Nazca Lines, Mystery Solved

2/20/2014

Nazca Lines, including a "spider" figure

The more we see and do in Peru, the more we’re in awe by the magic and mystery that can be found around every corner. It seems like just about every place we visit has some new enchantment to offer, be it the colourful designs covering the traditional clothing, the continuing belief in traditional spiritual and medicinal practices, or the archaeological remains of ancient civilizations. Nazca is certainly no exception to this, with an unmistakable air of archaeological mystery surrounding the city.

another geoglyph - the hummingbird

Near the southern coast of Peru and surrounded by a Martian desert landscape, at first glance there really wouldn’t be anything special about the place. Speeding by along the Southern Pan-American Highway, you’d only really feel compelled to stop to refill or gas or for food. Hiking atop the nearby hills or flying overhead, however, you’d quickly realize that there’s much more to Nazca than meets the ground-level eye: covering an area of almost a hundred square kilometers of the desert plateau to the west of Nazca are a collection of lines, figures, and shapes drawn into the sand as if by a giant finger into the dust of a giant windshield. Created by the Nazca people between 400 and 650 A.D., some of these shapes represent animals common to the area (spiders, monkeys, fish, birds) – others, however, are simply massive geometric figures that have no apparent meaning, though there are a few theories floating around…

some more Nazca lines - what do they mean?

Of all the mystery surrounding the Nazca lines, the “how” is actually quite easy. A thin layer of reddish-brown pebbles covers most of the plateau – by removing this layer (typically between 10 and 15cm worth of debris) the much whiter layer of clay beneath is exposed. All you’d need is a few assertive mathematicians and enough strong backs to do the work, and presto – Nazca lines. The bigger question here is obviously, “Why?”. Why dedicate so much time and effort into creating something that can’t truly be appreciated by any of the people responsible for creating it?

a couple trapezoids and some more lines?!

Some believe that the figures, especially those that represent sacred animals such as the condor (believed to be the bridge between heaven and earth) were created as worship to the gods. Perhaps they were done to encourage the gods to send more rain to the otherwise arid climate (receiving less than an inch of rain each year). I could see this as a reasonable theory for the many figures that clearly resemble things from daily life. The bigger mystery, however, are the much larger geometric lines and shapes (some which stretch almost 50 km across the desert), which don’t seem to follow any logical pattern. Some have theorized that the lines mark out walking paths for people to follow to some meeting ground – take a look at the complete mishmash of lines and shapes, tell me you could follow it in some kind of meaningful way, and I’ll tell you to lay off the crack. Others believe the lines could somehow map out the motion of celestial bodies, I suppose this could make sense, though to this day nobody’s been able to successfully prove this. Even if it were the case, though, there still remains the nagging question … WHY??

checking out the lines from above

Since, from the ground, there really isn’t much to be seen besides difference in colour and texture in some random areas, to help see for ourselves we instead went for a bird’s eye view and took a gut-wrenching flight overhead. Although the focus of the flight was on the smaller and more recognizable figures that are scattered over the desert, the more astonishing aspect is the sheer magnitude of the lines and trapezoids that cover the desert. It’s truly incredible just how large an area these lines cover – there were lines that stretched as far as we could see, even from the seat of the small Cessna. After witnessing the Nazca lines, visiting the Antonini Archaeological Museum in town, and having in-depth conversations with the local woman who made my pizza dinner, I believe I’ve figured it out!

the figure of a shark on a clay dish

Aliens. It’s obviously aliens!! Fine, the Nazca people may have been the ones to do the grunt work in making the lines, but only under the influence or control of extra-terrestrials. Over the last many minutes, I’ve devised the following theory, which I think you’ll all find irrefutable.

I think that the Nazca peoples, at first, were simply drawing their favourite animals as a message or tribute to the gods – the same reason they and similar cultures built elaborate temples, sacrificed babies, etc. They wanted more rain or sun or for their favourite sports team to win the big game. Just like many of these smaller Nazca lines, similar figures can be found all over other artifacts recovered from the area – clay pots and textiles covered in fish, birds, etc. It wouldn’t have taken a rocket surgeon to stumble in the desert and realize that, by dragging a foot around in the dirt, some basic drawings could be made. The many phallic geoglyphs created by modern day teenage boys in sand or snow is an obvious a testiclement to this. In terms of sequence, it’s obvious enough to tell, just by looking, that these smaller figures came before the larger geometric shapes – many of the larger lines pass right through and “cover over” the smaller shapes.

It's obvious enough that these larger lines & shapes came AFTER the whale and condor figures

the spaceman!

After doing this for a while and perfecting the art, they caught the attention of aliens who happened to be passing overhead. These aliens saw that these creatures, previously thought to be relatively useless, did in fact have some intelligence and so put them to work for some bigger purpose. Perhaps they were drawing a map used for intergalactic travel, or perhaps the aliens were passing on some great knowledge that has since been lost.

Why does it have to be aliens, you ask? Well, I’m not pulling this completely out of my arse here. There’s been plenty of evidence uncovered that screams alien involvement. The first proof I offer is a geoglyph that stands out from the rest of the smaller figures for a couple of reasons: the first being that it was created on the side of a hill, showing that it was intended to be viewed by people on the ground instead of those looking down from above; the second reason being that the figure is of a FRICKIN’ ALIEN. Look at those big, round eyes and the big dome around its head and just try and tell me it’s not some kind of space-man.

The second bit of evidence I’ll present is an odd deformation found among about ten percent of the skulls uncovered at various archaeological sites surrounding Nazca. Based on these skulls, it has been deduced that the Nazca people practiced a form of body modification that, from a young age, encouraged the skull to develop in an oblong shape, greatly resembling the image of an alien we’ve all seen described by modern abductees. Furthermore, these deformed skulls are always uncovered in an official tomb, with bodies prepared and offerings made, indicating that these deformed people were of noble stature, and perhaps even revered in society.

Deformed skulls uncovered at sites near Nazca

Nazca lines - ON MARS?!?!

My theory, then, which should be obvious enough to anyone not themselves under alien mind control, is that after many years of worshipping their traditional gods, the Nazca people’s lives were transformed through an event, or series of events, involving extraterrestrials. After contact had been made, the Nazca peoples realized the power of these foreign beings and in turn focused their efforts on demonstrating to them their love and adulation, through the worship of a hillside spaceman drawing and the deformation of their own skulls.

Perhaps this theory goes even further, not only providing an inspiration for the Nazca lines, but also a clue as to the mysterious disappearance of what should have gone on to be an intelligent and highly-organized civilization: once sufficiently demonstrating their abilities and dedication to their alien overlords, the Nazca peoples were all beamed up and taken away to continue their work on the surface of Mars. (picture courtesy of MarsRuins.com)

Well, mystery solved, on to Machu Picchu!

Cheers,
Mandrew