Ancient site · Other
Nazca Lines
Also known as Nasca Lines
Giant designs scraped into the desert floor of southern Peru by moving dark stones to expose lighter ground beneath. Hundreds of straight lines, triangles and spirals cross the plain, with a total length of more than 1,300 km, along with figures such as a monkey, a hummingbird and a spider that are best seen from the air.
Early ones were made by the Paracas people, most by the Nazca. Drones keep revealing new figures. Scholars still debate what they were for. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Dates
- c. 500 BCE – 500 CE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 14.70° S, 75.14° W
How we know
No writing existed; the lines are dated by the pottery left beside them and by radiocarbon; their purpose is still debated.
Nearby sites
- Cahuachi c. 1–500 CE
- Paracas cemeteries (Cerro Colorado) c. 800–100 BCE
- Caral (Sacred City of Caral-Supe) c. 2600–2000 BCE
- Chavín de Huántar c. 1200–500 BCE (dates debated)
- Sechín Bajo c. 3500–1300 BCE
- Tiwanaku (early city) founded c. 100 CE (dates debated); peak c. 500–1000; abandoned c. 1050 CE
Related
- Nazca culture archaeological culture
- The world in 500 BCE: The Persian Peace chapter