A massive drawing has been found in the legendary Nazca Lines of Peru. With this recent discovery, the enigmatic markings etched into the Peruvian desert are attracting world attention once again.
According to the Ministry of Culture, the 37-meter-long figure depicts a feline and is situated in one of the slopes of the hill known as the Mirador Natural (a natural lookout point).
The surprising discovery was made when archaeologists and the technical staff of the Nazca-Palpa Management Plan —supported by the Ministry of Culture— conducted refurbishment works at the natural lookout in the Nazca Pampas.
The figure was barely visible and was about to disappear due to its location —on a fairly steep slope— and the effects of natural erosion. The cleaning and conservation of the geoglyph was carried out last week.
The drawing depicts the figure of a feline in profile, with the head turned towards the front. The lines are mostly well defined, and the image is formed by lines of variable width, which goes from 30 to 40 centimeters.
Experts claim that the figure’s stylistic features date from the Late Paracas period. That is, it predates the famous geoglyphs in the Nazca Pampas, dating back 100 to 200 years before our era.
It is worth noting that representations of felines of this kind are common in the iconography of ceramics and textiles created by the Paracas people.
The Ministry Culture noted that this discovery shows, once again, the rich and varied cultural legacy of this site that has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1994.
Located in the arid Peruvian coastal plain, some 400 km south of Lima, the Lines and Geoglyphs of Nazca and Pampas de Jumana are one of the most impressive-looking archaeological areas in the world and an extraordinary example of the traditional and millenary magical-religious world of the ancient pre-Hispanic societies which flourished on the Peruvian south coast between the 8th century B.C. and the 8th century A.D.
They are located in the desert plains of the basin river of Rio Grande de Nazca, the archaeological site covers an area of approximately 75,358.47 ha where for nearly 2,000 uninterrupted years, the region’s ancient inhabitants drew on the arid ground a great variety of thousands of large scale zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures and lines or sweeps with outstanding geometric precision, transforming the vast land into a highly symbolic, ritual and social cultural landscape that remains until today.
They represent a remarkable manifestation of a common religion and social homogeneity that lasted a considerable period of time.
They are the most outstanding group of geoglyphs anywhere in the world and are unmatched in its extent, magnitude, quantity, size, diversity, and ancient tradition to any similar work in the world, according to UNESCO.
At the request of the Peruvian State —on July 16, 2016— its name changed to the Lines and Geoglyphs of Nazca and Palpas.
Source: Andina
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