Stretching across nearly 200 square miles, the Nazca lines are legendary. Hundreds of figures include giant spiders, monkeys, humming birds, fish, sharks, llamas, lizards, and more. The glyphs have lasted for over 1,500 years due to the dryness of the region.
Spider
The glyphs were made by the Nazca people between 200 BC and 600 AD by scraping a layer of iron oxide off of the dry desert floor. It is believed that the designs were made by using wooden stakes in the ground and rope to keep the lines in ratio to each other. This theory is supported by the finding of wooden stakes at the end of some of the lines.
Condor
They are a mystery. Why were they created? One theory is that the lines were created to be walked on as possibly a ceremonial procession that led the way to a sacred area used for praying to various water and agricultural gods. Another suggestion is that the figures were to be seen by the gods as an early SETI program (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). Others believe that the lines were a giant astronomical calendar pointing to the locations where celestial bodies would align themselves. However, archaeoastronomists who examined the site in 2000 dismissed this claim as insufficiently supported.
Despite the figures having been examined by numerous anthropologists, ethnologists, and archaeologists, not to mention new-agers, ancient astronaut theorists, and alien enthusiasts, we may never know what the designs were meant for, or how the Nazca people intended them to be seen. What we do know, though, is that they are incredibly fascinating.
The Hands