The Nazca lines
We are in Peru, on the Pampa di Palpa desert plain: an air fleet flying over these areas in 1939 noticed the presence of strange lines on the ground, which at a greater height revealed themselves to be real perfectly set geometric designs. Perfect above all for the straight lines they presented, even designs that extended for kilometers, both on the plain and on hills or relief terrain.
Most of these drawings represent geometric figures, but there are some that depict animals, (for example a whale, a monkey, a hummingbird, a spider), hands and flowers.
The dimensions can even reach 200 meters, while the width varies, from a few decimeters to more than 50 m.
Paul Kosok was enormously struck by the charm that these drawings emanate, placed in an uninhabited area bordered on the sides by the large valleys of two rivers and by the pre-Andean hill chain.
He became aware of their existence on June 21, 1941, while he and his wife Rose were going for a picnic on board a plane. Seeing these traces on the ground, he was immediately impressed by two aspects: the dimensions, which roughly occupied an area 50 km long and 15 km wide, and the location in which they were traced, that is, an Andean desert plateau. He therefore decided to study its meaning and tried in vain to clarify the mystery, not leaving that area for eight years.
According to some scientists, the Nazca drawings date back as far as 1500 years ago, so we ask ourselves, why were they discovered only in 1939? The explanation for this strange event is the method used to trace them, consisting of the removal of the stones on the surface, which allowed the underlying gravel, subjected to sunlight to initially take on a yellowish and then reddish-brown color over time, allowing its visibility only from above. Thanks then to the absence of rain due to the desert climate, these drawings have been preserved for centuries to this day.
However, the first discovery of the Nazca drawings was thanks to the Peruvian Meyìa Xesspe and the American Alfred Kroeber in the twenties. The two scientists climbed a hill and due to the effects that the afternoon light created on it they managed to see paths that otherwise could not be visible from the plain.
This characteristic of being visible only from above also represents a valid justification for their late discovery.
Another question to ask is: what was the motivation that drove the Nazca Indians (who inhabited those highlands at the time) to draw such subjects of incredible dimensions? Also considering that this population was first absorbed by the Inca empire (15th century) and then completely canceled by the Spanish conquerors.
A first hypothesis that attempted to make sense of these drawings was that they could constitute roads, but after the various glosses between the 1920s and 1930s it was discarded. A second attributed them the function of landing strips. But for which vehicles? For what type of vehicles?
The one that seems most truthful is the hypothesis of film producer Tony Morrison, who claimed that the Nazca lines were "ceques", or paths traced for ritual and religious purposes. There were basically two facts that made him elaborate this consideration. The first is represented by a Spanish document from 1653 which explained how the Indians, in the Inca capital of Cuzco, built sanctuaries along lines that radiated from the temple of the sun, therefore the piles of stone joined by the Nazca lines could constitute the remains of the construction of these sanctuaries.
According to Paul Kosok the Nazca lines were used for astronomical observations. This theory of his was based on a map drawn by himself, and was also supported by Marie Reiche, a German mathematician, according to whom the drawings of animals and geometric figures, because they were pointed towards the major stars, constituted constellations of an enormous calendar, used to calculate time from the Nazca. But it found no other evidence to confirm his theory, beyond possible alignments of paths to the sun and major stars. The most important result in this regard was that of the astronomer Gerald Hawkins of the Washington Astrophysical Observatory in 1968.
The most interesting was the alignment of a figure called "The Great Rectangle" with the constellation of the Pleiades, in the year 610, a date coinciding with the carbon 14 dating of a wooden pole found in the place. However, this alignment should not be taken for granted, as it was the result of a random case study demonstrated by a computer.
Then there are hypotheses that do not clarify the mystery but deepen it, such as the one that claims that the Nazca drawings reveal extraterrestrial presences.
Ultimately, there are many theories and there are many who write books about them or try to argue their hypotheses with thousands of measurements and alignments.
It is certainly true that, like many cultures of the past, the Nazca lines have an implicit or explicit connection with the stars and time, but we should certainly ask ourselves a rather disturbing problem...
For whatever reason the Nazca Indians drew those lines is as deep a mystery as the construction of the pyramids but certainly the problem is the following: how did they manage to construct these lines without any means of precision, the overall view of which could only be taken from above? and secondly, assuming that the Indians managed to draw the lines without an overall vision, why build lines visible only from above? Perhaps this was precisely their intent... to ensure that their divinities coming from the sky on board luminous ships could see or find the way...
Finally, perhaps we could draw a parallel with a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly present nowadays, such as that of crop circles?
The fact is that an answer is impossible for now, but in the meantime, just asking yourself is a starting point.
