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Nazca lines face threats from elements, negligence
The Nazca lines are some of the world's most mysterious ancient monuments. Giant images of people, animals, plants, and geometric shapes scratched onto the surface of the Peruvian desert by three different cultures from 500 BC to 500 AD, they've made generations of researchers scratch their heads over their purpose and meaning.
Now it turns out these unique figures aren't so unique after all. They're among the many ancient wonders under threat from the natural and man-made causes. The UNESCO World Heritage Site has been listed in the World Monuments Fund's 2012 Watch because of threats from flooding and tourism. As you can see from these pictures, roads actually cut through some of the images.
Popular Archaeology has reported that trash has accumulated at the site and that tourism facilities are crowding the area. Some mudslides and flooding nearby didn't seriously hurt the designs, but serve as a warning of what could happen. The regional government is working on a plan to save the situation. The region makes a good deal of money from tourism, so they have every reason to preserve these enigmatic figures for the next generation.
Sadly, there's another threat to the Nazca lines--the threat of ignorance. Most of what you see about the lines in the media is New Age pseudoarchaeology about Atlantis and aliens. I've written before about how the ancient astronaut theory is racist, being implicitly based on the assumption that cultures with dark skin couldn't possibly have scratched out designs in the dirt without help from beings from another planet.Yes, they're so big they can only be seen from the air, but all you have to do is make a smaller drawing you can see easily and then expand the dimensions to create your final product. There's also a theory that the builders had hot air balloons, although there is no direct evidence of this. There's no direct evidence that they were UFO runways either, like Erich von Däniken would have us believe. While I'm not sure I buy the balloon theory, that's no reason to immediately jump to the least plausible explanation.
[Condor image courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Monkey image courtesy Maria Reiche]
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Learning, South America, Peru, News
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
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Robin Edgar Nov 15th 2011 2:55PM
"There's no direct evidence that they were UFO runways either, like Erich von Däniken would have us believe. While I'm not sure I buy the balloon theory, that's no reason to immediately jump to the least plausible explanation."
Well said Sean.
There *is* direct evidence that an unusually high number of total solar eclipses occurred over the Nazca Peru region during the time period that the Nazca Lines and biomorph geoglyphs were created. I think that you just might find my theory that the Nazca Lines were an ancient Peruvian religious response to the "Eye of God" and "Phoenix" symbolism that is readily perceivable in total solar eclipses to be numbered amongst the most plausible explanations. . .
http://eclipsology.blogspot.com/2009/09/nazca-lines-and-total-solar-eclipses.html
Traveler Travelling Nov 17th 2011 2:03AM
A true shame that tourism is the reason the Nazca lines are being threatened. Interesting take on the "ancient astronaut" theory as being problematic. I'd never thought of that before, but I do think there's something to be said for not being cool with the new agers who seem to glom on to every slightly unsettling phenomenon on the planet. I was pretty upset to see a bunch of hippie kids climbing all over the rocks at Avebury Stone Circle in the UK because they think that they, as self-proclaimed pagans, have an ancient right to trod on the stones and mounds whereas I, as a simple sight-seer, have no right to be there whatsoever. Lame sauce.