This fascinating article was shared by S.D., (with our thanks) and I knew when I saw it that it had to go immediately into the “finals” folder. Most readers of this site are aware of the famous Nazca lines in Peru, glyphs literally carved into the rock of a high plain by ancient peoples. The problem is, the glyphs are only visible from the air. No one really knows who carved them, nor why. One thing that does seem to be implied by the glyphs is that whoever carved them, did so with the understanding that they, or perhaps someone else, would be able to view them from the air, and that in turn implies three things: (1) the glyphs were possibly carved so that spirits or “the gods” would see them, or (2) the glyphs were carved because someone with the technology to be airborne could see them, or (3) both. Regarding possibility number 2, many researchers have speculated, given the “runway” nature of some of these glyphs, that whomever they were intended for possessed some sort of airplane technology. Possibly. But a much simpler hot air balloon or even prototypical dirigible or zeppelin technology would be equally possible as explanations.
Keep that speculation in mind, because it influences today’s high octane speculation, because, it seems, hundreds of new Nazca glyphs have been recently discovered, and by a most unusual method at that:
Note what has happened to make this recent discovery of many more such glyphs possible:
Now, using drones and AI, a team led by archaeologist and anthropologist Masato Sakai of Yamagata University in Japan has discovered a jaw-dropping 303 more in just six months – nearly doubling the known number.
With the discovery comes new insight regarding the function of the mysterious symbols.
Some of the glyphs, interpreted as humanoid, or humans wearing headdresses. (Sakai et al., PNAS, 2024)
“The reason why the purpose of the geoglyphs’ creation remained unknown for so long is that previous researchers lacked basic information about the distribution and types of geoglyphs,” Sakai told ScienceAlert.
“However, in this paper, thanks to field surveys utilizing AI and remote sensing, the distribution of the geoglyphs has been clarified. As a result, we were able to shed light on the purpose behind their creation.”
This purpose, the researchers believe, is sacred – designed as part of a pilgrimage to Cahuachi, the ceremonial center of the Nazca culture, which overlooks some of the glyphs from high perches atop mounds.
The glyphs have been difficult to uncover for several reasons. One of those is that they were first carved into the plateau between 500 BCE and 500 CE, and weathering over hundreds of years has greatly reduced their detectability.
Another obstacle is that the sheer size of the Nazca Pampa prohibits fieldwork on the ground. It’s simply too huge a job.
This fascinating article was shared by S.D., (with our thanks) and I knew when I saw it that it had to go immediately into the “finals” folder. Most readers of this site are aware of the famous Nazca lines in Peru, glyphs literally carved into the rock of a high plain by ancient peoples. The problem is, the glyphs are only visible from the air. No one really knows who carved them, nor why. One thing that does seem to be implied by the glyphs is that whoever carved them, did so with the understanding that they, or perhaps someone else, would be able to view them from the air, and that in turn implies three things: (1) the glyphs were possibly carved so that spirits or “the gods” would see them, or (2) the glyphs were carved because someone with the technology to be airborne could see them, or (3) both. Regarding possibility number 2, many researchers have speculated, given the “runway” nature of some of these glyphs, that whomever they were intended for possessed some sort of airplane technology. Possibly. But a much simpler hot air balloon or even prototypical dirigible or zeppelin technology would be equally possible as explanations.