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Faking_Life t1_ivrepmf wrote

This may sound stupid, but what was the motivation for making these images that can only be seen from above? Are there mountains or something in the area that could serve as a viewpoint?

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trowawaid t1_ivrxl76 wrote

Some of them were intended for the gods. (They were made on flat ground, so they could really only be seen in any way up high).

Others were on sides of mountains, etc, so they could be seen by people at certain places. They were potentially waypoints or territorial markers (though we can't really know for sure).

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Sketchy-Fish t1_ivtknmd wrote

Haven’t some of them got a water connection as well? As understood it some of them have openings so can access water in this part of the world,like they made man made waterways through the desert areas from the mountains.. very cool water management..

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trowawaid t1_ivtmo1z wrote

Oh that would be interesting! (I was only repeating what I read in the article, but that's a really cool notion too).

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Sketchy-Fish t1_ivtmtas wrote

As was I mate hahaha but isn’t that what learning is about?? Just picking what to learn isn’t it?

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cartoptauntaun t1_ivtzvy1 wrote

I’ve only read about what you’re describing in articles about the Middle East. Maybe similar things exist in SA but I don’t recall reading anything about Nazca lines and man made aquifers

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Sketchy-Fish t1_ivu2bfn wrote

Yer they are spiral shaped and run along in very long lines! Maybe there not right by the pictures on desert floor but they def have them.. il see if can link to what I mean

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hazpat t1_ivukq52 wrote

Those are seperate features from the lines. Like saying the pyramids were used for irrigation because irrigation channels were found in the same area.

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rofltide t1_ivub02n wrote

Well that's interesting. With planes, we humans can see the ones on flat now. Wonder how long it would take us to convince them we're not gods if we met today...

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patientguitar t1_ivrzyfl wrote

As for Nazca (as opposed to the Paracas geoglyphs), I buy into the archaeo-astronomy theory: like the Giza necropolis, the figures are mapping constellations (which was the best form of evening entertainment for centuries).

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lordkuren t1_ivsl8y3 wrote

I've been there a bit more than 10 years ago. You can drive out between them by car and while you recognize it is something man-made, for most you can't recognize what it is though. There are hills near by - with some ancient irrigation systems that even after a few hundred years are still used today! - from which you can see and recognize some that are nearby. They can clearly seen from the air - took a round flight over them - and it is super-impressive how big and clearly visible they are. The guides, pilots and so on all had their own theories. The most common ones I heard was religious - messages to their gods - or that they were used to mirror what they saw in the stars, like their interpretations of star constellations. Maybe it's both at the same time.

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frogontrombone t1_ivsziia wrote

According to archaeologist Ken Feder, there are sites nearby that have artifacts suggestive of these being part of some meditative practice. Ken points out that for the vast majority of human history, religion and hobby and art were all the same thing, so these very likely have a religious meaning.

As far as seeing them, I dont recall if he mentioned there being a viewpoint or not, but he did make the point that.it didn't matter since the purpose of these was more spiritual than not. He gives many examples of geoglyphs that have no viewpoint, such as Serpent Mound in Ohio.

Source is Archeological Fantasies podcast, episode 25

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Faking_Life t1_ivt3yaw wrote

Amazing, thanks for the source, too!

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frogontrombone t1_ivt527p wrote

You bet. I highly recommend the podcast. It debunks pseudo archeological claims by going over what we DO know and makes the point that real life is much more interesting than the one dimensional and racist "aliens", "Atlantis", or "preColumbian exchange" claims

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Sketchy-Fish t1_ivtmpi5 wrote

I thought that serpent mound was like a star aligned site and was used for marking of time passing, like the seasons, guess like you’ve all said I’m sure it HAD a very good reason for the people that built it..

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frogontrombone t1_ivtz945 wrote

A lot of these structures have alignments, but again, astronomy, religion, and art were all basically the same category for most of human history.

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ufrag t1_ivs9mie wrote

I like the theory of it working as a memory device, sort of as a pilgrimage that you walk on to remember certain information.

If I recall then, when you start walking it, you just start and you never have to make any turns or cross other people, so there is just a set beginning you start on and everyone just follows the line.

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herbivorousanimist t1_ivsx3px wrote

The Australian Aboriginals did just that. Entire dream time stories would be told by walking through the landscape, some stories taking days and weeks to tell as they walked through the territories of their tribe, with the country and landmarks marking the points of the stories.

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Initial_E t1_ivt2t5m wrote

Regardless of what they intended it to be, it has become a time capsule, an enduring message from dead civilizations to the future. “We existed. This is proof!”

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YouMeAndPooneil t1_ivtv523 wrote

Motivation for human actions in prehistory is always speculative. That is it can never be shown to actually reflect the actual motivations of the actors because they didn't leave written accounts of their motivations. The best theory is that the lines on the desert floor were meant for observation by gods that lived in the sky.

The article states about the hillside figures,

>If the Nazca Lines were made by humans for the gods, these figures were made by humans for humans.

This quote alone is not particular helpful journalism because it just reflects a bare illogical opinion. The editor should have sent this back to the reporter for more context.

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brendan250 t1_ivsnet4 wrote

There is a theory that they were created by people who were searching for water. That would explain why the lines never intersect

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L7Death t1_ivtua2n wrote

Building towers of wood would let you get a pretty decent view. Just a few stories up and you can easily overlook a city.

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Trashman82 t1_ivulprl wrote

According to ancient astronaut theorists....aliens.

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