LInes In The Desert Plains Chapter 11: An investigation of the Nazca Lines

From 1-450 A.D. the headhunting increased and so did the fertility rituals at Cahuachi. It is believed this was one of the reasons for its abandonment.



Nazca Diety with Trophy Heads



If ancient astronauts were actually present, the duration of their visitation to the area would have been short maybe around 100 years at the most. Their visits to Nazca would have been infrequent an unpredictable. It is probable that the Band of Holes operation did not last long, especially when it comes to an advanced race of space travelers with a very high technology. But they could have been dug through human labor and that would have taken longer.



Nazca Fertility Diety pottery



About 700 A.D. the Nazca culture ceased when the land was no longer suitable for agriculture due to a change in climate. It is believed the region may have been hit by a Super el Nino. There may have been another reason as well as the coast of Peru lies on a fault line and has a history of earthquakes, and all the desert regions discussed here are near this Pacific Ocean fault. Today tremors and earthquakes happen there frequently.

Maria Rieche used the profits from her book to campaign for the preservation of the Nazca Desert. She convinced the government to restrict public access to the area.
She sponsored the construction of towers near the highway so visitors could overview the lines.

Tower on Panamerican Highway

There are also other locations along the highway where one can overlook the Nazca Lines.

Today people trying to preserve the Nazca Lines are concerned about threats of pollution and erosion caused by deforestation in the region. The Pan American Highway cuts right across the Nazca Lines. The lines are superficial, they are only about 10-30 cm (4-12 inches) deep and could be washed away:



A Nazca Line

 The Nazca desert receives only a very small amount rain every year. But there are
changes to the weather all over the world. The lines cannot resist heavy rain without being damaged. After flooding and mud-slides in mid 2007 a team from Peru’s National Institute of Culture surveyed the area, and although the Pan American Highway did not suffer damage, damage to the roads elsewhere should serve as a reminder of just how fragile the Nazca lines are.

The Nasca Airport

Tourists are not allowed to walk on the Nazca Plain, they must view it from the
highway, or arrange for a flight from one of the air companies nearby who do this as a daily business.

The End