Posted on 05/22/2008 1:36:34 PM PDT by blam
Archaeologists explore Peruvian mystery
A hummingbird geoglyph. Photo by Dr Nick Saunders
Indiana Jones may be flying over the Nazca Lines in Peru in his latest Hollywood adventure, but two British archaeologists have been investigating the enigmatic desert drawings for several years.
Dr Nick Saunders from Bristol University and Professor Clive Ruggles from the University of Leicester are locating and measuring the lines with high-precision GPS, photographing the distribution of 1,500-year old pottery, and painstakingly working out the chronological sequence of overlying lines and designs.
Professor Ruggles and Dr Saunders agree with other experts that some lines were pathways across the desert, others had a more religious significance, while some appear associated with desert scars caused by flash-floods, and are probably linked to the veneration of water.
“Identifying which lines came first, whether they were spiritual or functional, and exactly how they were used during a thousand years of prehistory is a great challenge,” said Dr Saunders. “The treasure is not gold but insight, and the mystery is cultural not extraterrestrial.”
Source: University of Bristol
This article didn't tell us one darn thing.
This article didn't tell us one darn thing.
Sure it did. They want more money.........
The most interesting was the hot air balloon experiment that used materials supposedly available locally in the ancient culture to make a hot air balloon to rise up and see the designs from the air—which seems to be the only way to actually see the designs.
And they don’t want us to look for the gold. We should be content with looking for insight while they look for the gold.
“...other [lines] had a more religious significance...”
Come on! Not that old story again! Every time some archaeologist finds or discovers anything, the first thing out of his/her mouth is that ‘it had deep religious significance.’ Give me a break! When asked what that religious significance was, he/she doesn’t know! lol Maybe, when archaeologists put aside a lot of those silly assumptions, we will start to learn something about the past.
Anyone know the lat/longs for the Nasca plain? I would like to take a look on google earth.
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Thanks Blam.This article didn't tell us one darn thing.Hold it. Y'mean we have to post *informative* articles now? Darn your high standards. ;') |
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Come on... everyone knows that the Nazca drawings were done to communicate with the Alien builders.... ;-)
One of the first things I learned when entering the field of anthropology was that the default explanation for an otherwise inexplicable site was that it was ceremonial...whats wrong with that? Unless the culture recorded exactly what went on at the site, theres really no way of knowing...
Sure it does.
It tells us they're not Von Daniken fans. Aside from that, though...
Image Placemark Location: longitude: -75.18786894045414, latitude: -14.72050199914096
Photogrammetric Reconstruction of the Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa.Link.
Nazca 3D Visualization image
Thanks, nice graphics.
With each new discovery the mystery only seems to deepen. Do you see the rows of (possibly) qanats on both sides of the lower image?
All over the hillsides, looking very ancient...
Thank you very much, Fred
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