Long ago, people made big drawings.
They are in the dry sand. They made shapes like birds and cats. These drawings are very large. You can see them from high up. Can you find a bird shape?
Long ago, people made huge drawings in the dirt.
They lived in a dry land in Peru. To make them, they moved dark rocks away. This showed the light dirt underneath.
Some shapes look like birds or monkeys. Most lines are very straight. Some shapes are best seen from the sky. The dry air helps keep them safe. New tools help us find more today. It is a wonder to see them.
In the Nazca Desert in Peru, people made huge drawings in the ground. These are called the Nazca lines. People made them between 500 BC and 500 AD. They made the lines by moving dark pebbles away. This showed the light-colored soil underneath.
Most lines are very straight. Many other shapes look like animals or plants. There are drawings of monkeys, spiders, and birds. A hummingbird is one of the famous shapes. Some shapes are very big. The largest ones can be 370 meters long.
It is hard to see the shapes from the ground. They look best from high in the sky. The desert is very dry and has little wind. This helps keep the lines safe for a long time. Scientists study the lines to learn why they were made. Some think they were used to track the sun. Others think they were part of religion. Today, researchers use drones and AI to find new shapes. They continue to find many more hidden in the sand.
The Nazca lines are huge drawings made in the desert soil of southern Peru. These drawings are called geoglyphs. They cover a very large area of about 450 square kilometers. Most of the lines are very straight and stretch across the land. Other designs look like animals or plants. There are more than 70 shapes of animals, such as a monkey, a spider, and a hummingbird. Some shapes are very big. The largest ones can be nearly 370 meters long.
Making these lines was a clever way to use the desert floor. The surface of the Nazca Desert is covered in dark, reddish-brown pebbles. These pebbles have a coating called iron oxide. To make a line, people removed these pebbles to show the light-colored soil underneath. This soil is a yellow-grey clay that contains a lot of lime. When morning mist adds moisture to this clay, it hardens. This creates a protective layer that keeps the wind from washing the lines away.
People created these lines a long time ago. The work happened in two main stages. The first was the Paracas phase from 400 to 200 BC. The second was the Nazca phase from 200 BC to 500 AD. In 1553, a Spanish man named Pedro Cieza de León wrote about them. He thought they might be trail markers. Later, in 1927, an archaeologist named Toribio Mejía Xesspe saw them while hiking. In the 1940s, Paul Kosok began to study them deeply from the air.
Many researchers have tried to figure out why these lines exist. Some think they were used for religion. Others believe they were astronomical markers. This means they might show where the sun rises on special days. Maria Reiche was a famous mathematician who studied them for a long time. She thought the animal shapes might represent stars or constellations. Today, scientists use new tools to find more. In 2024, a team used artificial intelligence to find 303 new shapes. These included parrots, cats, and even monkeys.
Even though the lines are old, we are still finding new things. Scientists now use drones to fly over the desert. Drones help them see shapes that are hard to find on the ground. In 2019, researchers found 143 new shapes using machine learning. This is a type of computer technology. The lines are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This means they are a very important part of our world's history. We continue to learn more about the people who lived in Peru long ago.
The Nazca lines are a massive collection of geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert of southern Peru. Geoglyphs are large designs made directly into the ground. These ancient markings cover a vast area of approximately 450 square kilometers. Most of the lines are straight and stretch across the desert landscape. However, many other designs are figurative, meaning they depict living things. These include animals, plants, and even human shapes.
To create these lines, the ancient people used a specific method of soil manipulation. The surface of the desert is covered in dark, reddish-brown pebbles. These pebbles are coated in a substance called ferric oxide, which is a type of iron oxide. By removing this top layer, the creators exposed a lighter yellow-grey subsoil underneath. This subsoil is a clay-rich earth that contains high amounts of lime. When morning mist provides moisture to this clay, it hardens into a protective layer. This natural process shields the lines from wind erosion and helps preserve them for centuries.
The construction of these geoglyphs occurred in two distinct historical stages. The first was the Paracas phase, which lasted from 400 BC to 200 BC. The second was the Nazca phase, occurring from 200 BC to 500 AD. While the lines are most clearly visible from the air at heights of about 500 meters, they can also be seen from surrounding foothills. The shapes are usually formed from one continuous line. The width of these lines varies, but more than half are slightly more than one meter wide. Some are as narrow as 10 centimeters, while others reach up to 10 meters.
History shows that humans have been noticing these lines for a very long time. In 1553, the Spanish conquistador Pedro Cieza de León described them as trail markers. Later, in 1569, Luis Monzón reported seeing ancient ruins that looked like roads. In 1927, the Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejía Xesspe spotted them while hiking in the foothills. In the 1940s, American historian Paul Kosok became the first scholar to study them in depth. While flying over the desert, he realized one design was shaped like a bird. He was later joined by the mathematician Maria Reiche and archaeologist Richard P. Schaedel.
Scholars have debated the purpose of the lines for many decades. Many researchers ascribe religious significance to the designs. Paul Kosok and Maria Reiche proposed that the lines served as astronomical markers. They believed the lines pointed to where celestial bodies rose on significant dates, such as the winter solstice. Maria Reiche even suggested that the animal figures represented constellations in the sky. Other experts, like Gerald Hawkins and Anthony Aveni, argued that the evidence for an astronomical purpose was insufficient. Despite these disagreements, the sheer scale of the project is undeniable. The combined length of all the lines exceeds 1,000 kilometers.
The variety of figures found in the desert is quite remarkable. There are more than 70 zoomorphic designs, which are shapes modeled after animals. These include a hummingbird, an arachnid, a fish, a condor, a heron, a monkey, a lizard, a dog, and a cat. Some specific figures have been measured for their massive size. The hummingbird is 96 meters long, the condor is 130 meters, the monkey is 110 meters, and the spider is 47 meters. The largest geoglyphs can span nearly 370 meters.
Today, modern technology is helping archaeologists find many more geoglyphs. In 2019, a team used machine learning to find 143 new shapes. In 2024, a collaboration between Yamagata University and IBM Research used artificial intelligence to identify 303 new geoglyphs. These new finds included parrots, cats, monkeys, killer whales, and even severed heads. Researchers also use drones to assist in their work, as these flying machines can see details that are difficult to find on foot. Because of their immense importance, the Nazca lines were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (2)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.