have not yet been registered with the government in Peru, but they are in a territory protected by UNESCO.