A group of about 50 giant geoglyphs in the hills of southern Peru’s coastal desert near the city of Palpa are believed to predate the geoglyphs on the famous Nazca plateau nearby.
 

Picture of a Paracas candle. (Photo: Alex Zanuccoli/Wikipedia)

Johny Isla, director of the Andean Archaeological Research Institute, said it appears that the Paracas community created “geoglyphs” – large designs or patterns created on the ground – between 500 and 400 AD. BC, while Nazca culture developed after 50 BC.

Mr Isla and his colleague Dr Markus Reindel from the Netherlands Institute of Archeology discovered the Paracas geoglyphs using aerial photographs and ground surveys. The human, bird, monkey and cat figures vary in size from 10m to 50m and are also grouped together in areas ranging from 60m to 90m in length.

Paracas figures are created by removing dark stones to reveal the lighter surface underneath. Removing and applying stone creates high and low reliefs. The drawings on the Nazca plateau are only low reliefs. Until recently, scientists believed that the Palpa and Nazca drawings came from the same Nazca culture. Mr. Isla said the style of the Paracas drawings has many differences.

“Most of these geoglyphs belong to the Nazca culture but our recent studies have demonstrated that there are at least 50 geoglyphs related to the Paracas culture,” Mr. Isla told The Epoch Times. These new drawings are different and older than the Nazca culture.”

He continued: “The first is that the Paracas glyphs were drawn on steep hillsides, while the Nazca glyphs were drawn in areas of the same elevation. Second, the Paracas figures are smaller and done in a naturalistic style, while the Nazca figures are larger and stylized. Third, the Paracas glyphs are mostly arranged in groups, while the Nazca glyphs are arranged individually. Finally, it is important to note that not one of the Paracas figures is repeated in the Nazca emblem.”

Although the existence of some Paracas geoglyphs was previously known, most scientists had not discovered them due to their remote location and their visibility being greatly affected by the position of the sun.

Further studies could tell us more about the Paracas people, their way of life, and the early history of the area.

Discovery of 25 ancient drawings in the Peruvian desert
The Ministry of Culture of Peru on May 28, 2018 announced the discovery of 25 giant drawings carved on the coastal desert in the town of Palpa, southern Peru.

Most of the drawings were discovered by drones and are believed to have been created by the ancient Paracas people more than 2,000 years ago, hundreds of years earlier than the famous Nazca Lines. ), Reuters reported.

Archaeologists accidentally discovered a giant cat figure carved into an arid hillside more than 2,000 years ago in southern Peru. (Photo: EPA)

Among the new drawings found at Palpa, there are images of a woman and a dancing monkey, numbers and a killer whale – a semi-divine mascot in the beliefs of the Paracas people. Unlike the Nazca Lines, which can only be viewed from above by plane, some of the drawings at Palpa are carved into the hillside and can be viewed from the ground.

According to archaeologist Johny Isla of the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, giant drawings in the desert are always a mystery to archaeologists because no one can be sure why they were created, or why they were so large. large size and last so long.

What are the lines on the Nazca desert?

The Nazca Lines create a “geometric garden” in the Nazca Desert, a 53-mile-wide arid desert between the towns of Nazca and Palpa in the Pampas de Jumana (a flat area of ​​southern Peru).

Many of the drawings include hummingbirds, monkeys, spiders and lizards, but those are just the names of the over 300 drawings. They were created during the Nazca culture period in this area, between 200 BC and 600 AD.

The Nazca Lines were first photographed when commercial airplanes flew over the Peruvian desert in the 1920s. Passengers said they saw “primitive tracts of land” on the ground below. When the pebbles have been swept away, they reflect the light below, in this way the lines can be seen more clearly.

Archaeologists have discovered a lost city outside this region, Cahuachi. It was built nearly 2000 years ago and mysteriously abandoned 500 years later.

The Nazca people’s motives are currently the most difficult mystery to solve. Most people believe that the motive was truly religious, apparently the creation of the images was only for the viewing of the saints in heaven.

Where is the Nazca Desert?

The small city of Nazca is located in southern Peru, about 400km from the capital Lima. This is where tourists flock to search for answers to the secrets of the illustrious ancient Nazca civilization, which existed more than 2,000 years ago.