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Nazca
Lines
 
We
arrived at the airfield and immediately one of the
stallholders fell in love with Beds. We sat with all the other tourists
and awaited a pilot. We paid our ten Soles airport tax and passed through
security. Time for Beds to have a
pre-flight cuddle with Anne. The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient
geoglyphs
located in the Nazca
Desert
of Peru.
They have been designated a UNESCO
World
Heritage Site.
The high, arid plateau stretches more than fifty miles between the towns of
Nazca
and Palpa
on the Pampas de
Jumana.
Although some local geoglyphs resemble Paracas
motifs,
scholars believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca
culture
between 200
BC
and 700 AD
The hundreds of individual figures range in complexity from simple lines to a
stylised hummingbird,
spider,
monkey,
orca and many others.
We
were called by Carlos at two o'clock for our half an hour flight. The planes now
have two pilots as one had a heart attack, killing six tourists not that long
ago. The happy gang looking so big compared to the
seemingly tiny plane.
The
lines are shallow designs made in the ground by removing the ubiquitous reddish
pebbles and uncovering the whitish ground beneath. Hundreds are simple lines or
geometric shapes; more than seventy are designs of animal, bird, fish or human
figures. The largest figure is nearly eight hundred and ninety feet long.
Scholars differ in interpreting the purpose of the designs, but they generally
ascribe religious significance to them, as they were major works that required a
vision, planning and coordination of people to achieve. The
geometric ones could indicate the flow of water or be connected to rituals to
summon water. The spiders, birds and plants could be fertility symbols. Other
possible explanations include: irrigation schemes or giant astronomical
calendars. Due to the dry, windless and stable climate
of the plateau
and its isolation, for the most part the lines have been preserved. Extremely
rare changes in weather may temporarily alter the general designs.
Beds had a go at the controls, then settled with Bear for
the interesting flight, more like a ride on a roller coaster - challenging to
photograph.
Construction:
Scholars
have theorised the Nazca people could have used simple tools and surveying
equipment to construct the lines. Studies have found wooden stakes in the ground
at the end of some lines, which support this theory. One such stake was
carbon-dated
and the basis for establishing the age of the design complex. Researcher
Joe
Nickell
of the University
of Kentucky
has reproduced the figures by using tools and technology available to the Nazca
people and which National Geographic referred to as 'remarkable in its
exactness' when compared to the actual lines. With careful planning and simple
technologies, a small team of people could recreate even the largest figures
within days, without any aerial assistance.
When we first looked down it was hard to make out the
shapes - until the Captain pointed them out - then it became easier. He
patiently kept circling at the beginning making sure we got the
shots.
When
the gravel is removed, the light-colored earth beneath shows in lines of sharply
contrasting colour and tone. The Nazca drew several hundred simple curvilinear
animal and human figures by this technique. In total, the earthwork
project is huge and complex: the area encompassing the lines is nearly one
hundred and ninety square miles miles and best seen from the air. The
extremely dry, windless and constant climate of the Nazca region has preserved
the lines well. The Nazca desert is one of the driest on Earth and maintains a
temperature around twenty five degrees Centigrade all year round. The lack of
wind has helped keep the lines uncovered and visible to the present
day.
It was easy to pick out this huge shape
but we had to have the Astronaut pointed out, this
was our first figure - one of the ones the Captain circled for us
Our favourite - the Condor
ALL IN ALL A WONDER AND GREAT
MYSTERY
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