Nazca Lines

The Nazca Lines are a collection of large geoglyphs etched into the desert plains of southern Peru, created between roughly 500 BC and 500 AD by the Nazca culture and their predecessors, the Paracas. The designs were made by removing the top layer of reddish-brown iron oxide–coated pebbles to expose a lighter yellow-grey subsoil beneath, leaving shallow incisions typically 10 to 15 centimeters deep. The collection includes more than 800 straight lines, 300 geometric patterns, and approximately 70 figurative designs depicting animals, plants, and human forms. Some of the longest straight lines extend nearly 30 miles, while the figurative geoglyphs range up to 1,200 feet in length. The lines cover an area of roughly 170 square miles and have been naturally preserved by the extreme aridity of the region, which receives almost no rain or wind.

Despite being studied for over 80 years, the purpose of the Nazca Lines remains contested. Early researchers, including American historian Paul Kosok and German archaeologist María Reiche, proposed that the geoglyphs served as a vast astronomical calendar, with lines aligned to celestial events such as the winter solstice. Later scholars challenged this view, with National Geographic Explorer Johan Reinhard suggesting that many of the lines led to ritual sites associated with water and agricultural fertility — a plausible interpretation given the severe aridity of the region. More recent research has proposed that some lines served as processional routes for religious pilgrims. In 2024, a team from Yamagata University using artificial intelligence identified 303 previously unknown geoglyphs in the area, nearly doubling the known figurative designs and continuing to reshape understanding of the site. UNESCO added the Nazca Lines to its World Heritage List in 1994.